Development of a Good Data Management Practices (GDMP) training course

Data management is most often related to Clinical research data management which is a critical phase to generate high quality research data in response to Good Clinical Research Practices (GCP) and regulatory requirements. However data management is also critical for National Control programmes in their routine activities. Indeed, accumulated routine control programme data are valuable in the assessment of national programme strategy efficiency or for guiding researchers to define operational research priorities if the data are effectively managed. Unfortunately, few control programmes – particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs) are actually prepared and equipped to effectively manage these data.
The barriers, particularly in LMICs, that hinder effective data management are multiple and one of them is the lack of training in Good Data Management Practices (GDMP). The demand is important and was recently recognised as a training priority by the sixteen National Tuberculosis programme managers of the West African Network for TB control (WARN-TB), a network supported by TDR for increasing the conduct of operational research in the West African region.
Unfortunately, data management is one of the key areas identified as lacking open training opportunities. TDR developed through its Career Development fellowship (CDF), a training with mentorship on research data management at the Institute of Health in Luxembourg (Dr Michel Vaillant). Two fellows (from Senegal and Guinea) have been already trained in 2013 and 2014. In addition, TDR trained “on-the-job” data managers of several disease control programmes as part of the capacity building component of clinical trial research projects conducted with these national programmes. This is particularly the case in Benin (Data manager of the National TB programme) and with Data managers of several LMIC neglected disease programmes.
The proposed project sits on what was built so far and goes one step further. It is proposed to involve the data managers already trained by TDR to develop a short course on Good Data Management practices addressing the training needs of control programme Data Managers for managing routine and research data. This course will be developed under the guidance of Michel Vaillant from the Luxembourg Institute of Health. It will next be piloted in 2016 (Q3) in West-Africa.