A distance clinical research training course in Ghana

Clinical research training in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has not been adequately incorporated into local physicians' education. The lack of trained physician-scientists in LMICs is due in part to poor research infrastructure in these areas including limited funding support and scarcity of senior-level physician-scientists to provide training in research methodology. This article describes the structure, content, and evaluation of a combined synchronous/asynchronous distance and onsite learning program implemented in Kumasi, Ghana, to train physicians in clinical research. The course was delivered over 18 months and was associated with a clinical research study for which the participants were coinvestigators. A substantial increase in clinical research self-efficacy, as measured by the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory, was found at the end of the course compared to baseline. This course could serve as a model for the delivery of clinical research training in other LMICs. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medcal knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement.