Training Program Plan to Improve Intervention Research for Prevention of Childhood Pneumonia in Guatemala

下呼吸道感染，主要是肺炎，是全球儿童早期死亡的主要原因， 每年造成约75万名5岁儿童死亡。尽管大多数地区已经看到 死亡率下降在过去的几十年里，儿童肺炎的死亡率仍然很高，而且 中等收入国家，包括危地马拉。儿童肺炎的这种变异性的原因并不是 充分理解并限制制定有效的疾病预防政策。我们团队的成员 十多年来一直在危地马拉研究儿童肺炎，建立了一个强大的，尽管不完整的， 为这一领域的正式培训计划奠定基础。与美国疾控中心和危地马拉人的合作 卫生部制定了一项监测计划，以系统地衡量发病率、风险 危地马拉公共卫生设施中呼吸道和其他急性传染病的因素和病因。 此外，几项大型国际干预研究评估了减少家庭空气污染的方法 污染及其对包括肺炎在内的儿童呼吸道疾病的影响。这项跨学科的研究 结合实施科学、环境健康、分子流行病学和儿童方面的专业知识 呼吸道疾病。尽管这些方案取得了成功，但危地马拉尚未发展出 充分培训科学家和公共卫生专业人员，为这一研究议程作出充分贡献。这些 UVG目前的研究项目和危地马拉儿童肺炎预防的未来研究重点 为准备领导这项研究的当地流行病学家创造需求。 我们的长期愿景是开发一个可持续的培训计划，提供关于潜艇问题的专业知识 危地马拉儿童肺炎的研究和干预研究的方法论。这个未来的计划将 通过设在危地马拉和该大学的学位和非学位培训活动帮助建设能力 佐治亚州的。这项计划拨款的目标是为设想的培训准备和提交一份提案。 计划，准备UVG和UGA教员培训人员来实施计划，并改进或开发材料 关于拟议的课程。对于为期两年的规划过程，我们的具体目标是：1.确定领导层 组建和制定建设儿童传染病流行病学研究能力的战略计划； 2.满足危地马拉和美国潜在教员的关键教师发展需求 儿童肺炎的干预研究和流行病学；3.确定和评估儿童肺炎的需求 来自危地马拉、具有与儿童预防研究有关的职业目标的潜在培训者人才库 肺炎或类似的健康问题；以及4.概述培训计划并开发新的课程和计划 包括在D43中。通过采取严格的方法协作规划设在危地马拉和美国的 以儿童肺炎为重点的干预研究培训计划，我们将建设所需的能力 加强对危地马拉儿童主要传染病死因的预防。

Lower respiratory infections, primarily pneumonia, are a leading cause of early childhood mortality globally, responsible for about 750 thousand deaths annually in children aged <5 years. Although most regions have seen declines in mortality over the past several decades, childhood pneumonia mortality rates remain high in low- and middle-income countries, including Guatemala. The reasons for this variability in childhood pneumonia are not fully understood and limit the development of effective policies for disease prevention. Members of our team have been studying childhood pneumonia in Guatemala for over a decade, building a strong, though incomplete, foundation for a formal training program in this area. A collaboration with the US CDC and the Guatemalan Ministry of Health has developed a surveillance program to provide systematic measurement of incidence, risk factors and etiologies of respiratory and other acute infectious diseases at public health facilities in Guatemala. Furthermore, several large international intervention studies have evaluated ways to reduce household air pollution and its effects on childhood respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia. This interdisciplinary research combines expertise from implementation science, environmental health, molecular epidemiology, and childhood respiratory disease. Despite the success of these programs, Guatemala has not yet developed the capacity to to sufficiently train scientists and public health professionals to contribute fully to this research agenda. These current research projects at UVG and future research priorities on childhood pneumonia prevention in Guatemala create demand for local epidemiologists prepared to lead the research. Our long-term vision is to develop a sustainable training program that provides expertise both on subjet matter of childhood pneumonia in Guatemala and methodological on intervention research. This future program will help build capacity through both degree and non-degree training activities based in Guatemala and the University of Georgia. The goal for this planning grant is to prepare and submit a proposal for the envisioned training program, prepare the UVG and UGA faculty trainers to conduct the program, and improve or develop materials for the proposed curriculum. For the two-year planning process, our specific aims are: 1. Define a leadership team and develop a strategic plan for building research capacity in childhood infectious disease epidemiology; 2. address the critical faculty development needs among potential Guatemala- and US-based trainers that relate to intervention research and the epidemiology of childhood pneumonia; 3. identify and assess the needs of a pool of potential trainees from Guatemala that have career goals related to research on prevention of childhood pneumonia or similar health issues; and 4. outline a training program and develop new courses and programs to include in D43. By undertaking a rigorous approach to collaboratively planning a Guatemala- and US-based training program in intervention research with a focus on childhood pneumonia, we will build the capacity required to strengthen prevention of the leading infectious cause of death in Guatemalan children.