Building Health Equity Research Capacity in Myanmar Through a Virtual, Mentor‑Based Training Program

Background: In Myanmar, the COVID‑19 pandemic and political unrest beginning in 2021 exacerbated longstanding health inequities and disrupted health services, universities, and research governance, rendering in‑person research training infeasible when locally led health equity research was urgently needed.

Objectives: To describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of a fully virtual, mentor‑based health equity research training program in Myanmar.

Methods: Supported by the Fogarty International Center/NIH, a one‑year virtual training program integrated weekly virtual Zoom sessions, asynchronous learning through a learning management system, and structured faculty mentorship. Program evaluation employed a mixed‑methods approach that included participant and faculty surveys, objective assessment of analytic projects using a standardized scoring rubric, and analysis of the program interpreted through the RE‑AIM framework.

Findings: Of the initial 14 participants from civil society organizations and international nongovernmental organizations, 12 completed the program. Participants developed analytic projects using secondary datasets available through their organizations. These projects addressed health equity priorities, maternal health, COVID‑19 impacts on informal workers, and disparities among displaced populations. Five subsequently produced full manuscripts. Objective evaluation demonstrated consistently high manuscript quality (mean rubric score 86.4/100, SD 2.8). Quantitative evaluations indicated high satisfaction with the program structure, learning resources, faculty engagement, and virtual mentoring. Qualitative findings highlighted the accessibility of the virtual format, gains in health equity knowledge and research skills, and the importance of sustained mentorship, while identifying the need for additional quantitative methods support and more individualized feedback.

Conclusions: A fully virtual, mentor‑based training program can sustain health equity research capacity in fragile and conflict‑affected settings when in‑person training is not feasible. Beyond maintaining educational continuity, the program supported the development of high‑quality analytic projects and scholarly manuscripts, demonstrating that context‑sensitive virtual training can strengthen locally led research capacity and institutional resilience during prolonged humanitarian and political disruption.