The annual Mixed Methods in International Health Research (QMM) 2016 course, hosted by MRC Unit The Gambia successfully completed on Friday 26th February 2016. The international short specialised course was offered by the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium, for researchers, professionals and students who focus in international health.
The course attracted 14 international participants from different institutions, including; Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro, Burkina Faso; MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, UK; Addis Ababa University, Department of Sociology, Ethiopia; Medecins Sans Frontieres Sudan, Emergency Response Project, Switzerland; United Nations Population Fund, Geneva, Switzerland; Family Health Department, Ministry of Health, Cameroon; Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, India; Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Berlin, Germany; L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, French School of Public Health, Paris, France; Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Ministry of Health of Mozambique; Tropical Disease Institute, Ohio University, USA; and MRC Unit The Gambia.

In providing a directly applicable and integrated tool for international health research, the course combined theoretical knowledge with methodological skills using three related modules in the form of group tutorials, group discussions and field work. The course modules include; qualitative research, quantitative research, mixed methods, and basic theory of human behaviour and social context.

During the course, participants were taught structural aspects for qualitative data collection (in depth interview, observation during fieldwork), systematic development of theory driven interventions, data analysis  using  NVivo (a software for conducting qualitative data analysis), the psychology of survey response and the role of data quality in quantitative research.

At the end of the intensive course, participants acquired a basic understanding of human behaviour and the socio cultural context, key for effective international health research. The course ended with a graduation ceremony on the 26th February 2016 at the Bray LectureTheatre of MRC Unit The Gambia in Fajara.

The course instructors are; Dr Julie Balen (University of Sheffield, United Kingdom), Melanie Bannister-Tyrrell (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Prof Jaak Billiet, (University of Leuven, Center for Sociological Research, Belgium), Fatou Jaiteh (MRC Unit The Gambia), Dr Caroline Jones (University of Southampton, United Kingdom), Prof Patricia Kingori (Oxford University, Nuffield Dept of Population Health, United Kingdom), Dr Pierre Lefèvre (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Yoriko Masunaga (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Jasna Loos (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Prof Ken Masuda (Japan School of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University, Japan), Joan Ribera Muela (Spain Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Christiana Noestlinger (Austria Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Prof Koen Peeters (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Nandini Sarkar (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Katja Siling (Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium), Gert Verschraegen (University of Antwerp, Dept of Sociology, Belgium).