Building a 'Virtual Library': continuing a global collaboration to strengthen research capacity within Nepal and other low- and middle-income countries.

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101496665 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1654-9880 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 16549880 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Glob Health Action Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2016- > : Philadelphia, PA : Taylor & Francis
Original Publication: Häggeby : Co-Action Publishing

Capacity Building* ; Developing Countries*; Humans ; Nepal ; Reproducibility of Results ; Research Personnel

To fill the gap in health research capacity-building efforts, we created the 'Virtual Library' (VL) - a web-based repository of context-relevant resources for health researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper describes the participatory process used to systematically develop the VL, and describes how our interprofessional team - representing both an LMIC (Nepal) and a high-income country (HIC) (USA, US) - engaged in shared meaning-making. A team of researchers and clinicians representing a range of subdisciplines from Nepal and the US created a replicable search strategy and standardized Resource Screening Guide (RSG) to systematically assess resources to be included within the VL. Descriptive methods were used to summarize findings from the RSG and lessons learned from the collaborative process. Collectively, 14 team members reviewed 564 potential resources (mean = 40, SD = 22.7). Mean RSG score was 7.02/10 (SD = 2). More than 76% of resources met each of the four quality criteria (relevant; reputable, accessible; understandable). Within the published VL, 298 resources were included, organized by 15 topics and 45 sub-topics. Of these, 223 resources were evaluated by the RSG; 75 were identified by team member expertise. The collaborative process involved regular meetings, iterative document revisions, and peer review. Resource quality was better than expected, perhaps because best practices/principles related to health research are universally relevant, regardless of context. While the RSG was essential to systematize our search and ensure reproducibility, team member expertise was valuable. Pairing team members during peer-review led to bi-directional knowledge sharing and was particularly successful. This work reflects a highly collaborative global partnership and offers a model for future health research capacity-building efforts. We invite engagement with the Virtual Library as one supportive pillar of infrastructure to develop individual and institutional research capacity.

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R21 TW011244 United States TW FIC NIH HHS; T32 NR013456 United States NR NINR NIH HHS

Keywords: Research capacity building; community based participatory research; digital library; low- and middle-income countries; non-communicable diseases

Date Created: 20221006 Date Completed: 20221007 Latest Revision: 20221028

20250114

PMC9553149

10.1080/16549716.2022.2112415

36200469