TABLE 3.

Global Health Polio Eradication Core Course Themes and Implementation Research Competencies for Each Massive Open Online Coursea

ModulesCourse ThemesImplementation Research Competencies
I. Planning and Managing Health Programs: Promoting Quality, Accountability, and Equity
— Planning and management — Health commodities, logistics, and supply — Human resources for health — Health equity and social justice— Reaching hard-to-reach populations — Importance of politics — Potential and demands of eradication programs— Understanding the interventions, their mechanisms, and emerging implementation challenges — Building an effective team — Applying ethical principles in conducting implementation research
II. Building Alliances in Global Health: From Global Institutions to Communities
— Global alliances — Policy engagement and influence — Health communications and behavior change — Community engagement— Importance of context — Relationship between vertical programs and health systems — Power of engagement— Understanding contexts (health systems, implementing organizations, and communities) — Identifying and engaging relevant stakeholders — Leveraging required resources for conducting implementation research — Communicating and advocating effectively throughout the implementation research process.
III. Collecting and Using Data for Disease Control and Global Health Decision Making
— Field epidemiology and outbreak response — Data for decision making— Promise and limits of technology — Importance of incentives— Formulating appropriate implementation research questions — Determining applicable study design and methodology — Conducting research in a robust and rigorous manner — How to use information from implementation research