Sharing best practice around the world
WWARN is co-funding the development of a range of short online courses designed to meet the training needs of malaria research teams worldwide. The e-learning courses are part of a free, comprehensive resource library to expand the professional skills and knowledge of all staff, regardless of location or disease speciality.
The courses are being developed by Global Health Trials in partnership with WWARN and the East African Consortium for Clinical Research to offer training opportunities for all levels and roles of clinical research staff.
To complement these training resources Global Health Trials has developed a Professional Membership Scheme, launched at the recent European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) Forum in Ethiopia. Co-hosted by WWARN, the event focused on professional recognition, career development and training for clinical trial investigators and staff. WWARN Regional Directors, Drs Ambrose Talisuna and Louis Penali, described how our capacity building work in Africa dovetails with that of Global Health Trials to improve the quality of antimalarial drug efficacy assessment.
The first of many short courses are now available free of charge, via the WWARN Learning Centre or the Global Health Trials website. These include:
• Introduction to Clinical Research
• Setting the Research Question
• The Research Protocol – part one and two
Global Health Trials is a free, open-access collaborative programme that aims to facilitate the conduct of non-commercial clinical trials across all diseases in resource-poor settings by providing guidance, support and sharing of best practice.
Global Health Trials Principal Investigator, Dr Trudie Lang said: "Our concept is straightforward - there are many excellent clinical research courses being taught face to face across Africa and other regions. We have designed and built a mechanism to convert any training course into an e-learning format which can then be shared more widely through our web platform. By collaborating with WWARN we can share resources and best practise through e-learning to meet the needs of malaria research staff in all settings."
Prof. Gilbert Kokwaro, Director of the Kenya-based Consortium for National Health Research, welcomed the launch of this comprehensive resource library.
"Recent advances in IT have revolutionised communication in areas that were once regarded as information deserts, including parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Taking advantage of this technology to support capacity building and information sharing is something that needs to be encouraged and supported. This is why the partnership between Global Health Trials and WWARN to develop an e-learning platform, freely accessible even by researchers in remote parts of the globe, is commendable and should be supported.”
Among the courses planned for the future is an e-learning version of the WHO Microscopy Guide for malaria researchers. Global Health Trials is also developing a specific, malaria study protocol course, and courses on statistics, data management, good laboratory practice, and clinical research organisation and management.
Clinical trial staff are encouraged to register for the Professional Membership Scheme, which supports career development by tracking and guiding training and personal development. This global accreditation scheme enables all levels and roles of staff working in clinical research to gain professional recognition for the skills and knowledge they gain during their career. For more information visit the Global Health Trials website.