The BRAC Health Program research team has recently wrapped up both WPA and HHS data collection activities in Bangladesh, having recruited over 19000 participants for WPA and 1800 participants for HHS from SEACTN villages in Bandarban and Cox’s Bazar. Having also completed Stakeholder Analysis and being the only site to have implemented all five major components under this initial phase of SEACTN studies, it has been a tremendous achievement for the research staff.
“We have worked diligently in partnership with our friends at MORU in order to establish a capable team of research physicians, clinical staff, interviewers and data managers, which will not only contribute to the ongoing success of SEACTN, but will help answer key questions regarding health priorities in the region and establish local scientific leadership and expertise for future studies on health research in Bangladesh,” said Dr Akramul Islam, Senior Director of BRAC and the local Principal Investigator for SEACTN in Bangladesh.
“We are eagerly looking forward to learning what the data reveals, so that we may work more effectively with our government partners and local stakeholders in order to improve the quality of health among rural populations in Bangladesh,” said Dr Shayla Islam, Associate Director of BRAC and Co-investigator for SEACTN.
The activities of the field research team was also audited during multiple visits by visiting teams from MORU, which greatly added to overall quality of work and towards the development of professional capacity within local staff.
The next challenge for the team is to ship all the biological samples collected and send them to MORU central laboratory for analysis and results dissemination. Very exciting times indeed!
– Text and pictures courtesy of Dr. Aninda Sen.