Caribbean Centre for Health Systems Research and Development

CCHSRD is committed to building and strengthening capacity for evidence informed policymaking/decision-making within the health and social sectors.

To build the competencies of health and social system managers, policymakers, other health professionals as well as researchers, we:

• Offer training courses in data use / knowledge management for strengthening evidence-informed policy development, implementation and evaluation in health and social systems

• Conduct research capacity building activities of academic staff at the Faculty of Medical Sciences

Our training programmes include:

• Evidence-to-Policy Fellowship Training Programme for Caribbean Health Professionals

  • CCHSRD trained three cohorts of Fellows under its Evidence-to-Policy Fellowship Training Programme between July 2020 and July 2022. The Programme was designed to promote a culture of evidence informed policymaking and practice by building the capacity of policymakers to find, appraise and use evidence in decision-making for the development and advancement of the health sector; and health researchers to develop knowledge translation products and services and engage in uptake activities to support the policymaking process.

  • Participants included health professionals from the Ministries of Health, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana as well as researchers from The University of the West Indies, and the University of Trinidad & Tobago.

  • Fellows participated in a 4-day EIP training workshop followed by a combination of virtual and in-person coaching sessions.

• EIP Training and Coaching Programme with Social Sector Ministries

  • CCHSRD was a member of the Partnership for Evidence and Equity in Responsive Social Systems (PEERSS) which brought together partners from 13 countries to learn from and support each other in promoting the use of research evidence in policymaking. Partners drew on a range of approaches and tools – including, systematic reviews, rapid syntheses of evidence, stakeholder dialogues, and citizen panels – to provide decision-makers with the evidence they need to address key priorities.

• CCHSRD worked collaboratively with the four (4) social sector Ministries in Trinidad and Tobago (listed below), to strengthen the capacity of these Ministries to develop evidence-informed policies and to include stakeholders and citizens in decision-making. 

  1. Ministry of Labour

  2. Ministry of Planning and Development

  3. Ministry of Social Development and Family Services

  4. Ministry of Sport and Community Development

• Evidence Informed Policymaking (EIP) Training Workshop

  • Ministry of Health T&T: CCHSRD conducted a face-to-face Evidence Informed Policymaking capacity building workshop for technical staff of the Ministry of Health (MOH), Trinidad and Tobago. The workshop aimed to promote a culture of evidence-informed policymaking and practice by building the capacity of policymakers at the MOH to find, appraise and use evidence in its decision-making. Attendees included directors, managers, heads of departments, as well as research and technical officers.

  • Regional Health Authorities: CCHSRD conducted a face-to-face three-day capacity building workshop on Utilising Evidence in Policymaking / Decision-Making for staff of the five Regional Health Authorities.

• Research Skills Workshops

  • The Centre has been providing timely support to researchers at the Faculty of Medical Sciences through the conduct of training workshops and the provision of technical assistance with their research studies. This is expected to significantly increase the production of health policy-relevant research at The UWI.

  • Similar workshops have been conducted for Ministry of Labour and South West Regional Health Authority, Trinidad and Tobago.

• Data Analysis Workshops

  • These comprise overview lectures followed by practical sessions to demonstrate the application of statistical software to conduct data analyses.

• Data Management using REDCap Software Workshop

  • CCHSRD hosted a workshop for FMS staff, to provide an overview of the main features of the REDCap software; outline the roles and responsibilities of the REDCap Administrator; REDCap Manager and projects owners and members; and demonstrate the creation of an instrument, data collection and the analysis of a simple survey project in REDCap.

• Basic Research Skills Workshops

  • CCHSRD has held BRS Workshops with the Ministry of Labour and the South West Regional Health Authority, to provide staff with a recap of the research process including research questions and designs; sampling methodology; data collection and analysis.

• Reference Management with Zotero Workshop

  • CCHSRD hosted a workshop to provide FMS staff with hands-on experience with the Zotero Reference Management Software for collecting, organising and citing journal articles, books, and other scholarly works. Participants learned how to create libraries and add, view and edit entries; add in-text citations and references lists in Microsoft Word; and work collaboratively in Zotero, using Group Libraries.