title: Embedding operational research into national disease control programme: lessons from 10 years of experience in Indonesia.
abstract: There is growing recognition that operational research (OR) should be embedded into national disease control programmes. However, much of the current OR capacity building schemes are still predominantly driven by international agencies with limited integration into national disease control programmes. We demonstrated that it is possible to achieve a more sustainable capacity building effort across the country by establishing an OR group within the national tuberculosis (TB) control programme in Indonesia. Key challenges identified include long-term financial support, limited number of scientific publications, and difficulties in documenting impact on programmatic performance. External evaluation has expressed concerns in regard to utilisation of OR in policy making. Efforts to address this concern have been introduced recently and led to indications of increased utilisation of research evidence in policy making by the national TB control programme. Embedding OR in national disease control programmes is key in establishing an evidence-based disease control programme.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Public Health, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; yodi_mahendradhata@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Yodi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mahendradhata
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta City, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Probandari
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Behavioral Science, Faculty of Public Health, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Bagoes
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Widjanarko
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Population, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Pandu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riono
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Control Program, Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Dyah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mustikawati
authors.affiliation: KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Edine W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Tiemersma
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Faculty, Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia; TB-HIV Research Center, Dr Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Bachti
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Alisjahbana
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D006291:Health Policy; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D009874:Operations Research; D011050:Policy Making; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: capacity building; disease control; operational research; policy; tuberculosis