Table 1
Demographic characteristics of health equity participants (n = 14).
| CHARACTERISTICS | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||
| Female | 9 | 64% |
| Male | 5 | 36% |
| Education attainment (highest degree) | ||
| MD + MPH | 3 | 21% |
| MD | 3 | 21% |
| MPH | 3 | 21% |
| MBBS | 3 | 21% |
| BS | 2 | 14% |
| Affiliation | ||
| International non‑governmental organization (INGO) | 10 | 72% |
| Civil society organization | 2 | 14% |
| Research foundation | 2 | 14% |
| Age (years) | ||
| Mean | 32.5 | |
| SD | 4.64 |
1. Foundations of health equity research:
This module/workshop will introduce the core principles of health equity research and cover topics such as defining health equity, social determinants of health, cultural competence, and examples of health equity research.
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | October 10, 2022 | Introduction to concept of health equity | Define health equity Explain the core principles of health equity Distinguish between equality and equity Discuss the importance of cultural competence to address health inequities |
| 1.2 | October 17, 2022 | Social justice and ethical frameworks for health equity research | Identify how particular theories of justice underlie the idea of health inequity Discuss the special importance addressing health inequities for the health professional Analyze different theories of justice that can serve as a justice framework for international clinical research |
| 1.3 | October 24, 2022 | Social determinants of health: From health disparities to health equity | Define political and social determinants of health (SDH) Discuss conceptual framework of SDH Describe key dimensions and directions for policy to address SDH Discuss the importance of social cohesion in addressing SDH Discuss racial/ethnic inequalities as determinants of health inequities |
| 1.4 | October 31, 2022 | Health equity research: Types of research that addresses health equity | Identify the methodologies important in equity research Explain community‑based participatory research Discuss mixed‑methods research Discuss of ethics of equity research |
2. Developing the research question for choosing a proposal:
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | November 7, 2022 | Developing the research question | Define the research gap Determine the research gap |
3. Research methods and students’ presentations on research questions/proposal and data availability:
This module will help students to design their research and collect, analyze, and interpret information. The research methods are the techniques used for performing different activities during the research projects. The selection of an appropriate research method is extremely important as it has a significant influence on the research outcome.
Participants will choose a research topic during the first few months of the Health Research Equity training followed by the write‑up of a proposal. Participants are encouraged to conduct secondary analysis of an existing database. Each participant will be guided by a mentor and will also receive help from a statistician.
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | November 12, 2022 | Literature searching | Explain literature review and systematic review, and their process in exploring health equity Search in online databases for health equity review questions using the Boolean or MeSH search query Retrieve and manage literature |
| 3.2 | November 21, 2022 | Secondary data analysis | Explain key concepts directly applicable in data analysis for health equity research Develop a statistical analysis plan for participants’ own research projects |
| 3.3 | November 28, 2022 | Systemic reviews and meta‑analysis | Perform systematic reviews |
| 3.4 | December 5, 2022 | Practical session for literature search | Perform a literature review exercise |
| 3.5 | December 12, 2022 | Quantitative research | Describe quantitative health research Discuss the role of quantitative research in evaluating health equity List different types of quantitative research (epidemiological study designs) in evaluating health equity Discuss pros and cons of each epidemiological study designs in health equity research |
| 3.6 | December 19, 2022 | Research objectives | Explain how to develop research objectives |
| 3.7 | January 9, 2023 | Students’ presentation | Presentation of summary research questions, objectives, and data availability |
| 3.8 | January 16, 2023 | Students’ presentation | Presentation of summary research questions, objectives, and data availability |
| 3.9 | January 23, 2023 | Qualitative research | Describe qualitative health research for health equity Explain the different methodologies/theories associated with qualitative research Explain the process of designing qualitative health equity research List different types of qualitative data collection methods in evaluating health equity Identify the four types of qualitative data analysis including characteristics of each data analysis method Describe how to apply rigor in qualitative health research |
| 3.10 | January 30, 2023 | Statistical methods I | Identify the steps in data management to produce clean and tidy data for data analysis and Carry out key data management tasks using SPSS |
| 3.11 | February 6, 2023 | Statistical methods II | Describe key concepts directly applicable in data analysis for health equity research Develop a statistical analysis plan for participants’ own research projects |
| 3.12 | February 13, 2023 | Statistical methods III | Produce descriptive statistics and perform main statistical analyses using SPSS Interpret and transform SPSS outputs to the tables of the result session of the report and Interpret the tables in the result session in relations to health equity analysis |
| 3.13 | February 20, 2023 | Research in the digital world | Explain social and digital methods to conduct research |
4. Scientific and grant writing part I:
This workshop will review best practices in scientific writing style, analyze the main genres of research writing, provide many opportunities for participants to revise their own work based on feedback from instructors and each other.
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | February 27, 2023 | The research paper (IMRaD format) | Describe the “language” of scientific writing |
| 4.2 | March 6, 2023 | Introduction section | Write a succinct introduction section that describes the research gap |
5. Best practices in engaging communities in research:
Encouraging and supporting community participation in generating evidence for improved solutions to health challenges are important in building trust in science through sustained engagement. As such, there is a need for the promotion of community engagement in health research. Community participation needs to occur at all levels of the research process, including framing the research questions and participation in the development of the study design. This is expected to improve the uptake and implementation of research findings.
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | March 13, 2023 | Theory of community‑based participatory research and methods | Describe historical and practice roots of CBPR Discuss Socio‑economic framework for CBPR Define the community |
| 5.2 | March 20, 2023 | Best practices in engaging communities | Describe partnership formation and maintenance Explain Power, trust, and dialogue Describe working with diverse communities Use stakeholder theory to engage stakeholders |
| March 27, 2023 | Public holiday and no lecture | ||
| 5.3 | April 3, 2023 | Types of implementation strategies | Describe implementation research (IR) and its key characteristics Contextualize the IR issues Design and plan a IR research Discuss best practices for engaging community in rolling out of an IR |
6. Scientific and grant writing part II:
| # | DATE | TOPIC | LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | April 10, 2023 | Methods and results sections | Describe and justify methodological choices Report results accurately and transparently |
| 6.2 | April 17, 2023 | Discussion section | Interpret key findings in relation to study objectives and existing literature Critically assess study limitations and strengths Articulate the broader implications of the findings |
| 6.3 | April 24, 2023 | Plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarism | Explain plagiarism Describe the factors that lead to plagiarism Explain methods on how to avoid plagiarism |
| 6.4 | May 1, 2023 | Submitting a manuscript for peer review | Prepare a manuscript for submission by correctly formatting all required components Identify and apply journal selection criteria Demonstrate effective engagement with the peer‑review process |
| 6.5 | May 8, 2023 | Citing sources | Demonstrate how to cite sources in your manuscript |
Table 3
List of capstone projects.
| NO. | TITLE | THEMATIC AREA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geographic disparities of private clinical laboratories in Yangon | Laboratory assessment |
| 2 | Factors affecting on depression and anxiety, and its social determinants during the time of conflict, Kayin State, Myanmar | Mental health |
| 3 | Socioeconomic status influencing the complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months in Kayin State | Nutrition |
| 4 | Inequity in HIV index testing, treatment and prevention services in The Union Project | HIV |
| 5 | Malaria incidence and access to the personal protective package among the forest goers in forest fringe villages of Kachin State, Myanmar: Quasi‑experimental study | Malaria |
| 6 | Treatment success rate of HCV treatment and its associated factors among HIV/HCV co‑infected people who inject drugs (PWID) from three MDM project sites—Myitkyina, Moegaung, and Hopin, Kachin State, Myanmar | Hep. C |
| 7 | Institutional delivery and its determinants in eight essential health project townships in Myanmar | MRH |
| 8 | Anti‑retroviral therapy (ART) coverage among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) from an NGO‑based facility | HIV |
| 9 | Assessing the association of the social determinants with the low dietary diversity among women reproductive age (WRA) and 6–23 months old children in the rural district of Puta‑O (northernmost part of), Myanmar | Nutrition |
| 10 | Accessibility of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities and its associated factors in rural area of Hlaingbwe township, Kayin Sate | WASH |
Table 4
Rubric scores of the completed manuscripts (n = 5).
| MANUSCRIPT TITLE | IMPORTANCE AND SIGNIFICANCE (20) | LITERATURE REVIEW AND JUSTIFICATION (15) | RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTION (15) | METHODS AND SCIENTIFIC RIGOR (20) | POTENTIAL IMPACT AND HEALTH EQUITY (20) | ORGANIZATION AND WRITING QUALITY (10) | TOTAL (100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association between distribution of personal protection package to malaria at‑risk populations and accessibility to malaria services | 16.5 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 16 | 17 | 8.5 | 84.0 |
| Determinants of birth delivery | 17.5 | 13 | 14 | 17.5 | 16.5 | 8.5 | 87.0 |
| Association of the social determinants with dietary diversity | 17.5 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 9 | 89.5 |
| Factors with HCV treatment success | 18 | 13.5 | 14.5 | 18 | 16.5 | 8 | 88.5 |
| Geographic disparities of private clinical laboratories | 16.5 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 16 | 16.5 | 8 | 83.0 |
| Mean (SD) | 17.2 (0.7) | 13.0 (0.5) | 14.0 (0.5) | 17.0 (0.9) | 16.8 (0.4) | 8.4 (0.4) | 86.4 (2.8) |