Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of employee resource groups (ERGs) in a multi-national, for-profit corporation. The paper focuses on how ERGs facilitate learning. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study approach was used to examine six social identity based ERGs in one multi-national for-profit organization headquartered in the USA. Findings The study found that ERGs facilitate learning and development activities in order to support their membership. ERGs, operating as communities of practice, also engaged in informal learning opportunities that were designed to shift perspectives of non-members and executive-level leaders in the organization. Originality/value There is a growing body of literature on ERGs across organizations and higher education that examine how these groups engage in activism, advocacy, recruitment, retention and education. This study examines the processes by which these groups facilitate learning and development activities and the benefits perceived by the membership. The paper provides value to human resources professionals and others who are interested in how ERGs function as learning communities and outcomes the membership perceive as most important.

Mentoring can help leaders to develop a critical consciousness which incorporates a critical analysis that fosters understanding of structural and institutional stances that impact social determinants of health, access to healthcare, and health outcomes.

The number of health professions education programs continues to increase across the United States and globally, but unequal access to healthcare remains a pressing issue. Health professions education has shifted from a first-generation approach, centered on didactic teaching, to a second-generation approach, centered on problem-based learning. In a Lancet paper, Frenk and colleagues argued for the incorporation of a transformative paradigm within health professions education facilitating the move towards the third generation of health professions education. Drawing on Mezirow and Freire, they argued for the incorporation of a transformative paradigm to improve health professions education by better aligning medical education and population needs. This chapter examines how a transformative approach to health professions education could be implemented and where it would be most effective. It also looks at how a transformative paradigm within health professions education could provide an additional lens to understand health disparities, structural inequity, and diversity.

The purpose of this paper is to present a scale that captures employee perceptions of the efficacy of employee resource groups (ERGs). The study aimed to develop a perceptions of employee resource groups scale. The authors recruited data from 268 participants from a for-profit organization in the United States. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the factor structure of the ERGS. Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of each factor. The exploratory factor analysis identified 2 factors: employee resource group outcomes, and supervisory support. There is a growing body of research that examines the activities and the efficacy of employee resource groups within for-profit organizations. There is not a validated scale that measures perceptions of the outcomes of ERGs and how supervisory support influences the employees' participation in the ERGs.

Background: Mountain settings are characterised by limited access to reproductive, maternal and child health services. The scope of health research in these communities limits understanding of contextual needs that are critical in the implementation of effective health programmes. Aims: To establish the family planning needs among couples residing on the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains in Kasese District, western Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered questionnaire surveyed 400 couples in the mountainous sub-counties of Kilembe and Mahango between June and July 2015. Simple descriptive statistics were used to describe participants' family planning needs. Findings: The majority of the participants (66%) were female. On average every couple had 5 children and 35.5% wanted no additional children. While all participants knew of at least one method of contraception, 32.5% did not know where to obtain family planning services. Use of contraception was 16.3%. Only 2 in 10 individuals who reported wanting no additional children reported using any method. Conclusions: There is low contraceptive use and a high unmet need for family planning among couples residing on the slopes of Rwenzori Mountain in Kasese district. Just over one-third of participants were unaware of where to obtain family planning services. These findings have important implications for effective family planning programmes for mountain residents with low levels of education.