Abstract
BackgroundIndia has a wide range of nutrition and health problems which require professionals with appropriate skills, knowledge and trans-disciplinary collaborative abilities to influence policy making at the national and global level.MethodsThe Bangalore Boston Nutrition Collaborative (BBNC) was established as collaboration between St. John’s Research Institute (SJRI), Harvard School of Public Health and Tufts University, with a focus on nutrition research and training. The goals of the BBNC were to conduct an interdisciplinary course, develop web-based courses and identify promising Indian students and junior faculty for graduate training in Boston.ResultsFrom 2010, an annual two-week short course in nutrition research methods was conducted on the SJRI campus taught by international faculty from Indian and US universities. More than 100 students applied yearly for approximately 30 positions. The course had didactic lectures in the morning and practical hands-on sessions in the afternoon. Student rating of the course was excellent and consistent across the years. The ratings on the design and conduct of the course significantly improved (p <0.001) from 2010 to 2012. Through open-ended questions, students reported the main strengths of the course to be the excellent faculty and practical “hands-on” sessions. A web based learning system TYRO, was developed, which can be used for distance learning. Four faculty members/graduate students from SJRI have visited Boston for collaborative research efforts.ConclusionThe BBNC has become a well-established capacity building and research training program for young professionals in nutrition and global health. Efforts are ongoing to secure long term funding to sustain and expand this collaboration to deliver high quality nutrition and global health education enabled by information and communication technologies.
Highlights
India has a wide range of nutrition and health problems which require professionals with appropriate skills, knowledge and trans-disciplinary collaborative abilities to influence policy making at the national and global level
Since an integrated course in nutrition research methods is lacking in India, the Bangalore Boston Nutrition Collaborative (BBNC) short course was designed with the following objectives: (1) To explore the role of nutrition in health outcomes, through critical evaluation of the scientific literature and exploration of demographic, epidemiological, biological, social, political, and economic factors that affect nutritional status
The short course of BBNC provided the students with hands-on experience of working closely with international and national experts to gain in-depth knowledge of nutrition research methodology skills and learn systematic methodic research and teaching skills which are urgently required to strengthen the public health cadre in India
Summary
India has a wide range of nutrition and health problems which require professionals with appropriate skills, knowledge and trans-disciplinary collaborative abilities to influence policy making at the national and global level. India faces a dual burden of nutrition-related diseases, with high levels of maternal and child mortality and morbidity directly related to undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and infectious diseases paired with a growing incidence of non-communicable diseases based on western diet and activity patterns [1,2]. The prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity ranges from 3-29% [4]. This double burden of nutrition-related diseases leads to a wide range of health problems that will impede both individual and national economic attainment [5]. The challenge for India is to implement appropriate prevention strategies in order to halt the growing trend in non-communicable diseases against a background of infectious diseases which still remains highly prevalent
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