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Clinical Epidemiology has been a rapidly growing discipline since early 1980’s. In 1982, the International Clinical Epidemiology Network (INCLEN) was established with a generous support from the Rockefeller foundation. INCLEN’s Mission Statement is “We are dedicated to improving the health of the people by promoting clinical practice based on the best evidence of effectiveness and the efficient use of resources. We achieve this through a network of physicians, statisticians and social scientists throughout the world who work together to build and sustain institutional capacity for excellence and relevance in research and medical education.”
In order to strengthen the research capacity of medical schools in the developing world, 27 Clinical Epidemiology Units (CEUs) were established in developing countries. The role of these units is to promote a rational approach to clinical and health care decision making, drawing on the methods of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Clinical Economics and Health Social Sciences. Progress with Phase I INCLEN has been substantial for CEU development and the provision of advanced research training for the core members in these CEUs by training centers in developed countries. Research productivity of CEUs is significant. An appropriate balance between hospital and community-based research is evident and changes in clinical and health care policy have been made based on research findings. Some of the more advanced CEUs have enough strengths to begin Phase II program. They are self-sustainable and are responsible for training more members of the existing CEUs as well as members of the new CEUs in the developing countries. The South East Asia Clinical Epidemiology Network (SEA-CLEN) comprised of CEUs in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines has been formed. In addition, the consortium of the Thai Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Center (Thai CERTC) Consortium has been established to spearhead the Phase II training program. International course for a Master of Science Program in Health Development (Clinical Epidemiology) was offered to international students capitalizing on the strengths of the three CEUs : Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University CEU, Khon Kaen University CEU and Chulalongkorn University CEU in 1992.
Up to 2009, 200 students of the 18th batches from 8 Asian countries have graduated. The main source of funding for these students is the Rockefeller Foundation. However some students received funds from other sources such as the World Health Organization. |
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