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Low- and middle-income countries suffer disproportionately from reduced life expectancy and quality of life. Injuries are overlooked as contributors to global inequities in health, yet the long-term disabilities they frequently produce represent a significant burden. The Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health convened a panel of experts in trauma and injury from the United States and low- and middle-income nations to identify research gaps in this area and opportunities to create new knowledge. Panel members identified sustainable programs of research established through stable linkages between institutions in high-income nations and those in low- and middle-income nations as a priority. The resulting benefits of addressing the growing burden of trauma and injury to communities in resource-constrained settings around the world would be substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Populations in low- and middle-income nations bear significant risks for poor health due to air, land and water contamination; natural resource depletion; deterioration of ecosystems; contaminated food supplies and other conditions related to poverty, including poor housing, crowding and inadequate nutrition and health care. These risks, related to rapid industrialization, increasing urbanization, poor land use, natural changes in ecology and other conditions, will only increase in the coming decades if current trends persist. The implications on populations'' health include increased spread or emergence of disease, particularly those that impact children disproportionately, and added stress on already overburdened or weakened health care systems. To address environmental health conditions in a relevant manner in resource-poor settings, the training of scientists and health professionals from these settings is key to setting priorities and identifying cost-effective interventions. Training of professionals in a range of environmental health disciplines is a prerequisite for the establishment of effective national and international policies. Working to strengthen local expertise and scientific capacity is one of the most effective and lasting ways to affect positive policy change in environmental health. This paper describes four paradigms that support research training and research programs to meet the increasing and changing needs in this field. Factors influencing the development of the programs and their evolution are discussed as well as trends for the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The current ethical structure for collaborative international health research stems largely from developed countries’ standards of proper ethical practices. The result is that ethical committees in developing countries are required to adhere to standards that might impose practices that conflict with local culture and unintended interpretations of ethics, treatments, and research. This paper presents a case example of a joint international research project that successfully established inclusive ethical review processes as well as other groundwork and components necessary for the conduct of human behavior research and research capacity building in the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]