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India (Bangalore) - St. John’s Research Institute

Developed Country Partner

Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Principal Investigator: Salim Yusuf, D.Phil., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.C.

Background

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of mortality in urban and rural India. In India, there is little evidence of efforts at primary prevention of CVD. In addition, secondary prevention is less than optimal due to relative high costs of treatment and commitment from patients and health care providers. Presently, there is little data in India on knowledge translation in primary and secondary prevention of CVD in a low-income country setting.

Globally, stroke accounts for about 10 percent of all deaths, two-thirds of which occur in low-income countries. In India, stroke is a leading cause of death and acquired adult disability. Yet, there is little nationwide data on the etiologies, treatments, and barriers to the optimal care of strokes in India.

Furthermore, there is a shortage of qualified health research investigators in India to address issues of local importance in chronic noncommunicable diseases.

Objectives

• Enhance research infrastructure and capacity for collaborative research in a network of health care facilities and community sites across India.
• Conduct research studies to evaluate knowledge translation approaches for CVD prevention related to primary and secondary prevention and to better understand the treatments and outcomes of stroke.
• Train or facilitate training of health research investigators and other research support personnel in research methodology and research management.

Research Activities

• INSPIRE (INdian Stroke ProspectIve REgistry): A large multi-center observational study of stroke in India. A hospital-based registry will identify and recruit 10,500 stroke patients at 50 different hospitals (secondary and tertiary care) across India.
• SPREAD (Secondary PRevention of coronary Events After Discharge from hospital): A randomized controlled trial in secondary prevention of acute coronary syndrome. The objectives are to assess feasibility, estimate rates of adherence to pharmacotherapy, assess adherence to lifestyle modification, and obtain an estimate of the event rates in an Indian setting. The design is an open trial comparing post-discharge interventions delivered by community health workers to standard care in 10 secondary and tertiary care hospitals.
• PREPARE (Primary pREvention strategies at the community level to Promote treatment Adherence to pREvent cardiovascular disease): A household-level cluster-randomized trial to evaluate primary prevention interventions in CVD in three rural communities (population of 15,000).

Training

Carefully identify and train young health professionals and other research personnel to initiate relevant research in India and other developing countries.

• Training by Mentorship Program: The program will offer young health professionals (M.D., M.Sc. Nursing, M.Pharm., M.P.H., etc.) exposure to health research and will help broaden their knowledge base to prepare them for careers in chronic disease research.
  
• Training Grant Awards: Provide research training through three types of short-term awards, in partnership with international and national institutes:
  • Clinical Research Associate Training Award
  • Biostatistics Career Development Award
  • Health Research Career Training Award
    

Other Partner Organizations

Mahatma Gandhi Medical Institute of Medical Sciences
Sevagram, India
SP Kalantri, M.D., M.P.H.
Rajnish Joshi, M.D., M.P.H.

Fortis Escorts Hospital and Research Institute, Jaipur
Rajasthan, India
Rajeev Gupta, M.D., Ph.D.
Praneet Kumar, M.D.

Rajah Muthiah Medical College
Annamalainagar, India
N. Chidambaram, M.D.
N. Ethirajan, M.D.

Funding

The Center of Excellence in Bangalore receives funding from UnitedHealth Group and the NHLBI.

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Last Updated: August 27, 2012