In 2022-2023, Burnet is facilitating PNG's second Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT-IT) course, with a cohort of nine senior healthcare professionals from six provinces. The course is implemented in partnership with the National Department of Health, University of PNG, and PNG Institute of Medical Research.
Objective
SORT-IT seeks to make countries “data-rich, information-rich and action-rich” thereby contributing to improving health care delivery and outcomes.
The objectives of SORT-IT are to support PNG and its institutions to:
Timeline
2022–2023.
Approach
SORT-IT is a course conducted globally under the umbrella of the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO-TDR). The program has been successfully implemented globally in 93 countries, and in the Pacific region has been implemented by the Burnet Institute previously in PNG and Fiji.
SORT-IT teaches senior staff in the PNG TB response the practical skills to undertake and publish operational research in accordance with their program priorities. The aim is to create an organisational culture of operational research informing policy and practice, and ultimately, develop adequate and sustainable operational research capacity.
The first two in-person modules of SORT-IT were held in Port Moresby in November 2022. The first module, led by Prof Steve Graham, facilitated participants through the development of an operational research protocol and ethics submission. The second module, led by Dr Jane Greig, trained participants in effective data collection and analysis methods, with participants forming a plan for the data they capture during their research projects.
The third and final module, focusing on data analysis and manuscript writing, will be held in July 2023, after which participants will submit their projects for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
A sample of participants’ SORT-IT projects includes:
Community impact
Operational research about TB generates evidence which is used to strengthen TB services by informing policy and practice. Strengthening TB services in PNG has direct benefits for people affected by TB.