Nyanam International, Kisumu, KE.
Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, US.
Ann Glob Health. 2020 Aug 5;86(1):93. doi: 10.5334/aogh.2933.
Training and mentorship in research skills are essential to developing a critical mass of researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, reporting on the details of such training programs, especially regarding the cost of the training, is limited.
This paper describes a year-long operational research training and mentorship course in Rwanda, implemented between 2013 and 2017.
We describe motivations for the design of the Intermediate Operational Research Training Course (IORT) across four iterations. We also report outputs, evaluate trainee experiences, and estimate training and mentorship costs.
Of the 132 applicants to the course, 55 (41.7%) were selected, and 53 (96.4%) completed the training. The ratio of female-to-male trainees in the course increased from 1:8 in 2013 to 1:3 in 2017. Trainees developed and co-first-authored 28 research manuscripts, 96.4% (n = 27) of which are published in peer-reviewed journals. For the 15 trainees who completed the post-course evaluation, 93.3% and 86.7% reported improvement in their research and analytical skills, respectively. The median cost per trainee to complete the course was US$908 (Range: US$739-US$1,253) and per research project was US$2,708 (US$1,748-US$6,741). The median annual training delivery and mentorship cost was US$47,170 (US$30,563-US$63,849) for a course with a Rwanda-based senior mentor, junior mentor, and training coordinator. The total essential cost for a year-long IORT course with 16 trainees co-leading eight research projects and mentored by two senior and four junior mentors was US$101,254 (US$73,486-US$157,569).
We attribute the high course completion rates, publication rates, and skills acquisition to the learning-by-doing approach and intensive hands-on mentorship provided in the course. IORT was costly and funded through institutional resources and international partnerships. We encourage funders to prioritize comprehensive research capacity-building initiatives that provide intensive mentorship as these are likely to improve the pool of skilled researchers in LMICs.
在低中等收入国家（LMICs）中，培训和指导研究技能对于培养一大批研究人员至关重要。然而，有关此类培训计划的详细信息，尤其是培训成本的报告非常有限。
本文介绍了 2013 年至 2017 年在卢旺达实施的为期一年的中级操作研究培训和指导课程。
我们描述了四轮迭代中中级操作研究培训课程（IORT）设计的动机。我们还报告了输出，评估学员的经验，并估算培训和指导的成本。
在该课程的 132 名申请者中，有 55 名（41.7％）被选中，其中有 53 名（96.4％）完成了培训。该课程中女性与男性学员的比例从 2013 年的 1：8 增加到 2017 年的 1：3。学员们共开发并共同撰写了 28 篇研究论文，其中 96.4％（n = 27）发表在同行评审期刊上。对于完成课后评估的 15 名学员，分别有 93.3％和 86.7％的学员报告说他们的研究和分析技能有所提高。完成该课程的每位学员的平均费用为 908 美元（范围：739-1253 美元），每个研究项目的平均费用为 2708 美元（范围：1748-6741 美元）。有一名卢旺达高级导师，一名初级导师和一名培训协调员的情况下，每年的培训和指导费用中位数为 47170 美元（30563-63849 美元）。一个为期一年的 IORT 课程，由 16 名学员共同领导 8 个研究项目，并由 2 名高级导师和 4 名初级导师指导，其总费用为 101254 美元（73486-157569 美元）。
我们将高课程完成率，高发表率和技能习得归因于课程中所采用的边做边学的方法和密集的实践指导。IORT 费用昂贵，由机构资源和国际合作伙伴资助。我们鼓励资助者优先考虑全面的研究能力建设计划，这些计划提供密集的指导，因为这可能会增加 LMICs 中熟练研究人员的人数。
