Latin America and the Caribbean consortium: Connecting excellence to enhance the skills base of local research teams in emerging infectious diseases

Title : Latin America and the Caribbean consortium: Connecting excellence to enhance the skills base of local research teams in emerging infectious diseases

Abstract:

Introduction: To respond to the emerging Zika outbreak, a community of practice (CoP) was created to provide support to implement high-quality, coherent research in affected communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The achievements of this CoP laid the groundwork for the creation, in 2023, of an expanded regional consortium that will focus on infectious diseases.

Method: Working in partnership with clinical research teams operating on the basis of the theory of change, we established a network of consortium in six LAC countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Peru) to enhance the skills base of local LAC healthcare research teams in the field of emerging infectious diseases by connecting excellence; using a joint regional and web-based approach to knowledge mobilization, educational initiatives, and tacit learning.

Results: With a strong response led by local research communities, the initial CoP had over 10,075 members with 91,000 visits from 43,644 users in 195 countries. Now the LAC consortium is expanding this reach and in its first months of implementation has managed to increase the offer of online and in-person capacity building activities and is attracting more health professionals interested in developing their research skills and leading research across the region.

Conclusion: The CoP set the foundations for the LAC consortium, which is assuming an active role in local capacity building and research leadership in the area of ??infectious diseases, in centers throughout the region.

Biography:

Fernando Rubinstein is a physician with a solid academic background and experience in public health. He specializes in Family Medicine and has a master's degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from San Diego State University, USA. Between 2021 and 2023 he worked as a researcher in Health services research and primary care at the University of Manchester, and is currently Training Leader at the Teaching, Training and Professional Development Center of The Global Health Network (TGHN) at the University of Oxford. In addition, he is a senior researcher at IECS and adjunct professor of Public Health at the UBA. His main areas of interest are prevention in primary care, access barriers to the health system in vulnerable populations, especially in the area of ​​tuberculosis, and the application of epidemiological methods. Throughout his career, he has been director of education at IECS and of the IECS/UBA clinical effectiveness master's degree, has coordinated courses on health services management and program evaluation at prestigious institutions, in addition to participating as a training coordinator and researcher in projects funded by the Fogarty International Center and the NIH of the United States.