Strengthening the Master of Health Research Ethics Training Program

PROJECT SUMMARY In order to ensure more expertise in research ethics to support the rapid increase in research activities taking place in Malaysia, the Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE) program at Universiti Malaya (UM) was developed in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics (JHU). This regionally first of its kind health research ethics degree program has now been fully implemented and accredited and has produced 17 trainees with an additional 8 trainees who will be graduating this year. The overall goal of our application, Strengthening the Master of Health Research Ethics Training Program, is to strengthen the MOHRE program and ensure its sustainability by: (1) developing and implementing a more flexible training program that includes full-time and part-time enrolment options; (2) strengthening the program guided by a novel, empirically derived research ethics competency framework developed by our program (FRESCO: Framework for Research Ethics Studies Competencies and Outcomes) and systematically embedding context-appropriate cases in the curriculum; and (3) enhancing UM faculty’s capacity in research ethics education and scholarship. Since its inception, the program has sparked interest among working professionals in bioethics-related fields in Malaysia and the region. However, its current format is not ideal for professional students who prefer part-time study, course schedules that occur outside of usual working hours, and more online learning opportunities, which are now in very high-demand due in- part to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a new format, the program will further produce 26 trainees (21 Malaysians; 5 from regional low- and middle-income countries). We aim to utilise FRESCO and an eCasebook collated based on regionally relevant cases to further strengthen the program. Finally, we will conduct a robust faculty development program which will include an annual faculty development workshop and a structured mentoring program to equip UM faculty members with necessary knowledge and skills to lead the MOHRE program in the future. In sum, the proposed measures will facilitate our team to expand health research ethics expertise in Malaysia and other low- and middle-income countries in Southeast Asia. Eventually, we aspire to establish a regional research ethics network that will include MOHRE alumni as leaders making meaningful contributions towards the design and conduct of ethically sound health research.