UMSN Global Nursing | Information Resource Toolkit

Ruth Owusu-Antwi is a Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and holds an International Master’s Degree (MSc.) in Global Mental Health Policy, Services and Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). She graduated from medical school in 2007 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), also from KNUST. She is currently a Lecturer at Department of Behavioural Sciences at the School of Medical Science (SMS) at her Alma Mater and also practices in Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as a Senior specialist and the current head of the Psychiatry Unit. She has won many awards in her field of practice, including the 2019 international fellow of the Association of Women Psychiatrists (AWP) in San Francisco, U.S, in recognition of her work towards women's mental health. In 2017, she was awarded the Research Fellow of Ghana-Yale Partnership for Global Mental Health in Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States, where she had the opportunity to spend two months working on her fellowship thesis. She has been awarded by the sitting President of Ghana, His excellency, Nana Akufo Addo, for her role as the Ashanti Regional Lead for Psychosocial support during the COVID Pandemic. She is the immediate past President of Psychiatric Association of Ghana (PAG). Ruth is a prolific conference speaker and has several publications and books to her credit with her research interest in gender-based violence, women’s mental health, and global mental Health.

Oye Gureji is the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research in Mental Health, Neurosciences and Drug and Alcohol Abuse, for the Department of Psychiatry, University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He is also an Extraordinary Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His main research interests are in epidemiology and global mental health. He has conducted large scale community-based surveys, large randomized controlled trials, implementation research and research on health system strengthening with grant support from the Welcome Trust, MRC (UK), EU, AusAid, Grand Challenges Canada, IDRC and the NIMH, among others.  He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed scientific papers, monographs, book chapters, and has co-edited 3 books and has, for several years, been listed among the Highly Cited Researchers in the world by Clarivate. A recipient of many awards, he is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine, and a laureate of the Nigerian National Order of Merit.

Paulo Rossi Menezes holds a degree in Medicine from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo (1981), a master's degree in Psychiatry and Medical Psychology from the Federal University of São Paulo (1993), a master's degree in Epidemiology from the University of London (1992), a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of London (1995), and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Bristol (2006-08). He is a full professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, coordinator of the Population Mental Health Research Center, and Scientific Director of the National Center for Research and Innovation in Mental Health at the University of São Paulo. Dr. Menezes has experience in the field of Public Health, with emphasis on Psychiatric Epidemiology and Global Mental Health, mainly focusing on epidemiological research on psychoses, common mental disorders in primary care, and mental disorders in the elderly, through observational, experimental, and implementation epidemiological investigations. He has authored over 250 publications in national and international scientific journals, with over 11,000 citations and an H-index of 45 (Web of Science). He has supervised 16 master's theses, 17 doctoral dissertations, and mentored 6 postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Menezes has been the lead researcher in 2 thematic projects funded by FAPESP and in a project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Alicia Carrasco Parra is a Midwife, Master in Public Health, and Assistant Professor at the School of Midwifery at the University of Chile. She currently leads the Primary Health Care area of the Department of Women's and Newborn Health Promotion. She specializes in sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a focus on family planning, maternal health, and adolescent pregnancy. Alicia has international diplomas and certifications, and she has served on committees for the Ministry of Health of Chile.  Since 2017, she has been a consultant for UNFPA, conducting multiple consultations in various Latin American countries. She has also mentored sexual and reproductive health training programs in Latin America.  As part of the academic team, she has designed and implemented new courses in community health, health education, gender, and family planning. Alicia has developed interdisciplinary learning opportunities to enhance midwifery students' skills and supervised clinical experiences in Primary Health Care.  Alicia is also a member of the academic and midwifery research team at REDLIPP (Latin American Network of Research in Professional Midwifery, Sexual Health, and Reproductive Health).

Loreto Pantoja Manzanarez is a Midwife, Master’s in Public Health, and Associate Professor at the Department of Promotion of Women and Newborn Health. She has developed and led multiple research projects and scientific publications in journals of the discipline. In 2017, she received the “International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Research Awards 2016” at the 31st ICM Triennial Congress held in Toronto, Canada. This award was granted for the research project “Multicenter Study to Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Women attending Primary Health Centers during Pregnancy and Postpartum: Association with characteristics of the victim” of which she is the first author and lead researcher. This project was developed in Primary Health Centers in Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Uruguay. Loreto is also a founding member of the academic and midwifery research team called REDLIPP (Latin American Network for Research in Professional Midwifery, Sexual Health and Reproductive Health) and belongs to the Board of Directors of SOCHIPAR (Chilean Society of Childbirth and Birth) which aims to promote a positive experience to labor and birth, centered on women and their family, safety and based on evidence, as well as promoting the progress and development of the study of birth in Chile, and the promotion of the standards of care proposed by the most diverse scientific societies on the globe. She is a consultant for UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), where she has participated in multiple consultancies in Latin American and Caribbean countries, in programs for the training and improvement of professionals in Sexual and Reproductive Health and in the development of new programs/curriculums for the training of professional midwives.

Renwick Gaskin is a distinguished healthcare professional with a dual qualification as a Registered Nurse and a post-basic specialty in mental health nursing, boasting an illustrious career spanning over 37 years. His journey commenced with an 18-year tenure at the psychiatric hospital, primarily in the acute and forensic settings, where he honed his expertise in the intricate realm of mental health. With a profound commitment to education and nursing excellence, Renwick transitioned to become a nurse educator at the prestigious Barbados Community College, where he has dedicated the last 19 years to shaping the minds and futures of nursing professionals in Barbados. His areas of instructional prowess encompass mental health, management, leadership, and transcultural nursing. Renwick is widely recognized for his tireless advocacy for the rights of mental health sufferers and the promotion of mental well-being across all stages of life. As a seasoned professional, he has imparted his vast experience by disseminating mental health strategies within diverse settings, including nursing homes for the elderly, schools, churches, and initiatives organized by the Ministry of Youth, such as "Pathways for Youth" and summer camp counselors and directors.