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Laboratories are a fundamental source of scientific evidence critical for clinical research and decision-making in clinical diagnostics and patient care. Because of this, it is important that laboratories meet quality and management standards so that the results they produce are reliable and useful for evidence-based practice. However, in areas of the world in most need of quality data to drive improvements to public health outcomes, laboratories face important challenges due to the scarcity of resources. Contrary to misconceptions, it is not difficult or expensive to ensure that a clinical research laboratory is compliant with good laboratory practice; special facilities, expensive external training and accreditation are not required. Rather, requirements for quality clinical and research standards are achievable and can be inexpensively implemented if training, information, protocols, templates and tools could be made equitably accessible.
TheGlobalHealthNetwork.org, gathered evidence to support the need for a highly interactive resource for research and clinical laboratories that would provide a range of dedicated tools and resources as well as a professional network. To fill this gap, an open access website called Global Health Laboratories was created within The Global Health Network. Global Health Laboratories provides an online platform for laboratories, researchers and laboratory staff to share knowledge, skills, tools and methods.
By enhancing networking and exchange between different types of laboratories, working in all types of settings and across disease areas, Global Health Laboratories seeks to enable equitable access to quality research resources, to promote good laboratory practice and, ultimately, to enable the advance of Laboratory research.
The Global Health Network launched GlobalHealthLaboratories.org at the ASLM2014. We held a panel discussion with regional laboratory experts highlighting the role of digital sharing in creating equity of access to research skills and enabling capacity building in global health research.
To download the panel seminar Power Point presentations simply click on the links in the list below:
- “Laboratory Capacity Development in a Clinical Trials Setting in Developing Countries, Risk and Reward”. Sebastian Gelderbloem, Head AERAS Africa
- “Capacity building: How do we ensure sustainability post grant?”. Jennifer Norman, Quality Assurance Manager, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Cape Town
- “Digital sharing in Sub-Saharan Africa”. Dr Yogandree Ramsamy, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal NHLS
- “Digital resources in the Eastern Cape, South Africa”. Dr Stephen Korsman, Lecturer/Medical Virologist, University of Cape Town/Groote Schuur NHLS
You can freely use, edit and distribute these presentations for non-commercial purposes; please reference Global Health Laboratories and The Global Health Network when you do.