The University of North Carolina-Kinshasa School of Public Health Research Partnership in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a Model for Improving Women's and Children's Health Through Research

摘要 刚果民主共和国是世界上第五大贫困国家， 相应地，刚果民主共和国的妇女和儿童健康状况不佳。在刚果民主共和国， 死亡率是联合国可持续发展目标（SDG）设定的目标的六倍， 新生儿死亡率是可持续发展目标的两倍多。像刚果民主共和国这样的低收入国家 与产妇和新生儿死亡率不成比例，但往往没有在临床研究中代表。的 金沙萨公共卫生学院（KSPH）和北卡罗来纳州大学（UCC）已经进行了研究 自2005年以来一直是合作伙伴，共同的使命是改善低收入国家的孕产妇和儿童健康 通过研究可持续的、具有成本效益的卫生干预措施。我们的合作伙伴关系包括超过15个 多年的经验，作为一个研究单位在尤尼斯肯尼迪施莱佛NICHD全球网络的妇女和 儿童健康研究。我们组建了一支多学科团队，在战略领域拥有专业知识， 孕产妇和新生儿保健，包括妇产科、生殖科、传染病、热带病、 药我们的团队善于利用各种研究方法，包括流行病学、临床 试验和实施科学。我们在农村，城市周边和农村地区建立了广泛的研究基础设施。 城市社区在刚果民主共和国开展社区和设施为基础的临床研究。自2016年以来，我们 发表了271篇论文，完成了22项研究，并招募了90,390名妇女和62,117名儿童参加研究 问题研究由Antoinette Tshefu博士（KSPH; iPI）和Melissa Bauserman博士领导的KSPH-PART合作伙伴关系 (UNC; PI），并拥有解决孕产妇各个领域研究问题的专业知识和资源 和儿童健康。我们的总体目标是发现以证据为基础的战略，以改善低收入人群的健康结果。 和中低收入国家。为了实现这一目标，我们将： 怀孕的识别，严格的结果跟踪和随访率> 90%，支持全球 与创新试验和试验设计建立联系，加强刚果民主共和国的研究基础设施， 下一代的研究领导者。该KSPH-KSPH合作伙伴关系是独特的定位，以促进 我们充分致力于继续支持全球网络， 合作研究提案。

ABSTRACT The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the fifth most impoverished country in the world, and correspondingly, women and children in the DRC experience poor health outcomes. In the DRC, the maternal mortality rate is six times the target set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the neonatal mortality rate is more than double the SDG. Low-income countries, like the DRC contribute disproportionately to maternal and neonatal mortality but are often not represented in clinical research. The Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH) and the University of North Carolina (UNC) have been research partners since 2005, with the shared mission of improving maternal and child health in low-income countries through the research of sustainable, cost-effective health interventions. Our partnership includes more than 15 years of experience as a research unit in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research. We have assembled a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in strategic areas in maternal and newborn health, including obstetrics and gynecology, neonatology, infectious diseases, tropical medicine. Our team is facile in utilizing a variety of research methodologies, including epidemiology, clinical trials and implementation science. We have built an extensive research infrastructure in rural, peri-urban and urban communities to conduct community and facility-based clinical studies in the DRC. Since 2016, we have published 271 papers, completed 22 studies, and enrolled 90,390 women and 62,117 children in research studies. The KSPH-UNC Partnership, led by Drs. Antoinette Tshefu (KSPH; iPI) and Melissa Bauserman (UNC; PI), and has the expertise and resources to address research questions in a variety of areas of maternal and child health. Our overall goal is to discover evidenced-based strategies to improve health outcomes in low and lower-middle-income countries. To achieve this goal, we will: execute high-quality studies with early identification of pregnancies, rigorous tracking of outcomes and follow-up rates >90%, support the Global Network with innovative trials and trial designs and strengthen research infrastructure in the DRC and develop the next generation of research leaders. The KSPH-UNC Partnership is uniquely positioned to contribute to the mission of the Global Network, and we are fully committed to continued support of the Global Network through collaborative research proposals.