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Strengthening the core health research capacity of national health systems helps build country resilience to epidemics: a cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT: Background: TDR, The Special Programme for Research and Training hosted at the World Health Organization, has long supported Low- and Middle-Income Countries in strengthening research capacity through three training programmes: the Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS), the Clinical Research and Development Fellowship (CRDF), and the Structured Operational Research Training InitiaTive (SORT IT). In the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed whether those trained through these programmes were involved in the COVID-19 response and if so, in which area(s) of the emergency response they were applying their skills. Methods: From the records for each training programme, we identified the individuals who had completed training during the relevant timespan of each programme: 1999-2018 for the CRDF scheme, 2015-2020 for PGTS, and 2009-2019 for SORT-IT. Between March and April 2020, we sent trainees an online questionnaire by e-mail. Results: Out of 1254 trained, 1143 could be contacted and 699 responded to the survey. Of the latter, 411 were involved with the COVID-19 response, of whom 315 (77%) were applying their acquired skills in 85 countries. With some overlap between programmes, 84% of those trained through CRDF were applying their skills in 27 countries, 91% of those trained through PGTS were applying their skills in 19 countries, and through SORT IT, this was 73% in 62 countries. Skills were being applied in various areas of the emergency response, including: emergency preparedness, situation analysis/surveillance, infection control and clinical management, data generation, mitigating the effect of COVID on the health system, and research. Depending on the type of training programme, 26-74% were involved in implementation, operational or clinical research. Conclusion: Research training programmes build research capacity and equip health workers with transferable core competencies and skillsets prior to epidemics. This becomes invaluable in building health system resilience at a time of pandemics.

SUBMITTER: Zachariah R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7308898 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Strengthening the core health research capacity of national health systems helps build country resilience to epidemics: a cross-sectional survey.

Zachariah Rony R Maher Dermot D Aseffa Abraham A Vahedi Mahnaz M Launois Pascal P Khogali Mohammed M Aslanyan Garry G Reeder John C JC

F1000Research 20200609

<b>Background:</b> TDR, The Special Programme for Research and Training hosted at the World Health Organization, has long supported Low- and Middle-Income Countries in strengthening research capacity through three training programmes: the Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS), the Clinical Research and Development Fellowship (CRDF), and the Structured Operational Research Training InitiaTive (SORT IT). In the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed whether those trained through these program ...[more]

PMID: 32595962

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Project description:IntroductionTransitional-aged youths (17-to-24-years-old) are prone to mental-health problems. Students in higher education, especially medical students, are more exposed to stressors and thus need training to increase resilience. However, there have been limited mental-health strengthening modules specifically developed for medical students of transitional age, and none in Indonesia. This study intends to test the effectiveness of an online mental-health strengthening module in altering resilience.MethodsA pragmatic randomized trial with repeated measurements was employed to evaluate biopsychosocial outcomes of resilience. The intervention module was delivered in 4 weeks to 105 eligible students. Participants were divided into intervention group (n = 52) and control group (n = 53). Outcomes were measured in the 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks. Primary outcome was resilience level as measured by Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) were utilized to measure stress, depression and anxiety. Knowledge and attitude toward mental-health were also measured through validated questionnaires. Stress levels of participants were measured biologically by measuring salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels at the baseline and 12th-week.ResultsCompared to the control group, there were no significant difference in resilience score of the intervention group compared to control group [F(1, 103) = 2.243, P = .137]; however, there was a significant main effect of time [F(3, 309) = 18.191, P < .001] and interaction effect between intervention and time in resilience score [F(3, 309) = 5.056, P = .002]. Additionally, compared to the control group, there were significant increases in knowledge [F(1, 103) = 66.805, P < .001], attitudes and behavior towards mental-health [F(1, 103) = 5.191, P = .025], and a significant decrease in stress perception score [F(1, 103) = 27.567, P < .001]. The mean salivary delta cortisol during pre-test and post-test at week 12 in the intervention group showed significant difference (P < .001). However, there was no significant difference in the mean delta salivary alpha-amylase between pre-test and post-test at week 12, both in the intervention and control groups.ConclusionThe mental-health strengthening module was accepted and applicable to first-year medical students and was found to be effective in increasing resilience from various biopsychosocial aspects. It is also advisable to have similar modules throughout the medical school to maintain sustainability.

Project description:Inadequate research capacity impedes the development of evidence-based health programming in sub-Saharan Africa. However, funding for research capacity building (RCB) is often insufficient and restricted, limiting institutions' ability to address current RCB needs. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's African Health Initiative (AHI) funded Population Health Implementation and Training (PHIT) partnership projects in five African countries (Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia) to implement health systems strengthening initiatives inclusive of RCB.Using Cooke's framework for RCB, RCB activity leaders from each country reported on RCB priorities, activities, program metrics, ongoing challenges and solutions. These were synthesized by the authorship team, identifying common challenges and lessons learned.For most countries, each of the RCB domains from Cooke's framework was a high priority. In about half of the countries, domain specific activities happened prior to PHIT. During PHIT, specific RCB activities varied across countries. However, all five countries used AHI funding to improve research administrative support and infrastructure, implement research trainings and support mentorship activities and research dissemination. While outcomes data were not systematically collected, countries reported holding 54 research trainings, forming 56 mentor-mentee relationships, training 201 individuals and awarding 22 PhD and Masters-level scholarships. Over the 5 years, 116 manuscripts were developed. Of the 59 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals, 29 had national first authors and 18 had national senior authors. Trainees participated in 99 conferences and projects held 37 forums with policy makers to facilitate research translation into policy.All five PHIT projects strongly reported an increase in RCB activities and commended the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for prioritizing RCB, funding RCB at adequate levels and time frames and for allowing flexibility in funding so that each project could implement activities according to their trainees' needs. As a result, many common challenges for RCB, such as adequate resources and local and international institutional support, were not identified as major challenges for these projects. Overall recommendations are for funders to provide adequate and flexible funding for RCB activities and for institutions to offer a spectrum of RCB activities to enable continued growth, provide adequate mentorship for trainees and systematically monitor RCB activities.

Project description:BackgroundA strong health information system (HIS) is one of the essential building blocks for a resilient health system. The Ministry of Health (MOH) of Ethiopia is working on different initiatives to strengthen the national HIS. Among these is the Capacity-Building and Mentorship Partnership (CBMP) Programme in collaboration with public universities in Ethiopia since November 2017. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes and share experiences of the country in working with universities to strengthen the national HIS.MethodsThe study employed a mixed-methods approach that included 247 health organizations (health offices and facilities) of CBMP-implementing woredas (districts) and 23 key informant interviews. The programme focused on capacity-building and mentoring facilities and woreda health offices. The status of HIS was measured using a connected woreda checklist before and after the intervention. The checklist consists of items related to HIS infrastructure, data quality and administrative use. The organizations were classified as emerging, candidate or model based on the score. The findings were triangulated with qualitative data collected through key informant interviews.ResultsThe results showed that the overall score of the HIS implementation was 46.3 before and 74.2 after implementation of the programme. The proportion of model organizations increased from 1.2% before to 31.8% after the programme implementation. The health system-university partnership has provided an opportunity for higher education institutions to understand the health system and tune their curricula to address real-world challenges. The partnership brought opportunities to conduct and produce local- and national-level evidence to improve the HIS. Weak ownership, poor responsiveness and poor perceptions of the programme were mentioned as major challenges in programme implementation.ConclusionThe overall HIS has shown substantial progress in CBMP implementation woredas. A number of facilities became models in a short period of time after the implementation of the programme. The health system-university partnership was found to be a promising approach to improve the national HIS and to share the on-the-ground experiences with the university academicians. However, weak ownership and poor responsiveness to feedback were the major challenges identified as needing more attention in future programme implementation.

Project description:BackgroundMental health problems are a main contributor to the global burden of disease in children and young people within urban environments. In response, the potential of both school- and sport-based mental health promotion interventions has been advocated. However, there exists limited insights into how sport-based interventions can be integrated within school environment. Moreover, there is a need to consider children and young people's specific needs, challenges, and motivations when designing novel mental health promotion interventions.ObjectiveThe Strengthening Mental Health and Resilience Through Schools (SMARTS) project aims to co-design an evidence-informed school-sport-based mental health promotion program. Specific objectives include (1) co-designing a multicomponent program, integrating sport sessions with class-based sessions, and complementing with educational modules for teachers and parents; (2) exploring how the mental health program can be implemented most effectively within the Brussels school system; and (3) conducting preliminary process and outcome testing of the program.MethodsA participatory design framework will be adopted to develop the program. This framework involves end users throughout the entire study process, from problem identification to intervention delivery and evaluation, while at the same time ensuring program development remains directly informed by the available scientific evidence.ResultsParticipant recruitment will commence in September 2023. The full project will be completed by March 2027.ConclusionsWith this intervention, we aim to provide a direct contribution to the promotion of children and young people's mental health within the Brussels school context. At a broader level, conducting and documenting this large participatory design project can, hopefully, inspire other researchers to tailor their mental health programs to specific populations.International registered report identifier (irrid)PRR1-10.2196/49670.

Project description:INTRODUCTION:Disaster research response (DR2) is necessary to answer scientific questions about the environmental health impacts of disasters and the effectiveness of response and recovery strategies. This research explores the preparedness and capacity of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) P30 Core Centers (CCs) to conduct DR2 and engage with communities in the context of disasters. METHODS:In early 2018, we conducted an online survey of CC Directors (n = 16, 69.5% response rate) to identify their DR2 relevant scientific assets, capabilities, and activities. Summary statistics were calculated. We also conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 (69.5%) CC Community Engagement Core directors to identify facilitators and barriers of DR2 community engagement. Interview notes were coded and thematically analyzed. RESULTS:Survey: While 56% of responding CCs reported prior participation in DR2 and preparedness to repurpose funding to support DR2, less than one third reported development of a disaster-specific data collection protocol, deployment plan, or concept of operations plan, participation in an exercise to test DR2 capacity, development of academic partnerships to conduct DR2, development of a process for fast-tracking institutional review board approvals for DR2, or maintenance of formal agreements with state, local, or community-based partner(s). A number of CCs reported developing or considering developing capacity in these areas. Barriers to, and tools and resources to enhance, CC engagement in DR2 were identified. Interviews: Four key components for community engaged DR2 were identified: pre-existing community relationships, responsive research that benefits communities, coordination among researchers, and coordination with community response partners. Several roles for, benefits of, and barriers to Community Engagement Rapid Response Teams (CERRT) were described. CONCLUSIONS:CCs have significant scientific assets and community partnerships that can be leveraged for DR2; however, additional planning is necessary to ensure that these scientific assets and community partnerships are leveraged when disasters strike.

Dataset Information

Strengthening the core health research capacity of national health systems helps build country resilience to epidemics: a cross-sectional survey.

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Strengthening the core health research capacity of national health systems helps build country resilience to epidemics: a cross-sectional survey.

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