Building capacity for clinical research in developing countries: the INDOX Cancer Research Network experience

Building a 'Virtual Library': continuing a global collaboration to strengthen research capacity within Nepal and other low- and middle-income countries

To fill the gap in health research capacity-building efforts, we created the ‘Virtual Library’ (VL) – a web-based repository of context-relevant resources for health researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper describes the participatory process used to systematically develop the VL, and describes how our interprofessional team – representing both an LMIC (Nepal) and a high-income country (HIC) (USA, US) – engaged in shared meaning-making. A team of researchers and clinicians representing a range of subdisciplines from Nepal and the US created a replicable search strategy and standardized Resource Screening Guide (RSG) to systematically assess resources to be included within the VL. Descriptive methods were used to summarize findings from the RSG and lessons learned from the collaborative process. Collectively, 14 team members reviewed 564 potential resources (mean = 40, SD = 22.7). Mean RSG score was 7.02/10 (SD = 2). More than 76% of resources met each of the four quality criteria (relevant; reputable, accessible; understandable). Within the published VL, 298 resources were included, organized by 15 topics and 45 sub-topics. Of these, 223 resources were evaluated by the RSG; 75 were identified by team member expertise. The collaborative process involved regular meetings, iterative document revisions, and peer review. Resource quality was better than expected, perhaps because best practices/principles related to health research are universally relevant, regardless of context. While the RSG was essential to systematize our search and ensure reproducibility, team member expertise was valuable. Pairing team members during peer-review led to bi-directional knowledge sharing and was particularly successful. This work reflects a highly collaborative global partnership and offers a model for future health research capacity-building efforts. We invite engagement with the Virtual Library <https://lmicresearch.org> as one supportive pillar of infrastructure to develop individual and institutional research capacity.

Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure in Latin American and the Caribbean Populations: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Multiple epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to pesticides is associated with adverse health outcomes. However, the literature on pesticide-related health effects in the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region, an area of intensive agricultural and residential pesticide use, is sparse. We conducted a scoping review to describe the current state of research on the health effects of pesticide exposure in LAC populations with the goal of identifying knowledge gaps and research capacity building needs.

METHODS

We searched PubMed and SciELO for epidemiological studies on pesticide exposure and human health in LAC populations published between January 2007 and December 2021. We identified 233 publications from 16 countries that met our inclusion criteria and grouped them by health outcome (genotoxicity, neurobehavioral outcomes, placental outcomes and teratogenicity, cancer, thyroid function, reproductive outcomes, birth outcomes and child growth, and others).

RESULTS

Most published studies were conducted in Brazil (37%, n = 88 ) and Mexico (20%, n = 46 ), were cross-sectional in design (72%, n = 167 ), and focused on farmworkers (45%, n = 105 ) or children (21%, n = 48 ). The most frequently studied health effects included genotoxicity (24%, n = 62 ) and neurobehavioral outcomes (21%, n = 54 ), and organophosphate (OP) pesticides were the most frequently examined (26%, n = 81 ). Forty-seven percent (n = 112 ) of the studies relied only on indirect pesticide exposure assessment methods. Exposure to OP pesticides, carbamates, or to multiple pesticide classes was consistently associated with markers of genotoxicity and adverse neurobehavioral outcomes, particularly among children and farmworkers.

DISCUSSION

Our scoping review provides some evidence that exposure to pesticides may adversely impact the health of LAC populations, but methodological limitations and inconsistencies undermine the strength of the conclusions. It is critical to increase capacity building, integrate research initiatives, and conduct more rigorous epidemiological studies in the region to address these limitations, better inform public health surveillance systems, and maximize the impact of research on public policies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9934.

Capacity Building for a New Multicenter Network Within the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network

Introduction: Research capacity building is a critical component of professional development for pediatrician scientists, yet this process has been elusive in the literature. The ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) seeks to implement pediatric trials across medically underserved and rural populations. A key component of achieving this objective is building pediatric research capacity, including enhancement of infrastructure and faculty development. This article presents findings from a site assessment inventory completed during the initial year of the ISPCTN. Methods: An assessment inventory was developed for surveying ISPCTN sites. The inventory captured site-level activities designed to increase clinical trial research capacity for pediatrician scientists and team members. The inventory findings were utilized by the ISPCTN Data Coordinating and Operations Center to construct training modules covering 3 broad domains: Faculty/coordinator development; Infrastructure; Trials/Research concept development. Results: Key lessons learned reveal substantial participation in the training modules, the importance of an inventory to guide the development of trainings, and recognizing local barriers to clinical trials research. Conclusions: Research networks that seek to implement successfully completed trials need to build capacity across and within the sites engaged. Our findings indicate that building research capacity is a multi-faceted endeavor, but likely necessary for sustainability of a unique network addressing high impact pediatric health problems. The ISPCTN emphasis on building and enhancing site capacity, including pediatrician scientists and team members, is critical to successful trial implementation/completion and the production of findings that enhance the lives of children and families.

A narrative review of health research capacity strengthening in low and middle-income countries: lessons for conflict-affected areas

Conducting health research in conflict-affected areas and other complex environments is difficult, yet vital. However, the capacity to undertake such research is often limited and with little translation into practice, particularly in poorer countries. There is therefore a need to strengthen health research capacity in conflict-affected countries and regions.In this narrative review, we draw together evidence from low and middle-income countries to highlight challenges to research capacity strengthening in conflict, as well as examples of good practice. We find that authorship trends in health research indicate global imbalances in research capacity, with implications for the type and priorities of research produced, equity within epistemic communities and the development of sustainable research capacity in low and middle-income countries. Yet, there is little evidence on what constitutes effective health research capacity strengthening in conflict-affected areas. There is more evidence on health research capacity strengthening in general, from which several key enablers emerge: adequate and sustained financing; effective stewardship and equitable research partnerships; mentorship of researchers of all levels; and effective linkages of research to policy and practice.Strengthening health research capacity in conflict-affected areas needs to occur at multiple levels to ensure sustainability and equity. Capacity strengthening interventions need to take into consideration the dynamics of conflict, power dynamics within research collaborations, the potential impact of technology, and the wider political environment in which they take place.

Priority setting in head and neck oncology in low-resource environments

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Most information about priority setting comes from developed countries. In low-resource settings, many factors should be considered to select the best candidate for the treatments that are available. The physician is always under pressure to obtain better results in spite of the lower quantity of resources. This exposes physicians to daily ethical dilemmas and increases their anxiety and burnout.

RECENT FINDINGS

Most low-resource settings have restrictions in major treatments, and the number of specialized centers that have all the services is low. The surgeon has to navigate through the system as a patient advocate, taking the responsibilities of other health system actors, has to 'negotiate' to design a treatment based on outdated results or to wait for new results and has to decide whether to start or to wait for other treatments to be ready to comply with protocol recommendations.

SUMMARY

The surgeons face the dilemma of offering the best treatment with scarce resources but with a higher possibility of completion. Finally, we must do the best we can with what we have.

Key factors of clinical research network capacity building

In general, clinical research network capacity building refers to programs aimed at enhancing networks of researchers to conduct clinical research. Although in the literature there is a large body of research on how to develop and build capacity in clinical research networks, the conceptualizations and implementations remain controversial and challenging. Moreover, the experiences learnt from the past accomplishments and failures can assist in the future capacity building efforts to be more practical, effective and efficient. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of capacity building in clinical research network by (1) identifying the key barriers to clinical research network capacity building, (2) providing insights into how to overcome those obstacles, and (3) sharing our experiences in collaborating with national and international partners to build capacity in clinical research networks. In conclusion, we have provided some insight into how to address the key factors of clinical research network capacity building and shared some empirical experiences. A successful capacity building practice requires a joint endeavor to procure sufficient resources and support from the relevant stakeholders, to ensure its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability.

Clinical stroke research in resource limited settings: Tips and hints

Background Most stroke research is conducted in high income countries, yet most stroke occurs in low- and middle-income countries. There is an urgent need to build stroke research capacity in low- and middle-income countries. Aims To review the global health literature on how to improve research capacity in low- and middle-income countries, provide additional data from the recently completed ATTEND Trial and provide examples from our own experience. Summary of review The main themes from our literature review were: manpower and workload, research training, research question and methodology and research funding. The literature and our own experience emphasized the importance of local stakeholders to ensure that the research was appropriate, that there were robust local ethics and regulatory processes, and research was conducted by trained personnel. Research training opportunities can be developed locally, or internationally, with many international schemes available to help support new researchers from low- and middle-income country settings. International collaboration can successfully leverage funding from high income countries that not only generate data for the local country, but also provide new data appropriate to high income countries. Conclusions Building stroke research capacity in low- and middle-income countries will be vital in improving global health given the huge burden of stroke in these countries.

Effects of statins on cancer mortality and progression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 95 cohorts including 1,111,407 individuals

Statins have been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis and tumor progression in cancer patients and statin use at the time of cancer diagnosis has been reported to be associated with reduced cancer risk and improved survival, irrespective of concomitant anti-cancer therapy. A systematic literature search of relevant databases through May 2015 was conducted to identify studies assessing the prognostic impact of statin use on prognostic outcomes in cancer patients. Literature search identified 95 cohort studies that met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of 55 articles showed that statin use was significantly associated with decreased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.70, 95% Cl 0.66 to 0.74) compared with nonusers. The observed pooled estimates were retained for cancer-specific mortality (HR 0.60, 95% Cl 0.47 to 0.77), progression-free survival (HR 0.67, 95% Cl 0.56 to 0.81), recurrence-free survial (HR 0.74, 95% Cl 0.65 to 0.83) and disease-free survival (HR 0.53, 95% Cl 0.40 to 0.72). These associations almost remained consistent across those outcomes when stratified by publication type, tumour location, study design, sample size, initiation of statins, disease stage, research country, follow-up duration or research hospital involved. Subgroup analyses according to initiation of statins showed postdiagnosis statin users (HR 0.65, 95% Cl 0.54 to 0.79) gained significantly more recurrence-free survival benefit than prediagnosis statin users (HR 0.86, 95% Cl 0.77 to 0.96) (p for interaction = 0.018). Statin therapy has potential survival benefit for patients with malignancy. Further large-scale prospective studies emphasising survival outcomes of individual cancer type are strongly encouraged.

Establishing a Cancer Research Consortium in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges Faced and Lessons Learned

PURPOSE

There is an increasing effort in the global public health community to strengthen research capacity in low- and middle-income countries, but there is no consensus on how best to approach such endeavors. Successful consortia that perform research on HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases exist, but few papers have been published detailing the challenges faced and lessons learned in setting up and running a successful research consortium.

METHODS

Members of the African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO) participated in generating lessons learned regarding the foundation and maintenance of a cancer research consortium in Nigeria.

RESULTS

Drawing on our experience of founding ARGO, we describe steps and key factors needed to establish a successful collaborative consortium between researchers from both high- and low-income countries. In addition, we present challenges we encountered in building our consortium, and how we managed those challenges. Although our research group is focused primarily on cancer, many of our lessons learned can be applied more widely in biomedical or public health research in low-income countries.

CONCLUSIONS

As the need for cancer care in LMICs continues to grow, the ability to create sustainable, innovative, collaborative research groups will become vital. Assessing the successes and failures that occur in creating and sustaining research consortia in LMICs is important for expansion of research and training capacity in LMICs.

Health research capacity development in low and middle income countries: reality or rhetoric? A systematic meta-narrative review of the qualitative literature

OBJECTIVES

Locally led health research in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is critical for overcoming global health challenges. Yet, despite over 25 years of international efforts, health research capacity in LMICs remains insufficient and development attempts continue to be fragmented. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and critically examine the main approaches and trends in health research capacity development and consolidate key thinking to identify a more coherent approach.

METHODS

This review includes academic and grey literature published between January 2000 and July 2013. Using a predetermined search strategy, we systematically searched PubMed, hand-searched Google Scholar and checked reference lists. This process yielded 1668 papers. 240 papers were selected based on a priori criteria. A modified version of meta-narrative synthesis was used to analyse the papers.

RESULTS

3 key narratives were identified: the effect of power relations on capacity development; demand for stronger links between research, policy and practice and the importance of a systems approach. Capacity development was delivered through 4 main modalities: vertical research projects, centres of excellence, North-South partnerships and networks; all were controversial, and each had their strengths and weaknesses. A plurality of development strategies was employed to address specific barriers to health research. However, lack of empirical research and monitoring and evaluation meant that their effectiveness was unclear and learning was weak.

CONCLUSIONS

There has been steady progress in LMIC health research capacity, but major barriers to research persist and more empirical evidence on development strategies is required. Despite an evolution in development thinking, international actors continue to use outdated development models that are recognised as ineffective. To realise newer development thinking, research capacity outcomes need to be equally valued as research outputs. While some development actors are now adopting this dedicated capacity development approach, they are in the minority.

Organizing the Donation of Convalescent Plasma for a Therapeutic Clinical Trial on Ebola Virus Disease: The Experience in Guinea

Although convalescent plasma (CP) transfusion was prioritized among potential Ebola treatments by the World Health Organization, there were concerns on the feasibility of its implementation. We report on the successful organization of donor mobilization and plasma collection as part of the Ebola-Tx clinical trial from November 2014 to July 2015 in Conakry, Guinea. Project implementation registers, tools and reports, mission reports, and minutes of research team meetings were used to reconstruct the sequence of events on how donor mobilization was organized, plasmapheresis was set up, and how effective this approach was in collecting CP. An initial needs assessment of the Guinean National Blood Transfusion Center resulted in targeted training of staff on site, resulting in autonomy and independent production of CP within 3 months. The Conakry Ebola Survivors Association played a direct role in donor mobilization and organization of CP donations. A total of 98 Ebola survivors were screened for plasma donation, of which 84 were found eligible for plasmapheresis. Of these, 26 (30.9%) were excluded. The remaining 58 donors made a total of 90 donations, corresponding to 50.9 L of CP. This sufficed to treat the 99 eligible patients enrolled in the trial. Within a poor resource emergency context, transfusion capacity could be rapidly improved through the strengthening of local capacities and gradual transfer of skills coupled with active involvement of Ebola survivors. However, large-scale plasma collection or multisite studies may require further adaptations of both strategy and logistics. The Ebola-Tx trial was funded by the European Union and others.

Smokeless tobacco and oral cancer in South Asia: a systematic review with meta-analysis

Introduction. Smokeless tobacco is considered one of the major risk factors for oral cancer. It is estimated that over 90% of the global smokeless tobacco use burden is in South Asia. This paper aims to systematically review publications reporting epidemiological observational studies published in South Asia from 1984 till 2013. Methods. An electronic search in "Medline" and "ISI Web of Knowledge" yielded 734 publications out of which 21 were included in this review. All publications were assessed for quality using a standard quality assessment tool. Effect estimates (odds ratios (OR)) were abstracted or calculated from the given data. A random effects meta-analysis was performed to assess the risk of oral cancer with the use of different forms of smokeless tobacco. Results and Conclusion. The pooled OR for chewing tobacco and risk of oral cancer was 4.7 [3.1-7.1] and for paan with tobacco and risk of oral cancer was 7.1 [4.5-11.1]. The findings of this study suggest a strong causal link between oral cancer and various forms of smokeless tobacco. Public health policies in affected countries should consider SLT specific cessation programs in addition to campaigns and activities incorporated into smoking cessation programs.

Building capacity for clinical research in developing countries: the INDOX Cancer Research Network experience

Transnational Organisations increasingly prioritise the need to support local research capacity in low and middle income countries in order that local priorities are addressed with due consideration of contextual issues. There remains limited evidence on the best way in which this should be done or the ways in which external agencies can support this process.

We present an analysis of the learning from the INDOX Research Network, established in 2005 as a partnership between the Institute of Cancer Medicine at the University of Oxford and India's top nine comprehensive cancer centres. INDOX aims to enable Indian centres to conduct clinical research to the highest international standards; to ensure that trials are developed to address the specific needs of Indian patients by involving Indian investigators from the outset; and to provide the training to enable them to design and conduct their own studies. We report on the implementation, outputs and challenges of simultaneously trying to build capacity and deliver meaningful research output.