Dr
Marc Christian Tahita
Current Organisation
Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro/IRSS-DRCO/CNRST
Current Job Title
Research Associate
Biography
Publications
BACKGROUND: The opportunities for developing new drugs and vaccines for malaria control look brighter now than ten years ago. However, there are few places in sub-Saharan Africa with the necessary infrastructure and expertise to support such research in compliance to international standards of clinical research (ICH-GCP). The Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro (CRUN) was founded in 2008 to provide a much-needed GCP-compliant clinical trial platform for an imminent large-scale Phase 3 malaria vaccine trial. A dynamic approach was used that entailed developing the required infrastructure and human resources, while engaging local communities in the process as key stakeholders. This provided a better understanding and ownership of the research activities by the local population. CASE DESCRIPTION: Within five years (2008-2013), the CRUN set up a fully and well-equipped GCP-compliant clinical trial research facility, which enabled to attract 25 grants. The research team grew from ten health workers prior to 2008 to 254 in 2013. A Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), which covers a total population of about 60,000 people in 24 villages was set up in the district. The local community contributed to the development of the facility through the leadership of the king and the mayor of Nanoro. As a result of their active advocacy, the government extended the national electrical grid to the new research center, and later to the entire village. This produced a positive impact on the community's quality of life. The quality of health care improved substantially, due to the creation of more elaborate clinical laboratory services and the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment. CONCLUSION: Involving the community in the key steps of establishing the centre provided the foundation for what was to become the CRUN success story. This experience demonstrates that when clinical trials research sites are carefully developed and implemented, they can have a positive and powerful impact on local communities in resource-poor settings, well beyond the task of generating expected study data.
Project Title
Operational feasibility, impact of additional screening using highly-sensitives Rapid Diagnostic Tests combined with high coverage of IPTp-SP on placental malaria and low birth weight (ASSER Malaria)
EDCTP Project
TMA2018CDF-2397
EDCTP Program
EDCTP2
EDCTP Project Call
Career Development Fellowship (CDF)
Host Organisation
| Department | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|
| IRSS-DRCO/Clinical Reearch Unit of Nanoro | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CNRST) - Institut de Recherche en Science de la Santé (IRSS) | BF |
Project Objectives
1. To determine the gain of additional screening with HS-RDTs and treatment with DP against placental malaria, LBW and peripheral malaria infection at delivery 2.To assess the determinants of the poor coverage and improve the number of IPTp doses received using phone call or SMS as a reminder
Study Design
This study is a phase III, 2-arms randomized open trial with a nested study study (qualitative social behavioral study) to be carried out in Nanoro district.
Project Summary
National malaria control strategies in pregnant women relies primarily on effective case management along with the use of long lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs)throughout pregnancy and intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in the second and third trimesters in malaria-endemic regions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). For the latter, 3 or more doses are recommended by the national malaria control program (NMCP) but available data suggests that only 19% of eligible women received this in 2016 despite observed high attendance to antenatal clinic (ANC). Adherence to IPTp may be affected by perceptions, acceptability and contextual factors that need to be understood and therefore improve the effectiveness of this health interventions. In addition, all malaria cases should be confirmed either by microscopy or using a rapid diagnostic test (RDTs) before any treatment. Despite the crucial role of RDTs in improving malaria case management SSA, many malaria cases are missed in pregnant women due to the power performance of recommended RDTs which are unable to detect very low parasitaemia. Identifying lower density infections in pregnant women by the use of highly-sensitive RDTs and clearing them with an effective ACT could improve the outcome of the pregnancy in addition to IPTp-SP. The objective of this proposal is to determine the operational feasibility and the impact of additional screening with HS-RDTs and treatment with Dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine (DP) on placental malaria (PM) and low birth weight (LBW) in a context of IPTp-SP, in rural central Burkina Faso. More specifically the objectives are: 1. To determine the gain of additional screening with HS-RDTs and treatment with DP against PM, LBW and peripheral malaria infection at delivery 2.To assess the determinants of the poor coverage and improve the number of IPTp doses received using phone call or SMS as a reminder To achieve these objectives, this proposal is designed as a 2-arm randomized controlled trial with a nested qualitative behavioral study. The present proposal if awarded, will help to train and retain an African scientist in his home country. In addition, the fellow by leading this project will have the opportunity to develop his research, statistic and leadership skills as well as. More importantly, results of this project will be disseminated in order to improve outcomes of MiP in SSA.