How It Works
The MicroResearch (MR) vision is to train, mentor, and support multidisciplinary community focused research teams to improve health outcomes in low-income countries and in communities within Canada. MicroResearch nurtures a culture of inquiry to identify and solve local problems and drive change for better health outcomes. To accomplish all these goals, MR conducts workshops to train community members and health professionals on community health research methods and skills.
The process “democratizes” the opportunity to get involved in research, illustrating that it is not just for academics. MR supports participants in choosing a research question that they feel is most important to their local needs. Participants use local knowledge and the learned research methods and skills to address their question, taking into consideration the context, culture and resources they have available. In this way research is “decolonized” from historic colonial and local hierarchical barriers that may exist in academic settings.
Workshops
With You in Wellness and Illness
Experienced researchers, academics, and clinicians volunteer with MicroResearch to teach 40-hour workshops with interdisciplinary trainees from medicine, nursing, social work, education, community organizations, etc. To ensure success, local collaborators participate as teachers, providing the necessary local and cultural context. The half-day format allows participants to still attend to their duties during the workshop weeks – a must in developing countries.
During the 2-week workshop, 20 to 30 participants are taught practical research skills in daily seminars. Small groups transform the group’s research idea into a “rough” research project with a knowledge translation plan under the guidance of a coach mentor.
Through the workshop, participants receive access to a web-based clinical research curriculum adapted from a very successful Canadian clinician scientist training program (CCHCSP). Over the following months, the groups fine-tune their research proposal with the help of their coaches.
MicroResearch grant program provides small grants for teams to carry out their proposed projects. Upon completion of a MicroResearch workshop, teams work with their coaches to apply for a grant. Grant applications are reviewed by a team of international peer-reviewers. Reviewers are selected based on their relevant expertise. They are sensitive to the culture and offer constructive critique for improvements.
The Research Skills Workshops have in-person, virtual, and hybrid options. MicroResearch works with the local host site to tailor the program and curriculum to the needs of the targeted audience and to ensure the applicability to the local culture and context.
Hear about MicroResearch from Pam, one of the judges at the Kabarak University workshops:
Train the Trainer Workshops:
The facilitation and teaching of the workshops is a collaborative effort between MicroResearch and the local host site. The host site identifies appropriate individuals to help co-teach and coach at the workshop. In order to orientate these individuals, as well as other MicroResearch volunteers, a Train the Trainer Workshop has been developed. This workshop is taught over two 2-hour sessions, outlining the purpose of MicroResearch, how the workshop works, what is covered in the workshop, and the roles and responsibilities of the volunteers involved.
Writing Workshops:
Mini-Writing Workshops are delivered for researchers who have conducted their projects, have analyzed their findings, and are ready to write up their results. Workshop facilitators and coaches work with the participants to help identify the “golden nugget” of their findings and develop the backbone of their manuscript. This is open to both MicroResearch graduates and other researchers at the local site.
Knowledge Translation Workshops:
Still in development, these mini-workshops will provide a more in-depth look at planning and strategizing for the knowledge translation phase of the research project. This workshop will be open to MicroResearch graduates who are currently conducting their research projects.
MicroResearch Forums:
As a way of connecting researchers and sharing ideas and knowledge, MicroResearch has delivered Forums, both in-person and virtual. These events offer a blend of keynote presentations, educational sessions, and presentations by MicroResearch teams on their projects. Each Forum is based around a specific theme relevant to the realm of community based research. These are attended by MicroResearch graduates, volunteers, and international experts in the field. They are an opportunity for researchers from around the world to connect and collaborate on future projects.
Research Networks:
A result of the MicroResearch Forums, organized Networks have formed, connecting researchers with mutual interests together. The hope is that these Networks offer a chance for further collaboration and the sharing of research. To get in touch with a Network, please reach out to microresearch@dal.ca
MicroResearch Projects and Outcomes:
- Assessment of intrapartum referrals and use of mobile phone technology to improve maternal-fetal outcomes in South Western Uganda (Uganda)
- Determinants of intimate partner violence disclosure among pregnant women in forcibly displaced settlements during COVID-19 pandemic in Kasese District (Uganda)Determinants of intimate partner violence disclosure among pregnant women in forcibly displaced settlements during COVID-19 pandemic in Kasese District (Uganda)
- Enablers and barriers to adherence to newly introduced oral treatment resistant tuberculosis in Mangochi District, Malawi (Malawi)
- Psychological distress and its associated factors among health workers in South Western Uganda following Ebola virus disease outbreak (Uganda)
- Factors Influencing Husband Presence During Birthing Process Among Married Couples in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya (Kenya)
- Mother-Infant Bonding Disorders, Postpartum Depression and Maternal Self-Esteem in Mothers of Low-Birth-Weight Neonates at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, Rwanda (Rwanda)
- Commercial Fish Harvesters & Mental Wellness Resources: A Qualitative Approach (Canada)
- Evaluation patterns of use and estimating costs of health care, social, police, and justice services among chronically homeless, middle aged men with alcohol use disorder: A multi-sector, sequential methods case series (Canada)
- Voices of resilience: What do young women in the Halifax area identify as helping them to resist recruitment into the sex trade? (Canada)
Stories & People
MicroResearch impacts people’s lives, beyond their participation in the workshop or a project. Watch the digital stories below to see it for yourself!
These digital stories were made in through an educational program held in January 2024 in collaboration with Mbarara University of Science and Technology, University of Calgary, and Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health.
Our team
Co-Founders
Robert Bortolussi MD FRCPC
Dr. Bortolussi edited “The Handbook for Clinician Scientists,” which is used in many Universities in Canada and as part of the MicroResearch Curriculum.
Noni E. MacDonald
Jerome Kabakyenga., MD PHD
MicroResearch
Staff
Kelly Hunter
Executive Director, MicroResearch, Halifax, Canada
Kelly.hunter@iwk.nshealth.ca
Louisa Francine Musana
Social Media and Communications Coordinator for East Africa
louisa.musana@mildmay.or.ug
Tammy Lamb
Coordinator, MicroResearch, Halifax, Canada
Tammyl.lamb@iwk.nshealth.ca
Teddy Kyomuhangi
Manager, MicroResearch Hub Site Mbarara, Uganda
hcupmcdn@gmail.com
Governance
Board of Directors
- Francis Oriokot – Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda
- Paul Kagwa – Ministry of Health, Uganda
- Leah Bii – Kenya Medical Training College, Kenya
- Towela Maleta – Africare, Malawi
- Mary Odiit – Mildmay, Uganda
- Shawna O’Hearn – Dalhousie University, Canada
- Beth Cummings – IWK Health/Dalhousie University, Canada
- Rosemary Ricciardelli – Memorial University, Canada
- Janice Graham – Dalhousie University, Canada
- Tobi Kollmann – Dalhousie University, Canada
- Audrey Steenbeek – Dalhousie University, Canada
- Charles Kazooba – Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda
- Eileen Denovan-Wright – Dalhousie University, Canada
MicroResearch
International Advisory Committee
- Polyphile Ntihinturwa - King Faisal Hospital, Rwanda
- Catherine Abaasa - Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda
- Raymond Otim - Gulu University, Uganda
- Patrick Kubai - Meru University of Science and Technology, Kenya
- Janeth Bulemela - Tanzania Training Centre for International Health, Tanzania
- Stephanie Onguka - Kabarak University, Kenya
- Peter Gutwa - Kisii University, Kenya
- Finlay Maguire - Dalhousie University, Canada
- Martin Kollmann - University of Nairobi, Kenya
- Nelly Amenyogbe - Dalhousie University, Canada
- Gilles Delage - Hema-Quebec, Canada
- Anthony Otley - Dalhousie University, IWK Health, Canada
MicroResearch
Canada Advisory Committee
- Minoli Amit, Retired MD, Canada
- Ryan Sommers, Nova Scotia Health, Canada
- Margaret Casey, Retired MD, Canada
- Joshua Edward, Nova Scotia Health, Canada
- James Kellner, Alberta Health Services, Canada
- Jillian Filliter, IWK Health, Canada
Partners and Funders
Without the encouragement and support of these organizations and individuals, MicroResearch could not exist. We are deeply indebted to them for their ongoing assistance.
Collaborators and Local Sites
Improving health care outcomes with innovative community based research
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