Employing institution: University of Gondor, Ethiopia
Host institution: Department of Women and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute, Sweden
Project title: Capacity building for midwifery-centered Comprehensive Care Research in Ethiopian Humanitarian Settings
Dr Tewodros Seyoum is a passionate global midwifery expert and has been working as a midwife, academician, and researcher at the University of Gondar since 2008. He is the first Ethiopian Midwife to obtain a Ph.D. in Midwifery. Dr Seyoum is also an affiliated researcher at Karolinska Institute. His research interest is Midwife-led implementation research focusing on sexual and reproductive health interventions. He aspires to develop transformative and diverse academic skills and lead transnational midwifery research in Africa.
AREF Fellowship:
Maternal mortality is a biggest concern affecting women and girls in conflict situations worldwide. However, there is no empirical evidence to guide policymakers and midwives in Ethiopia about the impact of midwifery-led sexual and reproductive health services, especially in humanitarian settings. Therefore, Dr Seyoum is interested in closing this gap in policy and evidence through research. In line with his interest, he recently won funding from Erha_R2HC to implement a research projecton Improving access to Comprehensive Abortion Care Services among internally displaced women in humanitarian setting through midwifery-led person-centered care: A mixed-method study in Northern Ethiopia.
Tewodros fellowship seeks to ensure that abortion interventions are responsive to local community needs by broadening midwives’ scope of practice through training on Implementation Science Research Methodology. This will ultimately improve women´s access to safe and effective abortion services and provide a foundation for evidence-based policy-making in low-resource and humanitarian settings.
“Learning from the best and deep understanding of implementation research methodology is a stepping stone for evaluating complex interventions in a humanitarian setting.”
Dr Seyoum will be placed at the Department of Women and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute, in Sweden under the research leadership of Professor Marie Klingberg Allvin. He will work within the midwifery division and WHO research center during his fellowship. Tewodros is also keen to take advanced postdoctoral research courses while he is in Sweden. The University of Gondar, his employing institution, will provide significant support for him to transfer his new research skills to the broader mid-wives community in Ethiopia with mentorship from Professor Tadesse Awoke.