Regional Research Priorities Research Articles

The CGIAR needs a revolution

The CGIAR is a unique scientific organization that seeks to improve food security for low-income people. It should be leading efforts to generate sustainable productivity gains in agriculture, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where productivity lags. However, its current ill-adapted priorities and structure, its obsession with re-organizations, and its unproductive ventures into local development projects have reduced its impact and rendered it unable to respond to the challenge of food security under climate change. The system's efforts have become too diffuse and ineffective while attempts to revive impact through repeated re-organizations have failed. The CGIAR has unique strengths: access to plant germplasm, know-how to improve germplasm and agronomic practices, global networks of experimental sites and research collaborators, and excellent staff. The CGIAR's scientists are highly motivated, but leaders and funders of the system have failed to support them with a simple, focused, and better funded operational environment needed to succeed in their research – and have greater impact from it. This can be corrected. We propose a scientific and problem-driven focus on fewer global and regional research priorities, supported by adequate long-term funding, rigorous methods of project evaluation, and management that stimulates innovation and seeks verifiable results. These supports do not exist today and we do not see that the current One CGIAR system will provide them in the foreseeable future.

NOAA and BOEM Minimum Recommendations for Use of Passive Acoustic Listening Systems in Offshore Wind Energy Development Monitoring and Mitigation Programs

Offshore wind energy development is rapidly ramping up in United States (U.S.) waters in order to meet renewable energy goals. With a diverse suite of endangered large whale species and a multitude of other protected marine species frequenting these same waters, understanding the potential consequences of construction and operation activities is essential to advancing responsible offshore wind development. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) represents a newer technology that has become one of several methods of choice for monitoring trends in the presence of species, the soundscape, mitigating risk, and evaluating potential behavioral and distributional changes resulting from offshore wind activities. Federal and State regulators, the offshore wind industry, and environmental advocates require detailed information on PAM capabilities and techniques needed to promote efficient, consistent, and meaningful data collection efforts on local and regional scales. PAM during offshore wind construction and operation may be required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management through project-related permits and approvals issued pursuant to relevant statutes and regulations. The recommendations in this paper aim to support this need as well as to aid the development of project-specific PAM Plans by identifying minimum procedures, system requirements, and other important components for inclusion, while promoting consistency across plans. These recommendations provide an initial guide for stakeholders to meet the rapid development of the offshore wind industry in United States waters. Approaches to PAM and agency requirements will evolve as future permits are issued and construction plans are approved, regional research priorities are refined, and scientific publications and new technologies become available.

Setting Regional Research Priorities for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Services in Humanitarian Settings

Background: Despite increased recognition of the need for sexual and reproductive health and rights in humanitarian settings, evidence focusing on mainstreaming reproductive health services such as maternal, neonatal mortality, human immunodeficiency virus transmission and unsafe abortion still remains inadequate. The ability to understand the magnitude of the needs and highlight existing gaps is supported by improved data which is critical to informing effective policies, programming and funding decisions. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a research prioritization exercise on sexual and reproductive health and rights services in humanitarian settings for the WHO Africa region for the next three years. Methods: We adapted the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative method in three phases. Experts from the region participated in an online survey to identify key areas for research in sexual and reproductive health and rights. To identify potential areas for research, the experts ensured answerability, effectiveness, deliverability, equity and potential impact of the questions. The research areas they identified were reviewed by World Health Organization technical team from headquarters. In a meeting of 67 participants, the questions were subjected to further review and analysis. Using a modified for scoring criteria, the questions were scored and ranked to provide the top ten priority questions to address sexual and reproductive health and rights services in humanitarian settings. Results: A list of 21 priority research questions on sexual and reproductive health and rights services in humanitarian settings were scored and ranked. Top ten priorities research questions were identified. Those that scored highly by scoring 30 points out of the possible maximum of 30 include: “determining the prevalence and associated factors of unwanted pregnancies and abortions performed in emergency and humanitarian settings”, “evidence on gender-based violence in humanitarian situations and its associated factors” and “defining an optimal model for coordinating sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions and responses in crisis situations”. Conclusions: Top ten research priorities in sexual and reproductive health and rights services in humanitarian settings were identified. The priority research areas have the potential to identify the best areas for programming of services in humanitarian settings. It is our hope that the identified research areas will be prioritized to support programming of services in humanitarian settings based on scientific evidence.

BUILDING TOGETHER

The objective of the article is to underline the importance of community-based participatory research, which involves institutional researchers and community practitioners, in establishing local and regional research priorities in relation to HIV/AIDS. We describe an 11-month-long reflection process conducted by a research collective in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of northern Quebec. The significant results of the joint reflection and discussion process included: the development of local capacities for research and collective action, involving academics and practitioners; the valorization of participatory research; and the increased accessibility of research-based knowledge for community actors involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In contrast with more traditional research methods, the participatory approach situates the balance of power within a research collective that jointly determines, throughout the course of the project, the priorities that best reflect local needs for HIV/AIDS research. This initial process of discussion resulted also in the joint validation of a forthcoming grant application to be submitted to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Research Priorities of Clinical Nurses and Midwives in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a Mixed Methods Study

Effective use of resources in healthcare research is essential in meeting the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 to achieve universal health coverage, increase retention of healthcare workers, and strengthen the capacity of all countries to reduce risk and manage global health risks; the World Health Organization (WHO) also identifies nursing research as an important piece of the framework for improving global healthcare. Determining research priorities to reduce redundancy and ensure a solid evidence base for practice is especially critical in resource-limited countries or those facing healthcare crises such as those in the Middle East. To identify regional research priorities for nursing, focus group discussions composed of hospital-based nurses were conducted in Egypt, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. Forty-eight percent of research priorities were nearly the same as those identified as critical by regional nursing leadership in a previous study, demonstrating consistency between clinician-and administrator-identified research priorities, and suggesting healthcare administrators are well attuned to the research needs of clinicians. Both groups identified critical gaps in population and community health research. Across countries, research priorities identified were related to nursing workforce, health systems research, and quality of care, representing critical issues needing investigation to build a solid evidence base for nursing practice.

Conservation status and regional habitat priorities for the Orinoco crocodile: Past, present, and future.

Conservation of large predator species has historically been a challenge because they often overlap in resource utilization with humans; furthermore, there is a general lack of in-depth knowledge of their ecology and natural history. We assessed the conservation status of the Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius), defining regional habitat priorities/crocodile conservation units (RHP/CCU) and regional research priorities (RRP) for this species. We also estimated a species distribution model (SDM) to define current suitable areas where the species might inhabit and/or that might be successfully colonized. The SDM area obtained with a suitable habitat probability ≥ 0.5 was 23,621 km2. Out of 2,562 km2 are included within protected areas in both Colombia (1,643 km2) and Venezuela (919 km2), which represents only 10.8% of C. intermedius’ potential range. Areas such as Laguna de Chigüichigüe (flood plain lagoon) exhibited an increase in population abundance. In contrast, localities such as the Cojedes and Manapire Rivers reported a significant reduction in relative abundance values. In Colombia, disparity in previous survey methods prevented accurate estimation of population trends. Only one study in this country described an increase over a 13 years span in the Ele, Lipa, and Cravo Norte River populations based on nest surveys. We defined 34 critical areas (16 in Colombia, 17 in Venezuela, and one covering both countries) where we need to preserve/research/monitor and/or generate management actions, 10 RHP/CCU (six from Venezuela and four from Colombia) and 24 RRP (11 from Venezuela, 12 from Colombia, and one in both countries). Caño Guaritico (Creek) and the Capanaparo River in Venezuela and the Ele, Lipa, Cravo Norte River System and the Guayabero River in Colombia were defined as areas with the most optimal conditions for long-term preservation and maintenance of C. intermedius populations. We conclude that the conservation status of this species is still critical, which implies the necessity to increase efforts to recover the species, especially in Colombia, to guarantee its survival as a structural and functional component of the ecosystems it inhabits.

Regional research priorities in brain and nervous system disorders.

The characteristics of neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders in low- and middle-income countries are unique and the burden that they have will be different from country to country. Many of the differences are explained by the wide variation in population demographics and size, poverty, conflict, culture, land area and quality, and genetics. Neurological, psychiatric, developmental and substance-use disorders that result from, or are worsened by, a lack of adequate nutrition and infectious disease still afflict much of sub-Saharan Africa, although disorders related to increasing longevity, such as stroke, are on the rise. In the Middle East and North Africa, major depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are a primary concern because of the conflict-ridden environment. Consanguinity is a serious concern that leads to the high prevalence of recessive disorders in the Middle East and North Africa and possibly other regions. The burden of these disorders in Latin American and Asian countries largely surrounds stroke and vascular disease, dementia and lifestyle factors that are influenced by genetics. Although much knowledge has been gained over the past 10 years, the epidemiology of the conditions in low- and middle-income countries still needs more research. Prevention and treatments could be better informed with more longitudinal studies of risk factors. Challenges and opportunities for ameliorating nervous-system disorders can benefit from both local and regional research collaborations. The lack of resources and infrastructure for health-care and related research, both in terms of personnel and equipment, along with the stigma associated with the physical or behavioural manifestations of some disorders have hampered progress in understanding the disease burden and improving brain health. Individual countries, and regions within countries, have specific needs in terms of research priorities.

Diversidad regional de Amphipoda en el Mar Caribe

The order Amphipoda is one of the most diverse within Peracarids, and comprises 6950 described marine species. Amphipod research in the Caribbean Sea began in the late 1800s, but has increased significantly since 1980. In this study, we analized the amphipod biodiversity (Caprellidea, Gammaridea, Hyperiidea, and Ingolfiellidea) of the Caribbean Sea. For this, we compiled available data on species diversity of marine amphipods (data bases: WoRMS and OBIS and published species lists) into a comprehensive taxonomic list by country for the ecoregions of the Caribbean. Additionally, we analized the relative contribution of each country to regional diversity and the rate of discovery of new species. The Caribbean amphipod fauna is composed of 535 species within 236 genera and 73 families for the higher taxon. The Western Caribbean ecoregion holds the largest diversity (282 species), while the Eastern Caribbean recorded the lowest one (73). Mexico and Venezuela recorded the largest number of species with 266 and 206, respectively. Twelve countries had less than 50 species. The richest suborder is the Gammaridea with 381 species followed by the suborder Hyperiidea with 116. From the total of 535 amphipod species reported for the Caribbean region, 218 have the Caribbean as the holotype locality, and 132 are endemic (about 25% of the total). Areas of higher diversity seem to be concentrated along the Mexican Caribbean, Cuba and the Northern coast of South America (Venezuela-Colombia); however, such pattern is most likely reflecting local collection efforts and taxonomic expertise rather than actual distribution. Knowledge of amphipod species is mostly limited to shallow, near-shore waters, with little infonnation available on the deep sea fauna. Regional research priorities for this group should be focused on completing shallow water coastal inventories of species in Central America and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. In addition, sampling the deep sea ecosystems should follow along with other particular habitats such as anchialine cave systems. It is also neccessary to increase ecological research efforts, mainly in some speciose suborders, including the Caprellidea and Hyperiidea, known to exhibit high diversity in other tropical localities.

What do we know about armadillos? An analysis of four centuries of knowledge about a group of South American mammals, with emphasis on their conservation

Abstract Basic knowledge on the biology and ecology of a species is fundamental for the realistic assessment of its conservation status and for planning effective conservation strategies. The latest assessment of the 21 extant armadillo species (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its Red List of Threatened Species shows that considerable gaps exist in our knowledge of these Neotropical mammals. Our goal was to analyse the existing literature on armadillos to define thematic and regional research priorities that will eventually benefit their conservation. We categorized 3117 publications on extant armadillos published between 1660 and 2011 according to their research topic, species studied, country and publication language. The number of publications per research topic and the number per species were very variable. The nine best‐studied species are classed as Least Concern by the IUCN, while three of the four least‐studied species are classed as Data Deficient. At least one field study was done in each range country, but over 80% of field research took place in the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. Most research was done in the USA on leprosy in Dasypus novemcinctus. Most ecological research has been focused on four species, and data on the ecology of Data Deficient and Vulnerable taxa are virtually absent. Field research on armadillos should be intensified to broaden conservation‐relevant knowledge. Additional studies in the Guianas, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay are urgently needed to assess the conservation status of armadillos in these regions. Future research should focus on ecology, conservation, population genetics, reproduction and threats. Species priorities should include country endemics, such as Dasypus pilosus (Peru), Tolypeutes tricinctus (Brazil) and Dasypus yepesi and Chlamyphorus truncatus (Argentina), as well as other Data Deficient and Vulnerable species, especially Cabassous centralis and Calyptophractus retusus.

Health Policy and Systems Research in Twelve Eastern Mediterranean Countries: a stocktaking of production and gaps (2000-2008)

BackgroundThe objectives of this study are to: (1) profile the production of Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) published between 2000 and 2008 in 12 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR): Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen; (2) identify gaps; and (3) assess the extent to which existing HPSR produced in the region addresses regional priorities pertaining to Health Financing, Human Resources for Health and the Role of the Non-State Sector. This is the first stocktaking paper of HPSR production and gaps in the EMR.MethodsArticles indexed on Medline between years 2000 and 2008 for the 12 study countries were selected. A MeSH term based search was conducted using country names. Articles were assessed using a coding sheet adapted for the region which included themes on: Governance Arrangements, Financial Arrangements, Delivery Arrangements, and Implementation Strategies. Identified articles were matched against regional research priorities to assess the extent to which research production aligns with priorities.ResultsA total of 1,487 articles (11.94%) fit the criteria in the coding sheet. Results showed an increase in HPSR production which peaked after 2005. Most identified articles focused on Delivery Arrangements (68.1%), and Implementation Strategies (24.4%). Most HPSR addressed priorities in Human Resources for Health (39%), and some articles focused on Health Financing (12%) and Role of the Non-State Sector (6.1%).ConclusionsDespite global calls for producing and translating HPSR into policy, there are still significant gaps in the EMR. More efforts are needed to produce HPSR and align production and translation with the demand for evidence by policymakers. Findings can help inform and direct future plans and activities for the Evidence Informed Policy Network- EMR, World Health Organization- EMR, and the Middle East and North Africa Health Policy Forum, in addition to being useful for countries that host or are planning to host KT platforms in the region.

Defining regional research priorities: a new approach

This paper outlines a new approach to defining research priorities at a regional level. The methodical approach relies on a combination of bibliometric indicators and qualitative data and aims at the identification, selection and evaluation of medium-term relevant research fields. This type of analysis of quantitative and qualitative data contributes to what is called evidence-based policy making. By linking bibliometric information with questionnaire-based assessments by more than 480 scientists in the federal state of Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany), strategic research fields were pre-selected for potential policy action. Overall, the study shows that strategic decisions for shaping and advancing research processes demand not only methodical proficiency in bibliometrics but also a broad knowledge of the structure of the research landscape and forward thinking on a broad canvas. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.