Expansion of NCD Research Capacity in Thailand with Outreach to Indonesia

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D43 Renewal ‘Expansion of NCD Research Capacity in Thailand with Outreach to Indonesia’ The D43 Renewal will address the rapid rise in non-communicable diseases (NCD) occurring in both Thailand and Indonesia. This epidemiologic transition reflects advances in socioeconomic development and progress in battling the most virulent infectious diseases. However, the consequent unprecedented pace of population aging is helping to fuel the growing burden of NCDs in these countries. While high-income countries have had over 100 years to adjust to demographic and epidemiological transitions, many LMICs – including Thailand and Indonesia – have experienced that shift in less than one quarter the time. The volume, speed of growth, and complexity of health care needs of older adults with NCDs will challenge the health care systems of Thailand and Indonesia. These health systems have traditionally focused on treating infectious disease, and the prolonged nature of NCDs will challenge infrastructure and increase health care costs. Tackling this escalating problem requires two important strategies: 1) Implementing multi-sectoral policies aimed at reducing population risk that come from research-based understanding of population risk and age-related disease expression; and 2) effective and affordable health sector interventions that come from evidence-based intervention studies. Both strategies require appropriate research produced by a committed, local scientific community. The proposed D43 training plan builds on a previous successful D43 in which the Praboromarajchanok Institute for Health Workforce Development (PIHWD) in Thailand and the University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) collaborated to train a cadre of post-doctoral fellows who received high quality training in analytical methods and research designs. The program also included other capacity building activities. Specific aims and activities for this five year renewal program are to: 1) Implement an early-mid career post-doctoral traineeship for 15 Thai/Indonesian trainees – preparing them to conduct scaled-up NCD research projects; 2) Strengthen the institutional research capacity for NCD research in the scientific hubs established in the prior D43 – activities include annual capacity building conferences, development of research networks and direct consultation to departments and research units to assist them in expanding research activities; 3) Expand capacity building activities to PIHWD D43 training affiliate, the Padjadjaran University of Indonesia, by including Indonesian scholars in the post-doctoral training program and all other activities of the D43; and 4) to provide consultation for infrastructure building to advance eLearning activities – a strategy that supports sustainability of training capacity in Thailand.