Research
Why does Ammalife wish to invest in research?
Many ideas which have good theoretical reasons to suggest that they should work do not fulfil this expectation in practice. Applications of such ideas could result in the loss of lives, resources, time and credibility. If our EARs do not find substantial evidence to recommend an idea, be it an intervention, test, or strategy for clinical practice, but the idea holds sufficient promise, we will prioritise such ideas for research. We believe that the limited resources available in the developing world should be used on evidence-based practices, and when such evidence does not exist, we should endeavour to produce it.
We do believe in implementing “good ideas” with limited evidence to support them – however, our view is that such good ideas should only be implemented in small scale programmes, and hand in hand with rigorous evaluation, ideally using the most feasible sound research designs, including randomised designs. We believe that there will need to be valid, important, relevant, consistent and robust evidence before ideas are implemented in large-scale programmes.
We appreciate research often incurs a substantial financial and human resources burden; however the price of large-scale implementation of interventions without proper evaluation can be huge losses in resources and lives.
What type of research does Ammalife conduct?
These include:
- Systematic reviews: to summarise the best available evidence on a topic
- Effectiveness studies (including randomised trials, particularly cluster randomised trials; non-randomised controlled studies; before-and-after studies)
- Diagnostic and prognostic studies.
- Modelling and cost-effectiveness analyses
- Qualitative studies (to explore reasons for healthcare seeking behaviour, for example)
- Surveys
- Programme evaluations (using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods) and outcome research (to investigate external validity in particular).
How do we implement our research programme?
The Ammalife Research Committee (ARC) will meet periodically and evaluate potential research questions identified. The committee will prioritise questions that are a) most promising in terms of the likelihood of being found to be useful, b) questions for which research is feasible, and c) questions for which funding is plausible. For each of the prioritised questions, we will:
- Develop a focussed research question.
- Approach local partners for collaboration.
- Develop a pragmatic research protocol with the help of local collaborators, paying specific attention to the design, implementation, outcome assessment, and proposed (interim and final) analyses of the study.
- Conduct a pilot study if required, and modify protocol as necessary.
- Seek ethical approval.
- Seek funding.
- Implement the research, and produce the report.
- Publicise the findings, and aim to incorporate them into guidelines if appropriate.
The above steps would be suitable for primary research studies. For other types of studies, for example, a systematic review or modelling exercise, the steps will vary.
