title: What happens after participants complete a Union-MSF structured operational research training course?
abstract: METHODS
  Eight operational research (OR) courses run by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for participants from low- and middle-income countries. There is a knowledge gap about whether participants continue OR after course completion.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine 1) the research output of participants and their institutions after course completion; 2) the influence of OR fellowships on output; and 3) the output of non-OR fellows stratified by sex, region and staff position.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-administered e-mail questionnaire survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 83 participants who completed a course, 76 (92%) responded to the questionnaire. Following course completion, 47 (62%) participants completed new research projects, 38 (50%) published papers (vs. 25 [33%] who had published before the course), 42 (55%) presented posters or oral abstracts at conferences, 33 (43%) facilitated at further OR courses, 29 (38%) reviewed scientific papers, 25 (33%) secured further OR funding and 55 (72%) said their institutions were involved in OR implementation or capacity building. OR fellows performed better than non-OR fellows. Among the latter, males and participants from Asia had better output than females and participants from Africa (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant proportion of participants continuing to engage in OR after course completion provides encouraging evidence of the long-term value of this capacity building model.
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guillerm
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tayler-Smith
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bissell
authors.affiliation: The Union, South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: A M V
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland ; Bute Medical School, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramsay
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Operational Centre Brussels, Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariah
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harries
keywords: Médecins sans Frontières; SORT IT; The Union; operational research capacity building; post-course research output