ACCESS Health Support NHA in Organizing Workshop on Research Methodology

The National Health Authority (NHA) of the Government of India, in collaboration with Affordable Quality Health and ACCESS Health International, recently organized a two-day training workshop on Research Methods for the State Health Agency (SHA) staff. Held in New Delhi on February 20-21, the workshop was attended by officials from across 22 states and Union Territories.

The workshop was led by the Monitoring and Research Division of the NHA. The workshop’s primary objective was to train the SHA officials on research methods and encourage them to identify research needs and develop research ideas into research proposals. The workshop had an impressive line-up of faculty members, including renowned researchers and policymakers from the field of health policy and systems research. Experts deliberated on various research methodology topics in a series of technical sessions.

The policymakers present at the workshop assured the participants of continuous support for undertaking research studies at the state level. They emphasized the importance of evidence-based decision-making in the health sector and how research can be critical in informing policy and practice. The workshop also provided a platform for networking and collaboration among SHA officials from different states.

Overall, the workshop is expected to significantly impact the quality and applicability of research undertaken by SHA officials across the country. It is also likely to contribute to the overall improvement of health policies and programs in India.

AQH and ACCESS Health acknowledge the support and guidance from the NHA leadership (Dr Basant Garg (IAS), Sh. Ghayas Uddin Ahmed, Dr Pankaj Kumar Arora, Sh. Vikram Pagaria, Sh. Rohit Dev Jha, Dr Kameshwar Rao Punyamurtula and Dr Ruchira Agrawal), the knowledge imparted by the faculty members Prof. A. Venkat Raman, Prof Muraleedharan VR, Mr Maulik Chokshi, Dr Archisman Mohapatra, Prof Montu Bose and Mr Tushar Mokashi) and efforts put in by the organising team (Mr Prankul Goel, Mr Arun B Nair, Dr Apurva Kashyap, Ms Harpreet Kaur and the team from the M&R Division of NHA).