A distance clinical research training course in Ghana

Abstract

Clinical research training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has not been adequately incorporated into local physicians' education. The lack of trained physician–scientists in LMICs is due in part to poor research infrastructure in these areas including limited funding support and scarcity of senior-level physician–scientists to provide training in research methodology. This article describes the structure, content, and evaluation of a combined synchronous/asynchronous distance and onsite learning program implemented in Kumasi, Ghana, to train physicians in clinical research. The course was delivered over 18 months and was associated with a clinical research study for which the participants were coinvestigators. A substantial increase in clinical research self-efficacy, as measured by the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory, was found at the end of the course compared to baseline. This course could serve as a model for the delivery of clinical research training in other LMICs. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medcal knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement.