Saudi Arabia-United States Collaboration in Health Research: A Formula for Success

摘要

International collaborations offer new perspectives and important opportunities for health researchers to share information, experiences, and methods that provide the basis for population-based health studies of mutual interest. Collaborations that involve completely different cultural perspectives also present distinct challenges. We share our experiences following a successful international collaboration to study health outcomes among Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) soldiers following the 1991 Gulf War. Our study involved a multidisciplinary team, including two physician researchers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and eight researchers from the United States with expertise in epidemiology, preventive medicine, occupational medicine, biostatistics, data programming, and analyses. The findings from our epidemiological study are reported separately. In this commentary, we address some of the major distinctions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, including geopolitical, social and religious, as well as healthcare system and language differences that had an impact on our research collaboration. Despite the challenges, our international collaboration was a very worthwhile experience. In addition to all that was learned about the process of gathering information on health outcomes in an international setting, we also gained much in the area of improved cross-cultural understanding and cooperation, which can contribute to a global network of scientists committed to building a science-based foundation for health research.