Assessing the capacity for conflict and health research in Lebanon: a qualitative study
Assessing the capacity for conflict and health research in Lebanon: a qualitative study
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DOI：
10.1186/s13031-020-00304-x
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发表时间：
2020-08-18
影响因子：
3.6
通讯作者：
Patel, Preeti
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
El Achi, Nassim;Honein-Abouhaidar, Gladys;Patel, Preeti
背景 冲突给卫生系统带来了新的挑战，需要采取快速、实用的方法来满足当地新出现的需求。黎巴嫩深受中东和北非地区周边冲突尤其是叙利亚危机的影响。加强收集中东和北非地区及其他地区冲突证据的研究能力对于为医疗保健政策和实践提供信息至关重要。对于有针对性的能力强化干预措施，本文的主要目的是介绍黎巴嫩冲突与健康研究需求评估的主要结果。这将支持近期扩大针对具体情况的政策、干预措施以加强国家卫生系统和研究能力的努力。方法 该研究基于对专家学者、人道主义工作者和公共部门官员等关键知情人的 30 次半结构化访谈。结果 尽管在中东和北非地区人均生物医学和健康研究出版物数量排名第三，并且拥有被视为该地区中心学术中心的知名大学，但据报道，缺乏全国性研究文化、资金不足和数据获取机会有限是黎巴嫩健康研究人员面临的主要挑战。即使不断做出努力，研究对政策的影响仍然较小，这仍然是一个长期存在的差距。据报告，黎巴嫩不同大学之间的研究能力和教学技能存在巨大差异，过分强调定量技能而不是定性技能。大多数医学生没有接受过在冲突环境中进行研究或实践的培训。人们还对所进行的研究，特别是当地非政府组织所进行的研究的道德问题表示担忧。建议 开展研究技能的情境化培训，重点关注定性方法、医疗实践和冲突中的伦理研究。通过组织多次利益相关者会议，更好地让政策制定者参与设计研究议程。结论 研究表明，黎巴嫩的卫生研究在人力资本和某些大学的研究能力方面具有相当大的优势。然而，黎巴嫩的研究基础设施需要进一步发展，以确保可持续的资金、提供数据、教授定性研究技能、开展道德和多学科研究以及促进跨部门知识转移。
Background Conflicts pose new challenges for health systems, requiring rapid and practical approaches to meet emerging needs on the ground. Lebanon has been highly influenced by surrounding conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially the Syrian crisis. Strengthening research capacity to collect evidence on conflict in the MENA region and beyond is crucial to inform healthcare policy and practice. For targeted capacity strengthening interventions, the main objective of this paper is to present key findings of a needs assessment of conflict and health research in Lebanon. This will support recent efforts to scale up context-specific policies, interventions to strengthen the country's health system, and research capacity. Methods The study is based on 30 semi-structured interviews with key informants such as specialist academics, humanitarian workers and public sector officials. Results Despite being ranked third in the number of publications on biomedical and health research per capita in MENA and in hosting reputable universities which are considered central academic hubs in the region, lack of nationwide research culture, insufficient funding and limited access to data were reported to be major challenges for health researchers in Lebanon. Even with the ongoing efforts, poor impact of research on policy continues to be a persistent gap. Large disparities in research capacities and taught skills were reported between different universities in Lebanon, with a disproportionate emphasis on quantitative over qualitative skills. Most medical students are not trained to conduct research or to practice in conflict settings. Concerns were also expressed regarding the ethics of research conducted, specifically by local non-governmental organizations. Recommendations To conduct contextualized trainings on research skills with a stronger focus on qualitative approaches, medical practice, and ethical research in conflict. To better involve policymakers in designing research agendas by organizing multiple stakeholder meetings. Conclusion The study indicates that health research in Lebanon is characterized by considerable strengths in terms of human capital and research capacities of certain universities. However, the Lebanese research infrastructure needs further development in terms of ensuring sustainable funding, providing access to data, teaching qualitative research skills, conducting ethical and multidisciplinary research, and promoting cross-sectoral knowledge transfer.