Global Health Bioethics Network Summer School 2013

NEW: Summer School revised agenda is here:SS2013_AgendaJune28.docx

NEW: Summer School logistics are here! SS2013_logistics_letter_final.pdf

NEW: Summer School FINAL logistics are here! 2nd_logistics_letter_final.pdf

We are pleased to announce that the second annual Global Health Bioethics Network Summer School will take place at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) in Bangkok, Thailand from 15^th-18^th July 2013.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Aims of the Summer School

The aim of the Summer School is to provide a friendly, informal environment in which people at the Major Overseas Programmes (MOPs) in Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand-Laos, Vietnam and at the Ethox Centre in the UK can meet to share ideas, experiences and expertise about ethics and community engagement, learn more about these important areas of practice in low income settings, and develop ideas for future research projects.

Is the summer school for you?

The short answer to this question is, ‘yes’. The Summer School is open to anyone working at or collaborating with the Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programmes. The programme for the workshop will be designed specifically for the interests of the people who are attending so the Summer School is the perfect place to build your knowledge, share your experiences, and build connections with people with shared interests across the MOPs. One of the main aims of the Summer School is to build capacity in ethics and community engagement across the MOPs so you don’t have to be an expert in any of these areas to take part. Summer School participants in 2012 included nurses, doctors, social scientists, MOP Directors, global health students, fieldworkers, community engagement leaders, academics, ethicists, and many others. We expect – and welcome - just as much diversity this year.

Structure and content of the Summer School

For those who are new to ethics, the Summer School will include introductory sessions on topics such as:

• What is ethics and why should I care?
• When is medical research ethical?
• What is informed consent and why does it matter?
• Thinking about the risks and benefits of research
• Why engage communities in research?

For those who would like some additional preparation prior to the summer school, introductory videos and reading materials will be available on www.globalhealthbioethics.org in advance of the summer school.

The main focus of the Summer School will be on the following activities:

• Presentations from each of the MOPs and Ethox about current work in ethics and community engagement and plans for future developments
• Discussion of possible cross-MOP research collaborations and other shared activities such as training, policy development etc.
• Presentations on practical ethical issues by Bursary Fellows followed by discussion. Topics to be covered will include:

1. a.     Benefits and payments
2. b.     Informed consent
3. c.     Community engagement
4. d.     Ethical issues for frontline researchers e.g. fieldworkers and health professionals
5. e.     Consent forms and ethics committees
6. f.      Ethics and HIV self-testing
7. g.     Data and sample sharing

• The Summer School will also include sessions on: how to develop an ethics project proposal; how to approach methodological issues when doing ethics research; how to write an ethics paper; and presentation skills.
• Finally, there will of course be time to socialise. Socialising and networking are a key aspect of the Summer School.

Outputs

We hope that one of the main outputs of the Summer School will be the development of plans for future collaboration, research projects and writing. We hope to inspire participants to come up with research ideas and apply for Global Health Bioethics Network bursaries in future.

How to Apply

Anyone who would like to attend the 2013 Summer School should complete the application form and submit it to the email address provided by 30 April 2013.

If you have questions, feel free to email dinnah.rippon@ethox.ox.ac.uk.

We look forward to seeing you in Bangkok!!