Who is at risk of severe head injuries in the hospital in Mbarara, and what are the outcomes? Why do some mothers in rural western Uganda seek care early for babies with severe diarrhea while others delay until the babies are in shock? These are 2 of the many vital applied health research questions rafted by Ugandan health faculty members at a recent multidisciplinary research training workshop in Mbarara. Participants refined their questions, developed appropriate methodology and discussed the potential for this research to affect local health programs. But after days of hard work, a more worrisome question arose: Where will the money come from to undertake these small studies?The lack of research capacity and access to local research funds has precluded the development of quality-of-care research using the "plan, do, study, act" approach common in industrialized countries. Local health faculty members are best placed to identify high-priority problems, help assemble local resouraes to study and solveproblems and, most importantly, push local stakeholders into action. Motivation for change would be high, given that the community would Eve with the benefits or ongoing failures. Local research would also foster a culture of inquiry that would permeate the local health care system.
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