Several nurses awarded research grants

The Ministry of Health on Friday hosted a Nurses and Midwives Research Forum, where several nurses were awarded small grants to conduct local medical research in areas ranging from vaccine hesitancy to geriatric care.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, during his remarks, emphasised the importance of continuing education in nursing and while the $25,000 grant is not much, he hopes it can be the revival of local medical research.

“Research is important because we can contribute to knowledge and that is what we need to pick up back again that tradition of making sure we can contribute to medical knowledge,” Dr Anthony said.

According to Dr Anthony, last year, Guyana helped the World Health Organization (WHO) develop influenza vaccines for the region after local personnel were able to sequence and identify the influenza viruses circulating here.

“So if you want to go into more technical types of research that is another area you can work in, there are different opportunities for research here, and what I want you to attune your mind to how can we get this done, so wherever you are practicing there are opportunities there for research,” the Health Minister explained.

The Health Minister also identified several diseases the ministry is currently working to eliminate that can also be used as opportunities for research.

“There are many opportunities now, right now in terms of elimination of diseases, we are looking at elimination filarial from Guyana, eliminating leprosy, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and so forth,” Dr Anthony said.

The minister also revealed that Guyana will be hosting the CARPHA Research Conference in April 2026, opening more avenues for nurses and midwives to showcase their work on regional platforms.

The research and teams awarded on Friday are:

• The impact of Geriatric Mental Decline on Family Members – by Johnece Andrews, Carissa Bamfield-Chesney and Caroline Bury.
• Nurses’ perception of working the 12-hour shift at the Georgetown University Hospital and the impact of work strain on Mental Health – by Kimberly Mentore and Tashonna Robinson
• The prevalence of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Georgetown Public Hospital between January 2025-May 2025 – by Alisa Tirbeni, Tiffany Toney and Alexis Simon.
• Assessing patient safety on the female surgical unit at GPHC from 1st January 2024 to 31st July 2024 – by Tasha McPherson and Juneann Walcott.
• Exploring the Use of Reflective Practice in Clinical Skills Development among Nursing Students at the Georgetown School of Nursing – by Sherifa Craig, Davida Fleming
• An Educational Intervention On Patient Safety For Nurses At Public Hospital Suddie Region #2 Guyana – by Felisha Paul
• An Educational Strategy to Reduce HPV Vaccine Hesitancy Among Parents of Adolescents from Selected Schools in Georgetown Guyana: An Experimental Study – by Lashonne Johnson, Rabiah Hughes
• Evaluating the role of peer mentorship in reducing anxiety among diploma level Nursing students: A comparative study between GPHC and SJMH – by Leighane Bakker, Mascot Evangeline and Danita Jaundoo
• The impact of Geriatric Mental Decline on Family Members – by Johnece Andrews, Carissa Bamfield-Chesney and Caroline Bury.