This abbreviated press release describes a recent case study published in the journal Academic Medicine. This story was also reprinted in: Aids Alert, RxPG News, The JHU Gazette, News Rx, Medical News Today, Science News Daily, Regulatory Affairs Professional Society, and Medworm.
When African professionals migrate to the United States or Europe, it's often called brain drain. In the world of research ethics, at least one training program is causing the opposite effect. Now entering its eighth year of operation, the Johns Hopkins-Fogarty African Bioethics Training Program (JH-FABTP) is the subject of a sweeping new case study published in the July 2007 issue of Academic Medicine. For the first time, the case study reveals some potent lessons in what it takes to deliver a successful, cross-cultural ethics training program.
The study describes the JH-FABTP in detail, assesses its outputs during four years, and analyzes the implications of the current model for further growth of this and similar programs. Program assessment is based on curriculum materials; application records; informal progress notes and evaluations; transcripts from the trainees’ coursework; resumes; and formal progress reports submitted by trainees. The framework used to assess the program is a systems approach, which explores inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of the training.
The JH-FABTP has largely been successful in providing research ethics education and motivating trainees to contribute in the field of research ethics in their countries. "We initially sought to increase the critical mass of African individuals professionally trained in ethics," said Nancy Kass, ScD, deputy director for public health at the Berman Institute of Bioethics and the program's director. "But it also turns out that our trainees are making institutional changes to policies, drafting new guidelines, and generally raising awareness of the need to support research ethics. And some trainees are not just doing these things in their home countries, but throughout the continent."
After studying in Baltimore for six months under the supervision of a mentor with similar research interests, trainees return to Africa to begin a six month practicum on the topic of their choice related to the ethics of research. "During the practicum, trainees implement all they have learned in the classroom," said Adnan Hyder, MD, MPH, PhD, the program's co-director and an associate professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "The last half of the program attempts to mitigate a familiar problem for researchers in Africa: trying to borrow principles of ethical review from developed countries. Instead, trainees contribute to the research ethics capacity of their home country by setting the agenda themselves. The process transforms students into effective researchers and advocates for the kind of research ethics that will actually work in their own countries."
In a region devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the trainees provide encouraging evidence of accomplishment in the global effort to work collaboratively with African professionals to develop their own ethics-based research methods. However, despite considerable successes, the program has encountered some expected and unexpected challenges. The Academic Medicine article demonstrates the importance of maintaining regular contact with trainees upon their return, particularly as many of these trainees face several other professional demands when they return home. The program’s directors have also learned to require monthly progress reports and to finance each practicum in stages to ensure timely completion.
The study describes the JH-FABTP in detail, assesses its outputs during four years, and analyzes the implications of the current model for further growth of this and similar programs. Program assessment is based on curriculum materials; application records; informal progress notes and evaluations; transcripts from the trainees’ coursework; resumes; and formal progress reports submitted by trainees. The framework used to assess the program is a systems approach, which explores inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of the training.
The JH-FABTP has largely been successful in providing research ethics education and motivating trainees to contribute in the field of research ethics in their countries. "We initially sought to increase the critical mass of African individuals professionally trained in ethics," said Nancy Kass, ScD, deputy director for public health at the Berman Institute of Bioethics and the program's director. "But it also turns out that our trainees are making institutional changes to policies, drafting new guidelines, and generally raising awareness of the need to support research ethics. And some trainees are not just doing these things in their home countries, but throughout the continent."
After studying in Baltimore for six months under the supervision of a mentor with similar research interests, trainees return to Africa to begin a six month practicum on the topic of their choice related to the ethics of research. "During the practicum, trainees implement all they have learned in the classroom," said Adnan Hyder, MD, MPH, PhD, the program's co-director and an associate professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "The last half of the program attempts to mitigate a familiar problem for researchers in Africa: trying to borrow principles of ethical review from developed countries. Instead, trainees contribute to the research ethics capacity of their home country by setting the agenda themselves. The process transforms students into effective researchers and advocates for the kind of research ethics that will actually work in their own countries."
In a region devastated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the trainees provide encouraging evidence of accomplishment in the global effort to work collaboratively with African professionals to develop their own ethics-based research methods. However, despite considerable successes, the program has encountered some expected and unexpected challenges. The Academic Medicine article demonstrates the importance of maintaining regular contact with trainees upon their return, particularly as many of these trainees face several other professional demands when they return home. The program’s directors have also learned to require monthly progress reports and to finance each practicum in stages to ensure timely completion.
The full article can be found free of charge at www.academicmedicine.org
Hyder, Adnan A., Harrison, Rachel A., Kass, Nancy, Maman, Suzanne, “A Case Study of Research Ethics Capacity Development in Africa,” Academic Medicine, 2007; 82:675–683.
1 comment:
Kindly give an update on any bioethics meeting or training that is scheduled for this year or next year within in Africa, especially East Africa.
Thank you for the good work, keep on.
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