PhD trajectories are important to universities, as these contribute to the increase in knowledge and output. Therefore, they aim to decrease the completion time and dropout. This article reports on our survey amongst PhD candidates and supervisors of the Graduate School CAPHRI, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. We investigated interpersonal aspects of coaching and (implicit) assumptions on skills and competences.Both groups consider personality, knowledge, skills, communication and coaching the major factors contributing to a successful PhD trajectory. PhD candidates consider responsiveness and respectful, good-quality feedback by supervisors important and suggest regular assessment of their performance. Supervisors consider flexibility, open-Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is permissible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment of a fee. Contact Publisher@InformingScience.org to request redistribution permission. The study shows that a good match between PhDs and supervisors is essential for a successful PhD trajectory, and we advise that both discuss and formally agree upon mutual expectations and responsibilities within the project. We advocate that Graduate Schools foster an open and safe learning environment, organise meetings where supervisors can share experiences to learn from one another, provide contacts for advice and support and involvement of HR during the selection process.

IntroductionNeonatal mortality rate (NMR) has been declining in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where historically rural areas had higher NMR compared with urban. The 2015–2016 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Tanzania showed an exacerbation of an existing pattern with significantly higher NMR in urban areas. The objective of this study is to understand this disparity in SSA countries and examine the specific factors potentially underlying this association in Tanzania.MethodsWe assessed urban–rural NMR disparities among 21 SSA countries with four or more DHS, at least one of which was before 2000, using the DHS StatCompiler. For Tanzania DHS 2015–2016, descriptive statistics were carried out disaggregated by urban and rural areas, followed by bivariate and multivariable logistic regression modelling the association between urban/rural residence and neonatal mortality, adjusting for other risk factors.ResultsAmong 21 countries analysed, Tanzania was the only SSA country where urban NMR (38 per 1000 live births) was significantly higher than rural (20 per 1,000), with largest difference during first week of life. We analysed NMR on the 2015–2016 Tanzania DHS, including live births to 9736 women aged between 15 and 49 years. Several factors were significantly associated with higher NMR, including multiplicity of pregnancy, being the first child, higher maternal education, and male child sex. However, their inclusion did not attenuate the effect of urban–rural differences in NMR. In multivariable models, urban residence remained associated with double the odds of neonatal mortality compared with rural.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to understand the role of quality of facility-based care, including role of infections, and health-seeking behaviour in case of neonatal illness at home. However, additional factors might also be implicated and higher NMR within urban areas of Tanzania may signal a shift in the pattern of neonatal mortality across several other SSA countries.

In diminishing excess mortality risks, hostile cognitions might be acknowledged separately and additionally to the risk posed by unhealthy lifestyles.

BackgroundPeople in lower socioeconomic positions report worse health-related functioning. Only few examined whether perceptions of unfairness are particularly common in these people and whether this perceived unfairness relates to their subsequent poor health outcomes. We thus set out to examine the contribution of perceived unfairness to the higher risks of physical and mental dysfunction in men and women with a lower socioeconomic position.MethodsSeven-year prospective cohort data from the Dutch SMILE study among 1,282 persons, 55 years old and older, were used. Physical and mental health-related functioning was measured with the SF-36, socioeconomic status with income and education, and the perception of unfairness with an extended new measure asking for such perceptions in both work and non-work domains.ResultsPerceived unfairness was more common in lower socioeconomic positions. Such perpection was related to both physical (odds ratio = 1.57 (95% confidence interval: 1.17-2.11)) and mental (1.47 (1.07-2.03)) decline, while low socioeconomic position was only related to mental decline (1.33 (1.06-1.67)). When socioeconomic position and perceived unfairness were simultaneously controlled, odds ratios for both determinants decreased only very little. Socioeconomic position and perceived unfairness were for the largest part independently related to longitudinal health-related decline.ConclusionsThe general perception of unfairness, at work and beyond work, might have implications for functional decline in middle and older age. We recommend that – rather than addressing and changing individual perceptions of unfairness – more research is needed to find out whether specific environments can be defined as unfair and whether such environments can be effectively tackled in an attempt to truly improve public health.

Black and minority ethnic communities are at higher risk of mental health problems. We explore differences in mental health and the influence of social capital among ethnic minority groups in Great Britain. Cross-sectional linear and logistic regression analysis of data from Wave 6 (2014–2016) of the Understanding Society databases. In unadjusted models testing the likelihood of reporting psychological distress (i) comparing against a white (British) reference population Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and mixed ethnic minority groups recorded excess levels of distress; and (ii) increasing levels of social capital recorded a strong protective effect (OR = 0.94: 95% CI 0.935, 0.946). In a subsequent series of gender-specific incremental logistic models-after adjustment for sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors Pakistani (males and females) and Indian females recorded higher likelihoods of psychological distress, and the further inclusion of social capital in these models did not materially alter these results. More research on the definition, measurement and distribution of social capital as applies to ethnic minority groups in Great Britain, and how it influences mental wellbeing is needed.