Is operational research delivering the goods? The journey to success in low-income countries

Zachariah, Rony; Ford, Nathan; Maher, Dermot; Bissell, Karen; Bergh, Rafaël Van den; Boogaard, Wilma van den; Reid, Tony; Castro, Kenneth G.; Draguez, Bertrand; Schreeb, Johan von; Chakaya, Jeremiah; Atun, Rifat; Lienhardt, Christian; Enarson, D. A.; Harries, Anthony

doi:10.1016/s1473-3099(11)70309-7

Cited by 76 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Also, we did not systematically assess the impact that training might have had on conducting future research. There are a few frameworks for assessing the impact of research [6,64]. We found it difficult to apply these methods to our work, as these required setting up several processes before and after OR study implementation to document the contribution of research studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Operational research within a Global Fund supported tuberculosis project in India: why, how and its contribution towards change in policy and practice

Sagili¹,

Satyanarayana

Chadha³

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

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Background: The Global Fund encourages operational research (OR) in all its grants; however very few reports describe this aspect. In India, Project Axshya was supported by a Global Fund grant to improve the reach and visibility of the government Tuberculosis (TB) services among marginalised and vulnerable communities. OR was incorporated to build research capacity of professionals working with the national TB programme and to generate evidence to inform policies and practices. Objectives: To describe how Project Axshya facilitated building OR capacity within the country, helped in addressing several TB control priority research questions, documented project activities and their outcomes, and influenced policy and practice. Methods: From September 2010 to September 2016, three key OR-related activities were implemented. First, practical output-oriented modular training courses were conducted (n = 3) to build research capacity of personnel involved in the TB programme, co-facilitated by The Union, in collaboration with the national TB programme, WHO country office and CDC, Atlanta. Second, two large-scale Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys were conducted at baseline and mid-project to assess the changes pertaining to TB knowledge, attitudes and practices among the general population, TB patients and health care providers over the project period. Third, studies were conducted to describe the project’s core activities and outcomes. Results: In the training courses, 44 participant teams were supported to develop research protocols on topics of national priority, resulting in 28 peer-reviewed scientific publications. The KAP surveys and description of project activities resulted in 14 peer-reviewed publications. Of the published papers at least 12 have influenced change in policy or practice. Conclusions: OR within a Global Fund supported TB project has resulted in building OR capacity, facilitating research in areas of national priority and influencing policy and practice. We believe this experience will provide guidance for undertaking OR in Global Fund projects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…effectiveness, efficiency, quality, access, scale-up, and sustainability) regardless of the type of research (design, methodology, approach)’ [5]. There are several examples of OR influencing policy and practice, programme performance and favourable patient outcomes [6]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operational research within a Global Fund supported tuberculosis project in India: why, how and its contribution towards change in policy and practice

Sagili¹,

Satyanarayana

Chadha³

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

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“…11,12 Second, open access to operational research knowledge is vital to bridge implementation gaps. 5 For example, research investment by the European Commission (EC) amounted to 55.8 billion euros in its 2007-2013 Framework Programme. 13 This was dedicated to 'upstream' development of basic science and technology, including clinical trials.…”

Section: Benefits Of Supporting Open-access Publications For Operatiomentioning

confidence: 99%

Open access for operational research publications from lowand middle-income countries: who pays?

Zachariah

Kumar²,

Reid

et al. 2014

public health action

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“…• Solutions that rely on high levels of technology/expertise will often not be fully implemented, either because some sector of participants who are key to success will have low levels of literacy/numeracy, or because there are insufficient resources to sustain high-tech solutions (Zachariah 2012). …”

Section: Operational Research In Development (Ord)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Operational Research(ers) in development: Growing a new generation of operational researchers

Durbach

Scott²,

Nyirenda³

et al. 2013

ORiON

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Dedication to Emeritus Professor Theodor StewartTo Theo, for his enormous, enduring (and continuing!) contribution to the theory and practice of operational research at the University of Cape Town. AbstractThis paper explores the theme of training operational research (OR) practitioners in South Africa by critically evaluating a Masters program in Operational Research in Development (ORD), launched in 2005 at the University of Cape Town. This program was specifically focused on applying OR to the problems of the developing world in general and Africa in particular. We describe the program and review the practical work undertaken by students participating in the program. Topics range widely across domains including health (antimalarial drug resistance); poverty (food banking); governance (NGO management structures and monitoring of local government performance) and sustainable livelihoods (spaza shop operations). We use the review to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the program, as well as challenges faced in the OR education in South Africa at a postgraduate level.

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Is operational research delivering the goods? The journey to success in low-income countries

Cited by 76 publications

References 40 publications

Operational research within a Global Fund supported tuberculosis project in India: why, how and its contribution towards change in policy and practice

Operational research within a Global Fund supported tuberculosis project in India: why, how and its contribution towards change in policy and practice

Open access for operational research publications from lowand middle-income countries: who pays?

Operational Research(ers) in development: Growing a new generation of operational researchers

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