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Training through malaria research: building capacity in good
                clinical and laboratory practice in Liberia

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Background: Limited health research capacities (HRC) undermine a country’s ability to identify and adequately
respond to local health needs. Although numerous interventions to strengthen HRC have been conducted in Africa,
there is a need to share the lessons learnt by funding organizations, institutes and researchers. The aim of this report
is to identify best practices in HRC strengthening by describing a training programme conducted between 2016 and
2017 at the Saint Joseph’s Catholic Hospital (SJCH) in Monrovia (Liberia).
Methods: A call for trainees was launched at the SJCH, the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Author‑
ity (LMHRA), the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Mother Pattern College of Health Sciences (MPCHS) and
community members. Selected trainees participated in four workshops on Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP),
standard operating procedures (SOP) and scientifc communication, as well as in a 5-months eLearning mentoring
programme. After the training, a collectively-designed research project on malaria was conducted.
Results: Twenty-one of the 28 trainees (14 from the SJCH, 3 from LMHRA, one from MPCHS, and 10 community
representatives) completed the programme satisfactorily. Pre- and post-training questionnaires completed by 9 of the
trainees showed a 14% increase in the percentage of correct answers. Trainees participated in a mixed-methods crosssectional study of Plasmodium falciparum infection among pregnant women at the SJCH. Selected trainees dissemi‑
nated activities and research outcomes in three international meetings and three scientifc publications.
Conclusion: This training-through-research programme successfully involved SJCH staf and community members in
a practical research exercise on malaria during pregnancy. The challenge is to ensure that the SJCH remains active in
research. Harmonization of efectiveness indicators for HRC initiatives would strengthen the case for investing in such
eforts.

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Articles publicats en revistes (ISGlobal)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
Training through malaria research: building capacity in good
                clinical and laboratory practice in Liberia