Sustainable Research Training and Capacity Building in Liberia for Emerging Viral Epidemics

利比里亚针对新发病毒流行病的可持续研究培训和能力建设

• 批准号: 10168953
• 负责人: VIVEK Ramchandra NERURKAR
• 金额: $ 2.16万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-01 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10168953
• 关键词: Arts; Award; Collaborations; Communities; Containment; Country; Development Plans; Disease; Distance Learning; Early identification; Ebola virus; Educational Curriculum; Educational process of instructing; Epidemic; Epidemiology; Faculty; Future; Goals; Government; Grant; Growth; Health Occupations; Health Professional; Healthcare; Human Resources; Individual; Infrastructure; Institutes; Institution; International; Knowledge; Laboratories; Learning; Liberia; Liberian; Medical Microbiology; Medicine; Mentors; Methods; Needs Assessment; Nurse Midwives; Nurses; Persons; Pharmacists; Pharmacology; Physicians; Process; Recovery; Research; Research Project Grants; Research Training; Resources; Science; Students; Technology; Training; Training Programs; Tropical Medicine; Universities; Viral; Virus; Virus Diseases; War; Writing; base; career development; college; experience; global health; improved; interest; laboratory equipment; multidisciplinary; pandemic disease; response; student training; teacher; virology

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Liberia, a resource rich but economically poor country, continues to struggle with growth and recovery following its 14-year civil war that destroyed its infrastructure. During the recent Ebola virus (EBOV) epidemic, Liberia had fewer than 100 physicians and needed help from the international community for its control. The assistance Liberia received largely improved physical resources (e.g., laboratory equipment and containment facilities), but did not significantly increase human resources. Today, the healthcare workforce has only ~25% of the nurses, midwives, and pharmacists, and 9% of the physicians the country needs. For Liberia to develop sustainable research capacity for early identification and control of emerging viral diseases with the potential for regional and global pandemics, Liberia needs a mechanism to garner students’ interest, and a continuous supply of university-educated students graduating with current knowledge on viruses, epidemiology and how to conduct research. The University of Liberia (UL) is the largest government supported institution in Liberia, and its College of Science and Technology awards Bachelor of Science degrees to students who wish to enter the health professions. Also, UL’s College of Medicine and Tubman Institute of Medicinal Arts train physicians and nurses, respectively. In 2015, UL conducted a needs assessment and developed a strategic academic plan. In response to this plan, faculty in the Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, University of Hawai’i (UH), and the University of Yaoundé 1 (UY) propose to partner with faculty at UL to establish a creative training program with the goal of garnering interest and improving teaching and student learning experience in biomedical sciences at UL, and providing training in the conduct of research on emerging viral epidemics. The planning process has 12 steps: 1) devise a career development plan for faculty; 2) determine how to strengthen the curriculum in virology, emerging epidemic diseases, and research; 3) assess feasibility of long-distance learning between UL and UH; 4) evaluate the possibility of introducing a laboratory-based course entitled “Research on Emerging Epidemic Viruses,” into the curriculum; 5) identify opportunities for students to participate in in-country mentored research projects; 6) investigate other activities for inclusion in a training grant; 7) explore training of Liberian students in Hawai’i; 8) establish south-south academic and research collaboration; 9) identify a method for selecting students for training; 10) assess needs for specific skilled personnel in the Liberian healthcare workforce; 11) identify individuals with multi-disciplinary backgrounds to serve on a Training Advisory Group; and 12) write a D43 application. The ten-person planning committee consists of UL, UH and UY faculty who are teacher-scholars, and their D71 planning efforts are supported by a larger group of faculty with experience in virology, epidemiology and global health research. Strengthening the research capacity at the UL is the only way to guarantee a sustainable cadre of health professionals with research expertise to identify and control future emerging viral epidemics in Liberia.

项目概要/摘要 利比里亚是一个资源丰富但经济贫穷的国家，在经济增长和复苏方面继续苦苦挣扎 利比里亚 14 年内战摧毁了其基础设施。 其医生不到 100 名，需要国际社会的帮助来控制疫情。 利比里亚获得的援助大大改善了物质资源（例如实验室设备和遏制 设施），但并没有显着增加人力资源，如今，医疗保健劳动力仅占约 25%。 利比里亚发展所需的护士、助产士和药剂师以及医生的 9%。 早期识别和控制新出现的病毒性疾病的可持续研究能力具有潜力 针对区域和全球流行病，利比里亚需要一种机制来吸引学生的兴趣，并持续不断地 提供受过大学教育的学生，他们在毕业时掌握了有关病毒、流行病学以及如何应对的最新知识 利比里亚大学 (UL) 是利比里亚最大的政府支持机构，并且 其科学技术学院向希望进入该大学的学生授予理学学士学位 此外，UL 医学院和塔布曼医学艺术学院还培训医生和 2015 年，UL 进行了需求评估并制定了战略学术计划。 为了响应这一计划，热带医学、医学微生物学和药理学系的教员， 夏威夷大学 (UH) 和雅温得第一大学 (UY) 提议与 UL 的教师合作， 建立创意培训计划，以吸引兴趣、提高教学和学生水平为目标 在 UL 学习生物医学科学的经验，并提供进行研究的培训 规划过程有 12 个步骤：1）为教师制定职业发展计划； 2) 确定如何加强病毒学、新发流行病和研究方面的课程；3) 评估 UL 和 UH 之间远程学习的可行性； 4) 评估引入远程学习的可能性； 课程名称为“新流行病毒研究”的实验室课程 5) 确定； 为学生提供参与国内指导研究项目的机会；6）调查其他活动； 纳入培训补助金； 7) 探索在夏威夷培训利比里亚学生； 8) 建立南南合作； 学术和研究合作； 9) 确定选择培训学生的方法； 10) 评估需求； 针对利比里亚医疗保健人员中的特定技术人员； 11) 确定具有多学科能力的人员； 参加培训咨询小组的背景；以及 12) 撰写 D43 申请表。 委员会由 UL、UH 和 UY 教师学者组成，他们的 D71 规划工作是 得到了更多在病毒学、流行病学和全球健康研究方面拥有经验的教员的支持。 加强伦敦大学的研究能力是保证可持续健康骨干队伍的唯一途径 具有研究专业知识的专业人员，以识别和控制利比里亚未来新出现的病毒流行病。