IPH staff attend a regional course on Good Health Research Practice

Indonesia trip group photo

Dr. Arun Jithendra, Dr. Praveen Aivalli and Dr. Samantha Lobbo, attended a four day regional course on Good Health Research Practice (GHRP) by the Regional Training Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia from July 27th – 30th, 2015.

The regional course on Good Health Research Practice was jointly organized by the TDR, (the Special program for Research and Training in Tropical diseases) and Regional Training Center Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. The course had participants with diverse backgrounds from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia and India. The facilitators for the course were Varalakshmi Elango and  Patricia Henley from TDR; Yodi Mahendradhata and Riris Andono Ahmad from Regional Training Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM).

The aim of the course was to guide the participants towards having a standardized research protocol that could be used in newer avenues of public health research like implementation research. The course was spread over 4 days with modules comprising of lectures, discussions and group activities. The following topics were covered as the part of the course:

  • Principles of research ethics and quality
  • Study planning and management
  • Informed consent
  • Tools for data collection
  • Tools for study conduct and quality assurance
  • Study sites and study team
  • Organization breakdown structure and Delegation log
  • Study site checklist
  • Data management
  • Quality system
  • Evaluating the research
  • Reporting and Dissemination

The uniqueness of the course lay in the fact that each team were asked to bring their own research protocol. Each group went through each topic of the course viewing it through the lens of their own research protocol. This led to an enriching experience of self-reflection, identifying gaps if any, discuss solution to plug these gaps which we could then implement in our respective projects. The lectures were made interactive by case vignettes during each session which encouraged to bring about different viewpoints that further enhanced the understanding of each topic. Presentations of each protocol helped us understand the varying contexts in which each team was working and helped us realize that there is no single fit solution for even similar problems that could exist in different contexts. Overall the course was a good first step to start looking towards developing standards in newer areas of public health research which could potentially improve the quality of the research being carried out.