All of the 12 participants successfully completed their own research protocols by the end of the week and had submitted them to The Union Ethics Advisory Group within the following two weeks. Protocols are now undergoing local ethics review. Research topics include TB, HIV, non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, human resource management and nutrition.
Participants are from the NTP, Fiji National University, the Ministry of Health, the Fiji Red Cross Society and WHO. They include nurses, physicians, public health personnel and data managers. Facilitators were from The Union, the University of Auckland, New Zealand and the Woolcock Institute, Australia.
In the next module, which will be held in February 2012, participants will learn how to set up an electronic system for data entry and analysis. They will then return in September 2012 to undertake module 3 with their data collected and analysed. In that final module they will learn how to write their own scientific paper that must then submitted within four weeks to a peer-reviewed journal to complete the course. In this way, the participants take their operational research studies through from start to finish.
Module 1 was preceded by a two-day symposium on operational research hosted at Fiji CMNHS, with presentations from the Fiji CMNHS, the Ministry of Health, The Union, WHO, Fiji NTP, GFATM and the Secretariat of Pacific Community. The event was open to all and gained wide coverage in the local media.
The curriculum for the three-module OR course was developed by The Union and Médecins Sans Frontières–Luxembourg. It has also been offered in France, Luxembourg and India.