NYU/University of Ghana Cardiovascular Research Training eCapacity Initiative

 描述(申请人提供)：心血管疾病(CVD)是非洲主要的死亡原因，估计占死亡率和发病率的80%。如果这一流行病得不到缓解，加纳和其他撒哈拉以南非洲(SSA)国家有限的医疗资源将因心血管相关并发症造成的残疾而枯竭。为了解决这一问题，NIH Fogarty国际中心(FIC)资助了纽约大学/加纳大学心血管研究培训(CART)研究所，以培训当地研究人员进行方法和科学上严格的研究的技能，最终目标是改善加纳和SSA的心血管健康。我们有意在加纳而不是美国提供培训的战略是为了减少人才流失的风险，而人才流失往往是派遣非洲学者出国培训所固有的风险。我们的长期目标是建立一个可持续的个人网络，这些人在心血管研究的各个方面都接受过非常良好的培训，并准备在学术心血管医学方面发挥领导作用。尽管CART课程向学者介绍了可用于协助研究、教育和项目的信息和通信技术(ICT)资源的基础知识，但它不是培训的重点。为了响应FIC为低收入和中等收入国家的研究人员建立卫生研究ICT培训的要求，我们建议利用我们的CART计划建立的研究能力，为扩大ICT的使用和在加纳建设研究电子能力开发创新课程。我们建议的CART ICT培训和eCapacity计划将实现这些目标：1)为CART学员建立课程，以增加将ICT工具纳入其心血管研究所需的知识和技能；2)为CART学员提供持续的面对面和在线ICT支持；3)评估CART ICT课程和eCapacity建设的有效性。我们拟议的强化课程包括教学课程，向学员介绍信通技术术语、教育传播和技术理论的词汇，以及用于进行卫生研究的免费可用的信通技术资源的范例。将根据进行高保真研究的易用性和先进特点，与CART学员和导师合作选择信通技术工具。学员还将通过研究学徒的方式学习，在自己的研究中使用信息和通信技术资源。我们将提供用于研究设计和数据收集的iPad mini设备，学员将能够获得当地培训的ICT专家的技术支持，以及通过远程学习技术访问纽约大学的呼叫中心。通过进一步开发我们的课程以强调研究ICT，我们将建立三个队列，由十个适应性强的研究ICT用户组成，他们与当地合作者分享他们的技能，从而增加加纳进行心血管健康研究的研究电子能力。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Africa, accounting for an estimated 80% of the mortality and morbidity. If this epidemic is left unabated, the scant medical resources in Ghana and other Sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries would be depleted by the disability from cardiovascular-related complications. To address this issue, the NIH Fogarty International Center (FIC) funded our NYU/University of Ghana Cardiovascular Research Training (CaRT) Institute to train local researchers in skills to conduct methodologically and scientifically rigorous research with the ultimate goal of improving cardiovascular health in Ghana and SSA. Our deliberate strategy of providing training in Ghana rather than the United States is to mitigate the risk of brain drain that is often inherent in sending African scholars abroad for training. Our long- term goal is to produce a sustainable network of individuals who are exceedingly well trained in various aspects of cardiovascular research and poised to assume leadership roles in academic cardiovascular medicine. Although the CaRT curriculum introduces scholars to the basics of information and communication technology (ICT) resources available to assist with research education and projects, it is not a focus of training. In response to the FIC request to establish health research ICT training for researchers in low and middle income countries, we propose to leverage the research capacity established by our CaRT program to develop an innovative curriculum for expanding the use of ICT and for building research eCapacity in Ghana. Our proposed CaRT ICT training and eCapacity initiative will complete these aims: 1) Establish a curriculum for increasing CaRT trainees knowledge and skills necessary for incorporating ICT tools into their cardiovascular research; 2) Provide continuous in person and online ICT support for CaRT trainees; 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the CaRT ICT curriculum and eCapacity building. Our proposed enhanced curriculum includes didactic courses to introduce trainees to the ICT lexicon of terminology, educational communications and technology theory, and exemplars of freely available ICT resources for conducting health research. ICT tools will be selected in partnership with CaRT trainees and mentors based on ease of use and advanced features for conducting high fidelity research. Trainees will also learn through research apprenticeships, using ICT resources in their own research. We will provide iPad mini devices for research design and data collection, and trainees will have access to technical support from locally trained ICT experts and a NYU based call center accessible via distance learning technology. By further developing our curriculum to emphasize research ICT, we will establish three cohorts of ten adaptable users of research ICT, who share their skills with local collaborators, thereby increasing Ghana's research eCapacity for conducting cardiovascular health research.