AFRICA – An international team of researchers have secured almost US$3 million of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding to work with partners in Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Pakistan in developing context-specific approaches to improve injury outcomes.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s main objective is to improve the health and wealth through research particularly investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services.
Funded by the Department of Health and Social Care, NIHR provides funding for high quality, timely research that benefits public health and social care while funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The NIHR has approved US$2.9 million in funding that will be shared between several Universities including the Universities of Aberdeen, Birmingham and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa with the aim of addressing the high burden of avoidable death and disability.
Every year, five million people die due to injuries like road traffic accidents, burns, falls, or violence – with 90 percent of these deaths in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The University of Aberdeen disclosed that the researchers will train four PhD students and 14 junior researchers in countries with low resources through the development of research hubs in partner countries, adding that the hubs will continue to train future LMIC researchers beyond the project’s end.
The University of Aberdeen announced that the multi-disciplinary team will build on partnerships with experts in Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, and Pakistan to explore how to overcome barriers to accessing quality care after injury and reduce the likelihood of death or disability.
Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen who is the Co-Investigator in the project Dr Lucia D’Ambruoso observed that an inclusive partnership underpins the research plans, noting that injuries are a major public health concern in the Global South requiring timely access to good quality care.
“Community and patient groups, policy-makers, health workers, researchers and other experts will help us to find solutions that are locally relevant, acceptable and feasible,” added Dr Lucia D’Ambruoso, Co-Investigator in the injury care and research project.
The University of Aberdeen said that experts will use a ‘four delays framework’ which looks at where delays occur in people seeking, reaching, receiving, and remaining in good quality care after injuries, to collect information on delays and their effects on patient outcomes.
The public research university further disclosed that the international team of researchers will develop strategies for policy makers to identify where intervention is needed to reduce post-injury delays and produce maximum health benefits.
“The project builds on a recent study funded by the NIHR and led by The University of Birmingham alongside experts in Rwanda in which 121 barriers to access to quality injury care were identified in three countries across sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana, South Africa and Rwanda,” the Scottish University disclosed.
The University of Aberdeen highlighted that solutions to improve access to quality care after injuries may be contextually-dependent, pointing out that investment needs to be made in overcoming delays in seeking or reaching care.
Furthermore, understanding access to quality injury care is critical to improving patient outcomes while solutions to reduce the risk of post-injury death and disability need to reflect circumstances in each country.
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