Day1: Understanding Community Engagement: The Foundations

 Abstract: In our previous discussions with the AI4GH initiative partners, we recognized the need to develop and conduct workshops to address specific knowledge gaps. This workshop explicitly targets community engagement in AI healthcare research and aims to fulfill the training needs for both AI in health research and broader healthcare research. The workshop will cover various topics, including the challenges and opportunities associated with community engagement and best practices for effective research engagement. Participants will have the chance to learn from experienced experts in the field who have worked with communities in research settings. By the end of the workshop, participants will be better prepared to engage with communities in research and contribute to developing more effective and impactful health research projects for improved health outcomes.

Materials

Webinar Info: 

Target audience:  

  • TGHN community: General AI mid-career researchers or researchers/start-ups interested in researching healthcare solutions. 

  • AI community of practice, including sub-grantees belonging to the partners of the consortia funded by IDRC. 

  • Community Engagement and Participatory Research Community of practice  

Organizing institutions:  The Global Health Network (AI4GH research's CoP and MESH's leads)

Collaborator institutions: IDRC, Health AI, Partners in each region and center with selected subgrantees 

Agenda

  1. Overview of Community Engagement in  Global Health Research
  2. Principles and Ethics of Community Engagement 
  3. Stakeholder analysis and mapping 

Chair and Speakers:

Chair:  Dr. Bryain F Maradiaga-Mendoza- Regional Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean for the AI4GH Initiative.

Speakers: 

  •  Dr. Alun Davies-Lead of Mesh 
    He leads Mesh, The Global Health Network's platform for community engagement with health research. With a team of coordinators embedded in health research institutions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, we strengthen practice by sharing skills, knowledge, and resources among engagement practitioners and researchers. My significant personal achievement is establishing an extensive school engagement program with science in Kenya. It began as a pilot scheme in 2009 and has since become a flagship element of the KEMRI-Wellcome Research Programme's public engagement strategy, gaining an international reputation. I have broader experience leading engagement in multi-country projects in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. I led a WHO technical group on Good Participatory Practice for a multi-country CVID-19 vaccine trial. My PhD in Public Engagement evaluation drew on mixed methods and participatory approaches, including participatory video, to explore the impacts and outcomes.
    Contact: alun.davies@ndm.ox.ac.uk

  • Dr. Manuel Colomé-Hidalgo  -Principal, Instituto de Investigación en Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.
    Manuel Colomé studied at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, where he obtained the title of Doctor of Medicine (2014-2010). In Spain, he received an academic Doctorate (PhD) in Epidemiology and Public Health from Rey Juan Carlos University (2017-2021). He has a master's degree in Bioethics from the Santo Domingo Technological Institute, another in Health Sciences Research, and another in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, both from the San Jorge University in Spain. He has completed various trainings and certifications in field epidemiology, hospital epidemiology, infection prevention and control, outbreak management, good clinical practices, incident command systems, project management, risk communication, etc. In his professional experience, he has held positions of responsibility in public health. He has consulted for international organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Training Network in Epidemiology Programs and Public Health Interventions. He was epidemiology coordinator for the National Health Service, and from 2015 to date, he has served as manager of the epidemiology service of Dr. Hugo Mendoza Pediatric Hospital. He has extensive experience in surveillance, research, planning, and controlling infectious diseases in different settings. He currently directs the Health Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. 
    Contact: mcolome17@uasd.edu.do 

  • Luis Felipe Arias Soto- Researcher and part of the training and research unit at Etikos, interested in Implementation Research, Research Ethics, and the formation and promotion of new researchers.
    He is a Clinical Psychologist from the Dominican Republic. He has experience in research projects on mental health and violence prevention in the school setting, using digital tools to treat Tuberculosis, and reviewing ethics in research done in medical and school settings. He has practical experience working with low-income psychiatric patients and their families and in community engagement with healthcare and school personnel. Currently, he is part of the training and research unit at Etikos, and he is interested in implementation research, research ethics, and the formation and promotion of new researchers.
    Contact:luife.ariassoto@ndm.ox.ac.uk