Qualitative research capacity build-ing: Reflections from a UK-Kyrgyz Republic global partnership

Researchers have emphasised the practicalities associated with building global research partnerships, including ensuring good communication and having equitable relationships [1-3]. These challenges are complicated by cross-national inequities and perceived power dynamics, further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [4]. However, the existing literature on the challenges of global health partnership working largely avoids ‘the elephant in the room’; that is to say, the practicalities of doing the research itself [2,5]. Moreover, there is an implicit but false assumption that research methods are culturally neutral, when in reality the dominant modes of enquiry vary across time and space. Addressing these issues is therefore crucial to the mission of global health and the process of decentralising and democratising knowledge platforms [5-7]. Consequently, the aim of this viewpoint is to reflect on the practical and real-world challenges of combining empirical research with capacity building to inform future global health research partnerships

What should pulmonary rehabilitation look like for people living with post-tuberculosis lung disease in the Bishkek and Chui region of the Kyrgyz Republic? A qualitative exploration

OBJECTIVE: After experiencing tuberculosis (TB), many people develop post-tuberculosis lung disease (PTBLD). Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) centrally comprising of education and exercise is recommended internationally for people living with chronic respiratory diseases. However, no such service exists in Kyrgyzstan. This study investigated the opinions of healthcare professionals who would be expected to be potential future referrers to PR and adults living with PTBLD about what a PR programme could look like in Kyrgyzstan. DESIGN: A qualitative study using interviews and focus groups. Grounded theory and thematic analysis were used for data collection and analysis. PARTICIPANTS: 63 participants; 15 referrers (12 male, 3 female; 12 pulmonolgists, 3 TB specialists) and 48 adults (26 male, 22 female) living with PTBLD. SETTING: Participants were recruited from hospital settings in Bishkek and Chuy Region, Kygryzstan. METHODS: Fifteen semistructured interviews were conducted with referrers and nine focus group discussions were conducted with adults living with PTBLD. RESULTS: Five key themes were developed: (1) living with PTBLD; (2) attitude to PR, which emphasised the perceived importance and potential benefits of implemention; (3) barriers/facilitators to PR, which included time and cost, and the importance of appropriate communication in enabling participation; (4) interventional components of PR, which described culturally and demographically appropriate physical activities including rhythmic movements, dance and volleyball; and (5) psychosocial support, which demonstrated the importance of psychological support for patients coping with the effects of stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Potential referrers and adults living with PTBLD expressed their support for the implementation of PR. The culture-specific and population-specific issues highlighted in this work demonstrate the need to address stigma and provide certain types of exercise training/education modules for this specific clinical population. In other respects the currently known attitudes/barriers to PR, identified in Western research, appear to apply. The principles of culturally adapting PR may be helpful for those looking to establish similar clinical services in other low-income and middle-income countries and in Central Asia in particular. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN11122503

Culturally adapted pulmonary rehabilitation for adults living with post-tuberculosis lung disease in Kyrgyzstan: protocol for a randomised controlled trial with blinded outcome measures

Introduction Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a programme of individually prescribed physical exercise, education and self-management activities. PR is recommended in international guidelines for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic respiratory diseases. PR is still under-recognised in tuberculosis (TB) guidelines and PR is not available in many low and middle-income countries and for people with post-TB lung disease (PTBLD). The main aims of the study are to adapt and define a culturally appropriate PR programme in Kyrgyzstan for people living with PTBLD and to test, in a fully powered randomised controlled trial (RCT), the effectiveness of PR in improving exercise capacity for people living with PTBLD. Methods and analysis The study will be divided into three stages: stage 1: focus group discussions with patients living with PTBLD and interviews with PR referrers will be conducted to explore initial perceptions and inform the cultural adaptation, structure and content of PR. Stage 2a: a single-blind RCT evaluating the effectiveness of a culturally adapted 6-week PR programme on maximal exercise capacity, assessed by the incremental shuttle walking test, before and after PR. Participants will be additionally followed-up 12 weeks postbaseline. Additional outcomes will include health-related quality of life, respiratory symptoms, psychological well-being and physical function. Stage 2b: participants' experience of PR will be collected through interviews and using a log book and a patient evaluation form. Staff delivering PR will be interviewed to explore their experience of delivering the intervention and refining the delivery for future implementation. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved 22/07/2019 by Ethics Committee National Center for Cardiology and Internal Medicine (reference number 17) and by University of Leicester ethics committee (reference number 22293). Study results will be disseminated through appropriate peer-reviewed journals, national and international respiratory/physiotherapy conferences, social media, and through patient and public involvement events in Kyrgyzstan and in the UK. Trial registration number ISRCTN11122503

Protocol for the cultural adaptation of pulmonary rehabilitation and subsequent testing in a randomised controlled feasibility trial for adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Sri Lanka.

Introduction International guidelines recommend pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) should be offered to adults living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but PR availability is limited in Sri Lanka. Culturally appropriate PR needs to be designed and implemented in Sri Lanka. The study aims to adapt PR to the Sri Lankan context and determine the feasibility of conducting a future trial of the adapted PR in Sri Lanka.Methods and analysis Eligible participants will be identified and will be invited to take part in the randomised controlled feasibility trial, which will be conducted in Central Chest Clinic, Colombo, Sri Lanka. A total of 50 participants will be recruited (anticipated from April 2021) to the trial and randomised (1:1) into one of two groups; control group receiving usual care or the intervention group receiving adapted PR. The trial intervention is a Sri Lankan-specific PR programme, which will consist of 12 sessions of exercise and health education, delivered over 6 weeks. Focus groups with adults living with COPD, caregivers and nurses and in-depth interviews with doctors and physiotherapist will be conducted to inform the Sri Lankan specific PR adaptations. After completion of PR, routine measures in both groups will be assessed by a blinded assessor. The primary outcome measure is feasibility, including assessing eligibility, uptake and completion. Qualitative evaluation of the trial using focus groups with participants and in-depth interviews with PR deliverers will be conducted to further determine feasibility and acceptability of PR, as well as the ability to run a larger future trial.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics review committee of Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka and University of Leicester, UK. The results of the trial will be disseminated through patient and public involvement events, local and international conference proceedings, and peer-reviewed journals.</div