	The Pan American Health Organization Promoting Health in the Americas

Disease Prevention and Control / Communicable Diseases / Research Call for Proposals: Operational Research in Malaria Diagnosis & Treatment PAHO Small Grants Program for Operations Research on Tropical Diseases

Purpose Objectives Target Group Selection Criteria Indispensable Ethical Aspects Lines of Research How to Apply Support and Project Duration Proposal Presentation WHO/TDR \| TDR Forms RAVREDA/AMI PAHO Malaria Page		Deadline for receipt of proposals: 31 March 2004 Purpose This Call for Proposals is a joint initiative of the PAHO Communicable Disease Unit (CD), the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), the WHO Roll Back Malaria Initiative, and the PAHO-USAID Amazon Network for Monitoring Antimalarial Drug Resistance (RAVREDA/AMI). Its purpose is to promote, technically support and finance research related to accessibility to prompt diagnosis and opportune treatment of malaria in the Amazon region. Objectives This initiative seeks to promote operational research capability, the results of which help orient health services on the most appropriate interventions to ensure access to diagnosis and adequate treatment of malaria. Target Group The initiative is aimed at junior researchers working in malaria-endemic areas in the Amazon countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela), preferably at students in masters or doctoral programs or those who are carrying out internships related to malaria prevention and control programs in the Region. Selection Criteria The proposals will be submitted to an external review committee comprised of malaria experts in the areas of quantitative and/or qualitative research methodologies, as appropriate, and in the respective areas of studies. This committee will classify proposals and make recommendations for financing. The proposals will be selected competitively based on the following: Criteria of scientific merit. The relevance of the proposed topic in generating information which orient public health interventions. The pertinence of the proposal within the main research lines prioritized in this document. Joint preparation of the proposal with the Ministry of Health or Health Service responsible for public health in the study area. Contribution to the development of research capacity. The proposals selected for financing will be announced via this page page after *15 May 2004. Indispensable Ethical Aspects* Paying proper attention to ethical aspects is considered indispensable to obtain a grant. All the projects should present a *detailed section in the protocol* that explicitly indicates the form and mechanisms that will be utilized to protect human subjects, as well as the document that will be used to obtain *informed consent* of the subject. The protocol must be *approved by a National/Local Ethical Committee, prior to approval by the Malaria External Review Committee. Lines of Research* Adherence of patients to the therapeutic regimens. Descriptive studies and intervention studies (experimental/quasi-experimental designs) of evaluation of strategies to improve adherence. Evaluation of prescription practices. Studies on regular practices in the health units. Intervention studies on efficacy/effectiveness of improved prescription and pre-packaging practices. Access to the parasitological diagnosis and treatment. Evaluation of supply and demand. Evaluations of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions/strategies and tools to improve the supply of services. Quality in diagnosis and treatment delivery services. Exploratory studies. Uses of drugs by the community (self-medication, access to drugs, demand of services, KAP). Monitoring, compliance of therapeutic schemes and official guidelines of the health services. Evaluation studies of policy implementation. Quality of drugs available for the community and of the related processes. Exploratory studies. Mosquito nets use for malaria prevention. Estimate of the use by adults and children in endemic communities, determinants of the use/ not use. Evaluation of strategies/interventions to improve usage of the mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides. Evaluation of efficacy/effectiveness. How to Apply Interested parties should fill out and present application forms found on the WHO/TDR site, TDR Forms. A research protocol should in MS Word be attached to the forms. It may not exceed 20 letter-size pages, including the bibliography. Support and Project Duration More than one proposal will be considered per country. However, the budget for each proposal should be limited to no more than US$ 10,000. The research is to be completed in one year, with a maximum deadline of 18 months for the final report. Proposal Presentation The proposal should be presented, jointly with a letter of intent and the application forms established for the competition, and should be sent by e-mail to Dr. Zaida Yadón *by 31 March 2004* as an attachment in MS Word for Windows format. It can be written in any of the official languages of PAHO (Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French). Proposals can also be sent by special delivery mail with a diskette containing the document in MS Word for Windows and sent to the following postal address. However, it must be postmarked *no later than 24 March 2004. Dr. Zaida Yadón, Regional Advisor on Communicable Diseases Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Casilla de Correo No. 44 (C.P. 1640), Martinez Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: (+54-11) 57 89 40 34 E-mail: yadonzai@inppaz.ops.oms.org For posting or distribution purposes, this announcement can also be downloaded in PDF or Word. Deadline* for receipt of proposals: 31 March 2004