30 April, 2012 (Doha, Qatar) -- Sidra Medical and Research Center together with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) honored professionals who recently completed qualitative research training as part of Sidra's community engagement initiative in an awards ceremony at Sidra offices in Doha.

Twenty five men and women were awarded certificates upon completing the Qualitative Research Interview Skills Workshop. The workshop was designed to support researchers in collecting unbiased and high-quality data where human inter-phase is required, especially in multi-cultural settings such as Doha. Over the course of two months, trainees spent 24 hours on in-classroom training, matched by out-of-classroom coursework, and eight to 12 hours of field observation.

Trainees learned a transferable skill set of research practices that can be used in their everyday jobs. In addition to international and cross-cultural interviewing, informed consent, active listening techniques, qualitative data gathering and data processing, students were also trained in validation and verifying skills.

The Research Interview Skills Workshop is an integral part of the CCP, which aims to gather insights about women's health from the local Arabic-speaking community, to help inform services being planned for Sidra.

"The vision for Sidra first emerged from the needs of the local community, and we have continued to involve these communities in planning the center's service offerings. Sidra will have an organic connection with the community through on-going engagement with the public in a culturally sensitive and effective manner, an engagement rooted in the CCP. The Workshop goes even further in helping Sidra and the local communities support each other's progress, by offering our trainees a chance to learn new skills," said Olufunke Ilori, Sidra senior planning consultant.

The CCP was started in 2009 as part of Sidra's commitment to engage with the community through enhanced and individualized communications efforts that would help ground Sidra's services and approaches to health care in the needs of the community. The project aims to inform and gather views, concerns and opinions from women planning to use health services at Sidra, to ensure that the services are culturally sensitive. To date, the CCP has matriculated 38 professionals through the workshop.

Dr. Cindy McKeon, director of clinical research at WCMC-Q, said: "The collaboration between WCMC-Q and Sidra was highly successful and demonstrates what can be achieved by sharing expertise and knowledge. As such, both WCMC-Q and Sidra are keen for the collaboration to continue and for further joint research workshops to be offered in the future.

"The program has allowed WCMC-Q to augment its clinical research practices as it provides for enhanced interaction between the researchers and patients and affords the researchers greater insight into what the patient has to say."

Participants saw their role in the CCP as a valuable experience to learn marketable new skills and play a significant role in building the community.

"I'm eager to take part in future research to help inform planning for medical services at Sidra. Having the opportunity to help inform the innovative design and care model planned for Sidra allows me to play my part in improving standards of health and wellbeing for women and children in the community, and create a brighter future for the people of Qatar," said Abdulla Jassim Abdulla, head of policy analysis and development at the Sidra Executive Project Office.

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About Sidra
Sidra Medical and Research Center is a groundbreaking hospital, research and education institution, based in Doha, Qatar, that will focus on the health and wellbeing of women and children regionally and globally. Sidra will be a fully digital facility, incorporating the most advanced information technology applications in clinical, research and business functions. Sidra will initially have around 400 beds with infrastructure to enable expansion to 550 beds in a subsequent phase.

Sidra will have a unique working structure with inter-professional collaboration at the heart, providing the best holistic care for patients and an unparalleled learning environment for its medical professionals. Sidra will combine the best in design, technology, operations and practices from medical centers around the world - to offer its employees an environment that is at once familiar and extraordinary.

Sidra is part of a dynamic research and education environment in Qatar that includes leading international institutions, such as: Sidra's academic partner Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar Science and Technology Park, etc. Through strong partnerships with leading institutions around the world, Sidra is creating an intellectual ecosystem to help advance scientific discovery through investment in medical research.

Sidra represents the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser who serves as its Chairperson. The high-tech facility will not only provide world-class patient care but will also help build Qatar's scientific expertise and resources. Sidra will be funded by a US$7.9 billion endowment from Qatar Foundation, the largest endowment of its kind in the world.

For further information, please contact:
Ketchum for Sidra Medial & Research Center
Ibrahim Ayyad, Account Manager
E-mail: ibrahim.ayyad@ketchum-raad.com
Doha mobile: +974.5530.7872

© Press Release 2012