Qualitative Research Leaders: Evaluation of Pilot Global Pipeline Program

Qualitative research methods are central to understanding many public health problems. However, capacity building for qualitative research is globally skewed toward high-income countries, with a significant skills deficit in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address this imbalance and provide a model program, we developed the Qualitative Research Leaders (QRL) program, a pipeline program to increase qualitative research capacity in LMIC institutions and foster leadership in qualitative research. The QRL program is a collaboration between Emory University and Vanderbilt University in the United States and two LMIC institutions Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College in Tanzania and the Public Health Foundation of India. The program had five phases conducted over 12 months: 1) mentored study design sessions, 2) an in-country skill-building workshop, 3) mentored proposal development sessions, 4) a residential grant writing program in the United States, and 5) mentor matching for field implementation. Program evaluation results showed that the QRL program was effectively designed, and scholars valued the program components, learning formats, and session content. The program increased scholars' knowledge, skills, and confidence as mentors in qualitative research. Furthermore, scholars demonstrated leadership in initiating postprogram research, mentoring, and teaching in qualitative research. Overall, scholars felt that the program could be extended to enable more time to internalize new knowledge and develop skills, and the role of in-country mentors could be expanded to further support scholars during fieldwork. In this article, we describe the components of the QRL program and its implementation, results of our program evaluation, and lessons learned for developing similar pipeline training programs.