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Background: Historically, educational initiatives in global health have involved expert lectures by visitors. However, incomplete understanding of the target population and resources can limit the efficacy of lectures by international faculty. Little data exists on the magnitude of this problem. The goal of this study was to create and validate a needs assessment tool to guide lecture development as part of a larger study to implement virtual lectures for a residency program in Tanzania by members of an American faculty. Methods: Two study authors familiar with the Tanzanian hospital and residency program derived surveys for local residents and faculty. An expert panel consisting of two faculty members and one resident from each institution evaluated the questions. Each item was rated from 1 to 4 for clarity and relevance respectively. A content validity index (CVI) was calculated for each item using the proportion of experts who rated it as valid. Items with a CVI < 0.8 were revised and resubmitted. A CVI was then calculated for each instrument. Results: On the initial resident survey, 20 of 26 items were clear and 25 of 26 items were relevant with a CVI > 0.8. One item was deemed irrelevant and deleted. For the faculty survey, 10 of 12 items were clear and all items were relevant with CVI > 0.8. Five questions from the resident survey and two from the faculty survey deemed relevant but unclear were rewritten and resubmitted to experts. They all achieved CVI>0.8. Each survey obtained a CVI of 1. Conclusions: Using this approach, we validated a needs assessment tool to guide the creation of didactics for audiences that practice in a different setting from the lecturer. This validated tool is an important step in the creation of a process to develop appropriate content and could be replicated by other groups planning similar initiatives. more...

The invention of novel drugs based on biological macromolecules requires the development of specialized formulation methods. Supercritical fluid technology offers the possibility to produce dry powder formulations suitable for inhalation or needle-free injection. In this article we describe the first application of a process involving supercritical carbon dioxide for the production of plasmid DNA-loaded particles. The technique of solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids (SEDS) is used to coformulate the 6.9 kb plasmid pSV beta with mannitol as excipient. After initial experiments showed a high degradation of the plasmid during powder formation, a systematic investigation of the process revealed pH effects to be crucial for the recovery of intact DNA. The application of high-buffer concentration led to an increase of the recovered supercoiled proportion from 7% to 80%., (Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) more...