Newsletter June 2011 Research Promotion and Development

Research for Health News – June 2011 Research for Health News is a periodic informative bulletin concerning the activities of research for health. Its purpose is to inform countries, partners, and managers and staff of PAHO on the advances in the execution of PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health.

Compiled by the research team, send your comments to villanue@paho.org. Past issues.

Evidence Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Evidence‐Based Decision Making Regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Peru Upon request of the Peruvian Ministry of Health, the Analysis and Generation of Evidence in Public Health team at the National Institute of Health of Peru did a systematic review of the scientific literature on GMOs. Although there is no current proof that the consumption of GMOs is harmful to people, they concluded, based on the findings of their review, that there is also insufficient evidence to conclude that the consumption of GMOs is safe and beneficial to people. The Peruvian Congress issued a 10‐year moratorium on the introduction of GMOs in Peru waiting for knowledge gaps to be addressed as to ensure that GMOs are safe and beneficial for its population. The National Institute of Health promotes the systematic use of health research evidence in Peruvian policy‐making and members of their Analysis and Generation of Evidence in Public Health team participate in the local Evidence‐Informed Policy Network – EVIPNet. (Press release).

EVIPNet Workshop in Santiago de Chile, 7‐10 March 2011: Final Report Available The final report for the EVIPNet Workshop “Preparing Policy Briefs and Convening Deliberative Dialogues” (Chile, March 2011 press note), with links to explanatory videos (“EVIPNet in Practice”) and other initial outputs, is available here.

EVIPNet Workshop in Bangkok, March 2011: Final Report Available The final report for the EVIPNet Workshop “The Value of Implementation Research in Supporting Evidence–Informed Health Policy Development” (Bangkok, March 2011 press note) is available here.

Dr. Evelina Chapman, PAHO’s EVIPNet Coordinator, is visiting Guatemala at the request of the country office. In coordination with PAHO’s Sustainable Development & Environment team, she will provide technical cooperation to the Health and Environment and Maternal and Child Health divisions of the Ministry of Health and discuss the development of a Policy brief on Distribution of Water to inform a deliberative dialogue, in coordination with the Water Cabinet (Gabinete de Agua AGISA, Empagua).

Development of Guidelines and Technical Documents Workshop on “Developing Guidelines and Technical Documents with Recommendations from WHO/PAHO”, Washington, DC, 9–10 May 2011 PAHO Staff developing recommendations, guidelines and technical documents in technical programs and country offices participated in a workshop about integrating research findings into technical recommendations in line with established WHO Standards. The aim is to comply with WHO standards, provide a structure that facilitates the issuing of robust guidelines and recommendations, enhance transparency, quality and consistency of technical documents and implement PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health and the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Health Research. This workshop outlined the GRADE system approach, a comprehensive methodology to assess the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations. The workshop facilitation was led by Dr. Holger J. Schünemann (Director of the WHO Collaborating Center at the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of McMaster). Attendees travelled from Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, St. Marteen, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.

More information here (in Spanish).

Reminder: Key Research Reporting Guidelines Available in English and Spanish on Equator Network site Research Reporting Guidelines help inform systematically on research findings. Publication of updates available on the CONSORT, STARD, STROBE, and PRISMA guides. In addition to these guides, EQUATOR offers an extensive collection of guide updates and repository of guides in Spanish and English.

Research Ethics Research Ethics and the Abuse of Research Participants in Guatemala PAHO published an article discussing how research governance and ethics have been strengthened to protect research participants and prevent abuse, such as the research that took place in Guatemala in the 1940’s that came to light last year.

Reference: Saenz C, Saxena A, Cuervo LG, Roses Periago M. Guatemala never again: progress and challenges in the protection of research subjects. Rev Panam Salud Publica 2011; 29(5): 380‐381

Clinical Trials Registry Report of the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) Americas A final report has been published for the meeting and consulation on the development of a strategy to increase adherence to clinical trial registration, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to promote collaboration between countries and regions. The meeting gave a boost to the development of two clinical registries that fulfill the requirments of the World Health Organization (and PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health): the Cuban Public Registry of Clinical Trials (RPCEC) and the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry. The report for the workshop and additional information can be accessed here.

Other Events in Research Conference on “Health Technology Assessment (HTA) for Health Systems Sustainability”, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 27–29 June, 2011 Ludovic Reveiz (Advisor, Research Promotion and Development Team) will participate in two short‐ course panels at this conference: “Appraising Systematic Reviews of Interventions for Inclusion on HTA Reports” and “Appraising Clinical Practice Guidelines: Using the Agree Tool”. Several EVIPNet activities and topics relevant to PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health will be discussed at this event. More information on the conference and the conference program.

Cochrane Colloquium 2011: Latin America’s presence will be strong during the 19th Colloquium in Madrid. Numerous Latin American initiatives and advances will be featured in many events: plenary, workshops, poster sessions, presentations, etc.

Databases on Systematic Reviews to inform policy and practice WHO’s Collaborating Center at McMaster University and the McMaster Health Forum offer a database on health systems research with nearly 2,000 systematic reviews about governance, financial and delivery arrangements within health systems, as well as implementation strategies that can support change in health systems. To access the Health Systems Evidence Database, click here. We remind our readers that in addition to this, the BIREME’s Evidence Portal offers access to key evidence sources such as the Cochrane Library.

PAHO’s Research Promotion and Development team Acknowledged WHO EURO has requested technical cooperation from Research Promotion and Development for reactivation of the WHO EURO Advisory Committee on Health Research At the request of WHO’s Regional Office for Europe (EURO), Dr. Luis Gabriel Cuervo (Senior Adviser, Research Promotion and Development) has been providing technical support and participated in the meeting to reactivate the European Advisory Committee on Health Research (EACHR). The way PAHO’s ACHR meetings run and the engagement of the Regional Director are seen as a model for other regions and Dr. Cuervo has also been recognized as an agent of change in research capacity development and in coordinating the implementation of PAHO’s Policy on Research for Health. The EACHR was held at the WHO European Regional Office in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 06–07 June 2011, and the report will be made available once it is published in the ACHR section of http://www.paho.org/ResearchPortal.