Building capacity in international health research An institutional perspective Gareth Knight London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Data Dialogue: When research crosses borders September 29th, 2016

Capacity Building activities

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Research and postgraduate education university specializing in public health and tropical medicine Performs research that addresses public & global health needs Recognised as one of world’s highest rated universities for collaborative research 4000 students & 1,500 staff working in 100+ countries Share expertise to strengthen health research capability globally

Researcher challenges Health research is performed in a complex environment Build project consortium: International collaboration between organisations of diverse structure and capability Consortium agreement Determine research environment: Often performed in health research centres in resource-poor settings But analysis may be performed elsewhere – problematic? Address legal and regulatory obligations: Laws, regulations, ethical codes, etc. for for work with human participants As well as other requirements: Institutional requirements – ethic, SOPs, etc. Funder/publisher data sharing expectations

Each country has specific requirements Research in situ Each country has specific requirements Regulatory environment: Emerging laws and regulations Specific requirements Absence of legal framework Is it ethical to apply UK practices onto other countries? Local needs: Health benefits for local population Support local researchers/community RDA recommendations for data harmonization are a good starting point

Infrastructure Researcher often work in health research centres in resource-poor settings Varying resources available to the researcher: An electrical generator? Network coverage? Computers, data centre and other resources? Professional data managers? What must the researcher bring? How does it affect data management practice?

IDEAS Project Aims: Collected data on pregnancies, deliveries and newborn care through household survey interviewing women of child-bearing age in Ethiopia (and elsewhere) 80 randomly sampled clusters 75 households per clusters (6,000 in total) 12 survey teams, each with 6 interviewers and one supervisor Capture hardware: 84 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (units, cases, extra batteries + import duties) Survey implemented in CSPro Data held on device & transferred to central storage system at end of day

Building capacity for new research UK development: Repurposing used tablets/phones in new projects, e.g. PhD, funded Open Data Kit (ODK) server for collection & storage on LSHTM servers Overseas development: Establish & enhance technical infrastructure for project collaborators & overseas staff Pay for visit UK to undertake training & attend meetings

Enhancing existing data Routinely collected, administrative and other legacy data often used in research Open-ended and occasionally updated over time Discrepancies emerge over time Survey instruments Variable definitions Selection rules for sub-population Rules and procedures Existing and emerging initiatives to harmonise and improve quality (e.g. using DDI) However, sharing health data remains challenging due geographic & content sensitivities

Building for the future Need for cross-governmental work to establish and harmonise laws and regulations related to health research CODATA Legal Interoperability WG report is extremely useful! Universities and other institutions should collaborate with overseas partners to improve data management infrastructure in developing countries Link-up with international initiatives (CODATA, Open Data for Development and others) Address issues related to restricted health data Build data management support network for everyone (not just dev. Countries): Explore career paths, training opportunities and support for Data Managers in country Knowledge sharing activities Networks / support groups with regular meetings – ADMIT

Thank You for your attention! Questions

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