Development & Implementation of a Global Health Research Mentorship Program

Development and Implementation of a Global Health Research Mentorship Program: Leveling the Playing Field (GEMA and Research Committee Sponsored)

Presenters:
Wijaya A. Kumar, MD, MPH
James H. Paxton, MD, MBA
Christopher Conn

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:

- Understand the challenges faced by researchers in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).
- Appreciate the need for creation of a mentorship program for researchers from low resource settings (LMICs).
- Understand the nuances of creation of an online mentorship platform.
- Appreciate the influence an online EM mentorship program will have on conduction of global EM research.

One key factor in the success of any researcher is a strong mentor, who not only guides the researcher but also inspires him/her to rise to their full potential. Though we take this for granted in the US, it is a luxury not available to many researchers around the world especially in the field of emergency medicine (EM). With the unequal balance of research resources allocated globally, many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) struggle to gain momentum in developing their research including EM research capacity. Aspiring researchers in these countries remain trapped in a cycle of needing grant funding to conduct sound research but needing research experience to obtain funding. Local researchers should be at the forefront of developing groundbreaking solutions to the health problems within their own countries, but they often lack the infrastructure, support, training and quality mentorship to even begin their careers. The Global Health Research Mentorship Program (GHRMP) provides prospective researchers from various health care professions including EM, especially in low and middle-income countries, the necessary mentorship and research training to gain valuable knowledge and experience with the goal of becoming productive researchers and building capacity at their institutions. Over 50 faculty members from various departments across Wayne State University, including 8 EM faculty, dedicated their time to building the Global Health Research Collaborative (GHRC) and its adjoining Summer Workshop curriculum by creating over 70 hours of recorded and synchronous training materials over the past 3 years. They have also dedicated their time and energy in providing virtual mentorship to aspiring researchers from around the world for the 6 weeks of the summer workshop and the 6 months following that. The GHRC recently completed its second summer workshop, already having provided mentorship to 59 participants, including 16 EM-trained young researchers from more than 20 different countries.
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