KARACHI, Feb 1: A workshop on 'South Asian Cardiovascular Research Methodology' commenced at the Aga Khan University auditorium on Tuesday with the objective of research training of physicians in the region , where non-communicable diseases were on the rise.

The eight-day training programme is being organized by the AKU, in collaboration with the Pakistan Cardiac Society, SAARC Cardiac Society, WHO Collaborating Centre, Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh University, USA.

Dr Ronald E Laporte, Director, Disease Monitoring and Telecommunications - WHO Collaborating Centre, Pittsburgh, speaking at the opening session of the event, underscored importance of developing tool of epidemiology in the developing countries.

Citing epidemiology as the backbone of healthcare, the senior researcher said it appeared to be all the more important as governments and policymakers required data to initiate healthcare programmes.

Prof Laporte, the brain behind major tele-medicine programme across the world, observed with concern that while 25 per cent of the medical researchers across the globe were from the developing countries yet no more than two per cent of them got their research work published in the journals of world repute.

This was observed to be reflective of certain lacunae in the research exercise undertake by these researchers, also preventing them from coming forward with an efficient and almost foolproof healthcare programmes based on the research done by scientists of these countries.

He acknowledged that Pakistan had brilliant students and scientists who needed to be trained in research methodology with emphasis on epidemiology, which was again the core requirement for work done in the field of medicine.

"For clinical epidemiology, good methodology and equally good scientific technology is pre-requisite," Prof Laporte stressed, reminding that he and his colleagues were imparting training in epidemiology of diabetes for last 20 years and intended to have similar programmes in Cardiac epidemiology.

The workshop at the AKU would focus on the needs of the South Asian countries, and will impart research skills through a comprehensive training to 40 participants selected out of 100 applicants mainly from Pakistan, besides a few from Bangladesh.

It will be conducted by known experts from USA, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan with sessions on basic epidemiology, biostatistics, cardiovascular disease epidemiology, manuscript writing and concepts of molecular epidemiology and meta analysis.

Prof Laporte mentioned that preparation of research proposals, area of research, required approach and perspective from NIH format would be the major elements of the workshop along with inculcation of skills for tool preparation and application of same for research, its publication and also procurement of grants for research.

Problem is not lack of money but communication for many of the third world researchers, the seasoned researcher observed while revealing the politics of publications as according to him it is not always how the research paper is written and statistics generated or provided.

Prof Waseem Jafferi of the AKU, hoped the workshop would have an impact on the health policy managers of the South Asian countries with due realization that mere treatment and medical interventions for cardiac conditions were not enough. Prof Khawar Kazmi, chairman of the organizing committee, said the important academic activity would boost research activities. -APP