IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0160837.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Building Global Capacity for Conducting Operational Research Using the SORT IT Model: Where and Who?

Author

Listed:
  • Rony Zachariah
  • Stefanie Rust
  • Selma Dar Berger
  • Nathalie Guillerm
  • Karen Bissell
  • Paul Delaunois
  • Anthony J Reid
  • Ajay M V Kumar
  • Piero L Olliaro
  • John C Reeder
  • Anthony D Harries
  • Andrew Ramsay

Abstract

Setting: Research capacity is weakest in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) where operational research is highly relevant and needed. Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) courses have been developed to train participants to conduct and publish operational research and influence policy and practice. Twenty courses were completed in Asia, Africa, Europe and the South Pacific between 2009 and 2014. Objectives: In the 20 completed SORT IT courses, to assess where the research was conducted, who was trained, who became facilitators in subsequent courses and course outcomes. Design: A cohort study of completed SORT IT courses Results: There were 236 participants (41% female) including 64 nationalities who conducted research in 59 countries, mostly from Asia and Africa (mean course duration = 9.7 months). Most participants (68%) were from government health programs and non-governmental agencies. A total of 213(90%) participants completed all milestones successfully with 41(19%) becoming subsequent course facilitators, 88% of whom were from LMICs. Of 228 manuscripts submitted to scientific journals, 197(86%) were either published or in press; in 86%, the principal investigator (first author) was a LMIC national. Papers were published in 23 scientific journals (impact factor 0.5–4.4) and covered 21 disease categories (median publication time = 5.7 months). Published papers (186) had 94,794 cumulative article views/downloads. Article views/downloads for immediate open access articles were double those from closed access journals. Conclusion: The SORT IT model has been effective in training personnel to produce relevant operational research in LMICs. It merits continued commitment and support for further scale-up and development.

Suggested Citation

  • Rony Zachariah & Stefanie Rust & Selma Dar Berger & Nathalie Guillerm & Karen Bissell & Paul Delaunois & Anthony J Reid & Ajay M V Kumar & Piero L Olliaro & John C Reeder & Anthony D Harries & Andrew , 2016. "Building Global Capacity for Conducting Operational Research Using the SORT IT Model: Where and Who?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0160837
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160837
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160837
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160837&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0160837?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin McKee & David Stuckler & Sanjay Basu, 2012. "Where There Is No Health Research: What Can Be Done to Fill the Global Gaps in Health Research?," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-7, April.
    2. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    3. Martin McKee & David Stuckler & Sanjay Basu, 2012. "Where There Is No Health Research: What Can Be Done to Fill the Global Gaps in Health Research?," Working Papers id:4971, eSocialSciences.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kate Gooding & James N Newell & Nick Emmel, 2018. "Capacity to conduct health research among NGOs in Malawi: Diverse strengths, needs and opportunities for development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kathleen Van Royen & Carl Lachat & Michelle Holdsworth & Karlien Smit & Joyce Kinabo & Dominique Roberfroid & Eunice Nago & Christopher Garimoi Orach & Patrick Kolsteren, 2013. "How Can the Operating Environment for Nutrition Research Be Improved in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Views of African Researchers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-9, June.
    2. Martine AUDIBERT & Marlène GUILLON & Jacky MATHONNAT, 2018. "The challenge of improving efficiency of Soum Health Centers in Mongolia," Working Papers P226, FERDI.
    3. Martine AUDIBERT & Marlène GUILLON & Jacky MATHONNAT, 2018. "The challenge of improving efficiency of Soum Health Centers in Mongolia," Working Papers P226, FERDI.
    4. Martine Audibert & Marlène Guillon & Jacky Mathonnat, 2018. "The challenge of improving efficiency of Soum Health Centers in Mongolia - What data tell us for Soum Health Centers in five provinces?," Working Papers hal-01795645, HAL.
    5. Martine Audibert & Marlène Guillon & Jacky Mathonnat, 2018. "The challenge of improving efficiency of Soum Health Centers in Mongolia - What data tell us for Soum Health Centers in five provinces?," Post-Print hal-01795645, HAL.
    6. Charles C. Ezenduka & Obinna E. Onwujekwe, 2022. "Evaluating a capacity development intervention in health economics among producers and users of evidence in Nigeria: a case study in Getting Research Into Policy and Practice (GRIPP) in Anambra State," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    7. Aviane Auguste & Glenn Jones & Dorothy Phillip & James St. Catherine & Elizabeth Dos Santos & Owen Gabriel & Carlene Radix, 2021. "Difficulties in Accessing Cancer Care in a Small Island State: A Community-Based Pilot Study of Cancer Survivors in Saint Lucia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    8. Paulina Schiappacasse & Bernhard Müller & Le Thuy Linh, 2019. "Towards Responsible Aggregate Mining in Vietnam," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, August.
    9. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    10. Schlör, Holger & Venghaus, Sandra & Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich, 2018. "The FEW-Nexus city index – Measuring urban resilience," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 382-392.
    11. Jean-Louis Combes & Alexandru Minea & Pegdéwendé Nestor Sawadogo, 2019. "Assessing the effects of combating illicit financial flows on domestic tax revenue mobilization in developing countries," CERDI Working papers halshs-02019073, HAL.
    12. Nelson, Ewan & Warren, Peter, 2020. "UK transport decoupling: On track for clean growth in transport?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 39-51.
    13. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    14. R. Ebrahimi & S. Choobchian & H. Farhadian & I. Goli & E. Farmandeh & H. Azadi, 2022. "Investigating the effect of vocational education and training on rural women’s empowerment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Benjamin Nölting & Bettina König & Anne B. Zimmermann & Antonietta Di Giulio & Martina Schäfer & Flurina Schneider, 2022. "Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to reflect on sustainability research," NachhaltigkeitsManagementForum | Sustainability Management Forum, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 11-27, December.
    16. Rashmi Jaipal, 2017. "Psychology at the Crossroads," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 29(2), pages 125-159, September.
    17. Bárbara Galleli & Elder Semprebon & Joyce Aparecida Ramos dos Santos & Noah Emanuel Brito Teles & Mateus Santos de Freitas-Martins & Raquel Teodoro da Silva Onevetch, 2021. "Institutional Pressures, Sustainable Development Goals and COVID-19: How Are Organisations Engaging?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    18. Sagarika Dey & Priyanka Devi, 2019. "Impact of TVET on Labour Market Outcomes and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Areas: A Case Study from Cachar District, Assam," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 13(3), pages 357-371, December.
    19. Rostami-Tabar, Bahman & Ali, Mohammad M. & Hong, Tao & Hyndman, Rob J. & Porter, Michael D. & Syntetos, Aris, 2022. "Forecasting for social good," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 1245-1257.
    20. Maria Sassi, 2020. "A SEM Approach to the Direct and Indirect Links between WaSH Services and Access to Food in Countries in Protracted Crises: The Case of Western Bahr-el-Ghazal State, South Sudan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-13, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0160837. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.