Global Dissemination Initiative for The WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management
The WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management was developed in 2021 in order to facilitate more research that can provide high-quality evidence for well-informed decision making for Health EDRM. The WHO Global Dissemination Initiative was launched in 2022, aiming to promote the active implementation of the Guidance across the globe with the support of key participants in the Health EDRM Research Network. This webpage provides some examples of how the implementation of the Guidance has been supported through the WHO Global Dissemination Initiative.
Example Usages of the Guidance
1. Using the Guidance in Teaching and Training Activities
Chapters
1) Chapter 2.6: The current state of the evidence: Mapping the evidence and systematic reviews
• Used in Masters in Public Health and Masters in Global Health courses at Queen's University Belfast as essential reading about systematic reviews.
• Used in Masters in Evidence Based Health Care at the University of Oxford as essential reading for systematic reviews.
2) Chapter 3.5: Ditermining the research questions
• Used in Masters in Evidence Based Health Care at the University of Oxford as essential reading for randomised trials.
3) Chapter 3.6: Assessing the Problems and Developing a Scoping Review
• Used in a PhD course on research methods for Investigative Methods in Population Health to provide as a resource for conducting scoping reviews.
4) Chapter 4.1: Basic principles in designing studies to assess the effects of interventions
• Used in Masters in Evidence Based Health Care at the University of Oxford as essential reading for randomised trials.
5) Chapter 4.12: Qualitative Research
• Used in a PhD course on theory, 'Scientific Paradigms in Population Health', to discuss principles of participatory research and stakeholder engagement in a course,
• Used in a PhD course on research methods, 'Investigative Methods in Population Health', to provide an overview of different paradigms and methods in qualitative research.
6) Chapter 4.13: Addressing Complexity Through Mixed Methods
• Used in a MSc course on ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Health Sciences’ to explain the tenets of complexity theory.
• Used in a PhD course on theory as a reading material on complexity science.
• Used in a PhD course on research methods, ‘Investigative Methods in Population Health’, to provide an overview of mixed methods research and complexity theory.
2. Introducing and Presenting the Guidance to Influence Stakeholders
1) In a Policy-making environment
• Introduced at a multi-stakeholder meeting in a city of Japan.
2) At Conferences
• Northumbria University organised a 1.5 hour session at the Disasters International Conference (DwD 2022) to promote discussion on the best way to advance research and evidence for Health EDRM using the Guidance (June 2022).
• Introduced at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association for Disaster Medicine (March 2022).
• Introduced at the Red Cross Nursing College Kick off seminar in Japan (March 2022).
• Introduced at the 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japan Epidemiological Association (Jan 2022).
3) Press Release
• WKC held a press release about the Dissemination project for the Guidance in Japan (Feb 2022).
4) Webinars
• UK Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR) organised a one-hour webinar to discuss ‘How might the WHO Guidance on Research Methods for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management support UKADR professionals in collaborating with their research and capacity development?’ (July 2022).
