Operational Research to Inform Programmatic Approaches to Management of Tuberculosis in Uzbekistan

Dear Colleagues,

The European Tuberculosis Research Initiative (ERI-TB) was launched by the WHO Regional Office for Europe in 2017 in order to advance TB research in the region, and is one of the platforms that supports the implementation of the TB Action Plan of 2016–2020. Responsible officers within the Joint Tuberculosis, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis Program serve as ERI-TB secretariats. One of the ERI-TB objectives was to define a regional TB research agenda. The ERI-TB secretariats have facilitated the process and a European TB Research Agenda (ERA-TB) was developed using the core Regional (i) technical expertise, (ii) engagement of the civil society, as well as (iii) consultation with national and (iv) regional counterparts.

In June 2018, the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the first Structured Operational Research Training of ERI-TB (SORT-TB) to facilitate the implementation of ERA-TB. The aim of SORT-TB is to build the capacity of TB researchers in East Europe and Central Asia in partnership with UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). The first cohort of SORT-TB took the concept of the TDR’s SORT IT course (https://www.who.int/tdr/capacity/strengthening/sort/en/) to the next level by (i) supporting the implementation of ERA-TB, (ii) acting within the framework of the bilateral collaborative agreements (BCA) with member states, and (iii) supporting national counterparts to adapt country TB policies by turning research into action. The SORT-TB course consists of three workshops, taking the principal investigators (PIs) through the process of preparing an OR protocol, analyzing data, and preparing publishable manuscripts. In 2019–2020, the WHO Country Office in Uzbekistan, together with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, implemented the first country-specific SORT-TB course.

Thirteen research projects were carried out within the first country-specific SORT-TB cohort. Principal investigators from Uzbekistan, selected on a competitive basis, were enrolled into the course. Priority was given to those research projects that answer research questions defined in ERA-TB and that serve the purpose of improving the programmatic management of TB in Uzbekistan. Principal investigators were assigned into working groups, each consisting of two principal investigators, one senior mentor, one junior mentor, and one/two WHO co-mentors. Senior and junior mentors were selected from the pool of regional experts with experience in research and TB. Manuscripts prepared by research groups will serve the purpose of tailoring programs addressing the diagnostics, treatment, and care of TB in Uzbekistan.

The project collaborators are contributing work exclusively this Special Issue.

Dr. Masoud Dara
Dr. Nargiza Parpieva
Dr. Askar Yedilbayev
Dr. Lianne Kuppens
Dr. Jamshid Gadoev
Project Leaders

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