Distance- and blended-learning in global health research: potentials and challenges

I t has been argued that in every country, 'social, educational, technological, and economic development fundamentally depends on the advancement of science through research. .. and [it] benefits from having a. .. network of actors engaged in promoting and using scientific research' (1, p. 26). This applies in particular to life sciences research in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), given that many such countries face the heaviest burdens of disease. However, Langer et al. (2) lamented in 2004, that 'In the fields of medicine and public health. .. papers where researchers from developing countries are the sole authors represent a very low proportion of published manuscripts' (p. 802). The reasons identified for this include: poor access to scientific literature, poor participation in publication-related decision-making processes, and the bias of journals. Much has changed since then, with a dramatic growth in the number of journals addressing public health concerns, many of which are based in LMICs or which include LMIC researchers on their editorial boards. There have been substantial initiatives, most notably Hinari (3), to provide LMIC researchers with access to the scientific literature. However, though the number of LMIC publications has increased substantially, a recent publication (4) found no LMIC in the top forty countries in terms of publications per capita. The other challenges identified by Langer et al. (2) can be seen as relating to inadequate research capacity, in large part resulting from limited resources in terms of both money and time. Younger academics face significant difficulties both in competing for support from international funding agencies and in persuading those agencies of the fund-management abilities of their institutions. Many will also have substantial teaching commitments which impose severe time constraints. Rather than pursuing their personal research interests, many will opt for the easier option of joining a project led by researchers from high-income counties (5). Attempts to build LMIC capacity are further constrained by the small number of senior research staff with proven track records available to act as mentors. Such individuals are typically in great demand. Some may join the 'brain drain' (6) to high-income countries, while others may contract out their teaching commitments in order to work more lucratively with international agencies. Students are often aware of this situation and the most able may seek improved educational opportunities overseas, further depleting the local research network. For some time, it has been suggested that developments in information and communications …