Implementation Research Methods Workshop for South Zone MRHRUs
Sept. 28, 2026 - Sept. 30, 2026
As mandated by the Department of Health Research (DHR), a three-day Implementation Research (IR) Methods Workshop for South Zone MRHRUs was hosted by MRHRU Madurai, under the mentorship of ICMR–National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai. The workshop was held at Hotel Ramada, Chennai, from 28 to 30 September 2026.
The workshop was conducted in collaboration with Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, an ICMR Collaborating Centre of Excellence with expertise in population-based research, as directed by DHR.
A total of 41 participants attended the workshop, including scientists from ICMR institutes, faculty from linked medical colleges, and Project Research Scientists from the eight South Zone MRHRUs: Tirunelveli, Alappuzha, Chandragiri, Sirwar Raichur, Mahabubnagar, Bambooflat (A&N Islands), Karikalampakkam (Puducherry), and MRHRU Madurai.
The faculty comprised Dr. Dorothy Lall, Dr. Anu Mary Oomen and Dr. Anil from CMC, Vellore; Dr. Kalaiselvi from AIIMS Madurai; and Dr. Srinath Sathyanarayana, Director, ICMR-NIRT.
The three-day face-to-face workshop was preceded by an online pre-workshop learning course covering the basic fundamentals of Implementation Research. The workshop provided participants with hands-on training across the full Implementation Research (IR) proposal cycle, including framing IR questions; effectiveness, implementation and hybrid study designs; implementation frameworks and theory of change; mixed methods; ethics; logic models and monitoring and evaluation (M&E); budgeting; co-design and health-system integration; and dissemination.
As an outcome of the hands-on training, a total of 10 IR proposals were developed during the workshop.
The workshop was organised by the nodal team comprising Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Scientist F; Dr. Nancy, Scientist D; and Dr. Kalyani, Scientist B, along with other team members, under the guidance of Dr. Srinath Satyanarayana, Director, ICMR-NIRT.
