"The need to build the capacity for programmatically relevant OR is as pressing as ever," says TREAT TB Director Dr I.D. Rusen, who facilitates the course. "To have the widest reach, we need to explore innovative options to bring people together to learn – even when face-to-face learning may not be practical."
As presenter Kathy Callahan explains, "This programme is a great example of a 'blended' learning programme. It offers synchronous virtual sessions, independent work through inter-session course assignments, a course portal to encourage a community of practice and mentors to support participants' progress, all without removing participants from their critical work and family roles".
The course, which began in May 2013 and will end in June 2014, is designed to train participants to conduct a research study and generate evidence needed by their national tuberculosis programme or ministry of health. It provides one-on-one mentoring along with lectures in study design, sampling methods and manuscript writing, among other subjects.
"This platform is a unique and effective way of training global health professionals in OR, and the best thing is we get to be mentored by world-class research scientists", said participant Sree T. Sucharita, Assistant Professor at Tagore Medical College & Hospital in India. "I'm excited to be a part of this programme and am already learning the critical skills and competencies that go into designing OR projects".
For more information, please visit TREAT TB.