Ali Farhad, Shet Arun, Yan Weirong, Al-Maniri Abdullah, Atkins Salla, Lucas Henry
Health Advisor, Save the Children, Delhi, India.
Hematology Research Division, St. Johns Research Institute Department of Medical Oncology, St. Johns Medical College and Hospital, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore, 560034, India.
Health Res Policy Syst. 2017 Sep 2;15(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s12961-017-0225-5.
Research capacity is scarce in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. Social determinants of health research (SDH) is an area in which research capacity is lacking, particularly in Asian countries. SDH research can support health decision-makers, inform policy and thereby improve the overall health and wellbeing of the population. In order to continue building this capacity, we need to know to what extent training exists and how challenges could be addressed from the perspective of students and staff. This paper aims to describe the challenges involved in training scholars to undertake research on the SDH in four Asian countries - China, India, Oman and Vietnam.
In-depth interviews were conducted with research scholars, research supervisors and principal investigators (n = 13) at ARCADE partner institutions, which included eight universities and research institutes. In addition, structured questionnaires (n = 70) were used to collect quantitative data relating to the courses available, teaching and supervisory capacity, and related issues for students being trained in research on SDH. Simple descriptive statistics were calculated from the quantitative data and thematic analysis applied to the qualitative data.
We identified a general lack of training courses focusing on SDH. Added to this, PhD students studying related areas reported inadequate supervision, with limited time allocated to meetings and poor interpersonal communication. Supervisors cited interpersonal communication problems and student lack of skills to perform high quality research as challenges to research training. Further challenges reported included a lack of research funding to include SDH-related topics. Finally, it was suggested that there was a need for institutions to define clear and appropriate standards regarding admission and supervision of students to higher education programs awarding doctoral degrees.
There are gaps in training for research on the SDH at the surveyed universities and research institutes, which are likely to also be present in other Asian countries and their higher education institutions. Some of the barriers to high quality research and research training can be addressed by improved training for supervisors, clearly defined standards of supervision, finances for student stipends, and increased use of information and communication technology to increase access to teaching materials. Increased opportunities for online learning could be provided.
中低收入国家（LMIC）的研究能力匮乏。健康研究的社会决定因素（SDH）领域缺乏研究能力，在亚洲国家尤为如此。SDH研究可为健康决策者提供支持，为政策提供信息，从而改善民众的整体健康和福祉。为了持续培养这方面的能力，我们需要了解现有培训的程度以及如何从学生和工作人员的角度应对挑战。本文旨在描述在四个亚洲国家（中国、印度、阿曼和越南）培训学者开展SDH研究所涉及的挑战。
对ARCADE合作伙伴机构的研究学者、研究导师和首席研究员（n = 13）进行了深入访谈，这些机构包括八所大学和研究机构。此外，还使用了结构化问卷（n = 70）来收集与现有课程、教学和指导能力以及接受SDH研究培训的学生的相关问题有关的定量数据。从定量数据中计算简单描述性统计量，并对定性数据进行主题分析。
我们发现普遍缺乏专注于SDH的培训课程。此外，学习相关领域的博士生报告称指导不足，分配给会议的时间有限且人际沟通不佳。导师指出人际沟通问题以及学生缺乏进行高质量研究的技能是研究培训面临的挑战。报告的其他挑战包括缺乏涵盖SDH相关主题的研究资金。最后，有人建议各机构需要为授予博士学位的高等教育项目的学生录取和指导制定明确且适当的标准。
在接受调查的大学和研究机构中，SDH研究培训存在差距，其他亚洲国家及其高等教育机构可能也存在这种情况。一些高质量研究和研究培训的障碍可以通过改进对导师的培训、明确界定的指导标准、学生助学金资金以及增加使用信息通信技术以增加获取教材的机会来解决。可以提供更多在线学习机会。
