Sustainable Academic Capacity Building of Excellence through Research and Training Program (SACERT) Learning Collaborative

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Project Summary South African researchers have limited access to research resources, including funds to develop valid, reliable, contextually appropriate measures to utilize in mental health-related research. As a result, a common practice is to review measures developed in other countries and adapt and validate these measures for local communities. New measures developed locally are often hampered by small, underpowered samples and limited funding to establish psychometrics. There is currently no centralized, easily accessible bank of mental health measures across behavioral and biological disciplines that scholars can access and use to address the Mental Health National Health Research Priority designated by the South Africa National Health Research Committee. Funding to ameliorate this constraint will both enhance research capacity in South Africa and strengthen the parent Sustainable Academic Capacity-Building for Excellence through Research and Training (SACERT) Program, which encompasses 12 South African universities and health institutions, including five historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs). We propose to add a theory-guided Learning Collaborative to SACERT (SACERT-LC) in order to strengthen mental health research capacity particularly in HDIs in rural settings. The SACERT LC will foster a network of support for scholars from HDIs to have access to research- related resources, specifically curated measures in the areas of chronic stress, trauma and adversity, and mental health. The SACERT-LC will develop and deploy an integrated measures bank (IMB) as well as training in how to use the measures, and most importantly, promote collaboration and co-creation to foster sustainability and growth of the resources. The Specific Aims are to: (1) with SACERT faculty as well as national partners in South Africa, establish the SACERT-LC, which will convene bi-monthly during the year- long supplement period to: (2) create a curated bank of psychological and biological measures (the IMB) that assess chronic stress, trauma, adversity burden, and chronic mental health disorders throughout the lifespan; (3) in learning sessions at WSU, train and coach current SACERT scholars and other HDI affiliates in the use of the IMB and in measures validation, adaptation, and development; and (4) evaluate the SACERT-LC by interviewing members of the LC about its impacts and potential for sustainability, tracking use of the IMB, and documenting participation in and satisfaction with the learning sessions. Our goal with this supplement, as with the parent grant, is to enhance research capacity in South Africa. Scholars and affiliates who are trained by the SACERT-LC faculty will be certified as “IMB experts” and the four rural universities will also be identified as IMB co-sponsors, thereby strengthening the visibility of the HDIs and the network across HDIs and other participating universities. With our well-established network in South Africa, we are well-positioned to carry out this supplement, which will contribute to the capacity of historically disadvantaged institutions and more broadly, to the rigor, accessibility, and impact of mental health research in South Africa.