International Training in Injury Control Research

Emory University, Atlanta GA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks to establish a training program in trauma care and injury control research in the Republic of Mozambique. It is built on a preexisting partnership between a US University (Emory University) and a Mozambican University (University Eduardo Mondlane or UEM). Mozambique is a southern African nation with a significant healthcare burden related to injury, and with minimal current clinical or research infrastructure to strengthen the care of injured patients. Three stages of training are described in this application: formal academic training, bridge fellowships in the U.S., and subsequent in-country research. The formal academic training is based on the core MPH curriculum currently taught at UEM, supplemented with focused courses in Trauma Care, Violence and Injury Prevention, and a distance education course in Epidemiology. In addition, the University of South Africa (UNISA), Institute for Social and Health Sciences, has agreed to serve as a regional resource for trainees, offering additional focused injury coursework on an elective basis. The Bridge Fellowships at Emory will function as "mini-sabbaticals" to nurture research protocols and provide training in the ethical, legal and social implications of research. Finally, trainees will return to Mozambique to undertake in-country research supported by small startup grants to help trainees launch their first project with ongoing mentorship. Close follow-up and collaboration will be provided during all three phases, and on an ongoing basis. While some trainees will undertake all 3 phases of the training, others may require only select phases (perhaps spending more time at UNISA in supplemental courses, or spending more time on in-country research). Evidence of strong in-country support is presented. This plan has several advantages: it is highly cost-effective, it relies on the strengths of two WHO collaborating centres for injury control (Emory and UNISA), it uses a regional or "south to south" training approach, in-country supplemental training will reach others beyond our core trainees, it signals Emory's intent to Mozambique to be a long-term partner in building the nation's capacity to conduct high quality research in trauma care and injury control, and it lays the foundation for a regional collaborative that could ultimately lead to expansion of this trauma and injury control research beyond Mozambique to include other nations in Southern and East Africa.