Health research capacity building in low and middle income countries

Abstract

Health improvement in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) depends on locally relevant research that meets the priority needs of populations and translates into policy change. However many LMICs have historically had limited capacity to conduct health research. While capacity building has become an objective of development programs, it is often unclear what impact it has had, both in terms of improved ability to conduct research, and health outcomes.

There is extensive literature discussing evaluation of research capacity building; however there are no standard metrics for measurement. Evaluations have tended to focus on programs with explicit research capacity building objectives, and largely on determination of short and medium-term outcomes. To better understand capacity building activities, we undertook a series of projects aimed at evaluating health research capacity building. We focused on opportunities for evaluation of non-specific capacity building activities, in the context of academic and research endeavours at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

The first project used a bibliometric methodology to analyse trends and predictors in authorship in peer-reviewed HIV research conducted in LMICs. Our findings demonstrate an increase in capacity in the field but suggest there is still progress required in research leadership. The second project evaluated the impact on research involvement of attendance at an international conference. The analysis provides evidence of increased research engagement and skills of LMIC attendees. The third project followed up LMIC public health graduates from an Australian university, to determine predictors of research careers and analyse research output, highlighting challenges in engaging with alumni. The fourth project undertook a bibliometric analysis of the same population, revealing a fifth of graduates had authorship on a peer-reviewed publication following completion of studies. The fifth project examined how health research priorities are set in LMICs, taking into consideration issues of health research capacity. The systematic review found numerous initiatives had been completed, however use of an established strategy was rare and few provided evidence of evaluation or follow-up.

Together the five projects provide insight into the process of research capacity building in LMICs, different ways of measuring progress, and outcomes in a number of areas.