Mehreen Arif
FSB Nepal and HealthRight International
Kathmandu, Nepal
It occurred to me that I did not write about my experience visiting the Nepalese Health Research Council office to obtain my research approval. Mr. Anil (the Administrator at FSB) kindly took me to the NHRC office. The NHRC office was located about 40-45 minutes from FSB (northeast Kathmandu) in the heart of the city.
Little did I know that it was in the same compound as the Ministry of Health (MOH) which was a huge brick building that houses three departments – Department of Drug Administration, Department of Health Services and the Department of Ayurveda. The Department of Health Services (DoHS) is further divided into Management, Family Health, Child Health, Primary Health Service Revitalization, Logistic Management and Epidemiology and Diseases Control. The DoHS also includes three sections namely – Leprosy control program section, Personnel Administration Section and the Finance Administration Section. The NHRC started as a committee under the MoH in 1982. In 1991 it became a statutory and autonomous body under the Nepal Health Research Council Act No. 129.
The NHRC collaborates with the WHO, UNICEF and USAID in order to facilitate and promote research in non/communicable diseases, environmental health, health systems, traditional health and mental health. To conduct any type of research in Nepal a researcher has to submit their proposal for ethical review to the NHRC.
While I was waiting for NHRC approval (because that took longer than American research approval) I shadowed doctors at FSB (refer to prior posts) and also had sometime to sightsee and explore Kathmandu.
I had a lovely time with Ms. Ishwori and her family exploring Patan (Lalitpur) – a historic city only 45 minutes from Kathmandu, that first came into being in 745 AD. Patan boasts beautiful ancient art, stone carvings, Buddhist and Hindu temples and statues and a plethora of cultural UNESCO heritage that I had the pleasure of exploring.
Going back to research, the video below is a snippet of my journey to the NHRC. Behind me is the MoH. I am wearing a mask on my face as is customary for everyone in Kathmandu given the amount of dust in the city. You can catch a glimpse of the busy road and the abundance of “scooties” (scooters) that both men and women gallantly navigate.
While at the NHRC office I met an officer who assured me that because I came in person she will process the proposal and contact senior reviewers to expedite the review. Moreover, in order to conduct any type of formal research domestically or internationally through an institution in the U.S., researchers need American research approval i.e. they have to submit their proposal to their universities Institutional review board (IRB).
It was certainly an arduous waiting game that finally came to an end a few days ago! I received IRB approval last week and my research is off to a hectic yet great start. More soon on my experience interviewing Tibetan refugees at FSB clinic.