Building research capacity within cardiovascular disease prevention and management in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A collaboration of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group, Resolve to Save Lives, and the World Hypertension League

Locally led health research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is critical to overcome global health challenges. Local researchers are knowledgeable about health problems and understand the cultural, social, economic, and political contexts that influence patterns of disease and the effectiveness of interventions.1 The impact of locally led research studies and their potential contribution to the literature cannot be overstated; yet, health research capacity in LMICs remains limited.2 Most health researchers from low-resource settings face many challenges beyond those of researchers in well-resourced settings. Barriers for potential investigators range from lack of funding and mentorship to inadequate access to scientific literature, limited institutional support, slow Internet speed, and limited English language proficiency.3 As the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors rise in LMICs,4 the importance of LMIC scientific communities generating evidence and disseminating findings and recommendations is critical. Therefore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group, Resolve to Save Lives, and the World Hypertension League came together with a shared goal of increasing opportunities for LMIC researchers to systematically evaluate CVD initiatives and share their results with the scientific community.5 The Scientific Writing Workshop held in Atlanta was an informative and inspirational weekend. I was able to better comprehend the elements needed to write, edit, and publish a manuscript for a scientific journal. This was especially useful as we had guidance from mentors and journal editors, who gave multiple perspectives on the publishing process. The workshop was essential to the publishing of my manuscript! (Bianca Løge, special section author who published on trans-fat elimination policy in the Eurasian Economic Union) It was amazing to meet so many interesting people from all over the world in Atlanta and then to be able to maintain contact and reach the goal of drafting a manuscript. (Professor Fernando Martínez García, Spain, Member of the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group). It is not easy for authors from LMICs to publish their work in high-impact global journals due to lack of experience and language barriers. However, after I joined the Scientific Writing Workshop, I felt it was possible to publish my work in those journals. It was not the first time I joined a writing workshop, but it was the first time that I had success result from a writing workshop. The mentors not only provided comments but also thoroughly reviewed my work, knowing it in as much detail as I knew it, and helped me work through it, polishing it with me until it was ready for publication. (Khanuengnij Yueayai, special section author who published on hypertension diagnosis in Thailand) The experience was very rewarding and helped me to gain insights into areas of public health that are not in the immediate focus of my own research. I learned a lot myself. (Professor Christian Delles, The United Kingdom, Member of the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group) This mentorship program was extremely useful and quite supportive to my first manuscript preparation and concept development. The program provided me the opportunity to improve my scientific writing and quality of work. As a result of the close and helpful guidance of the mentors, my work was published in the special section and can now have far-reaching impact. (Juntima Photi, special section author who published on trans-fat consumption and reduction strategies in Thailand) This was my first experience with scientific writing and manuscript publication in my 11-year public health career. Unlike many other programs I participated in the past, during this mentorship process I received end-to-end support until my manuscript was ultimately published. (Ashish Krishna, special section author who published on hypertension control strategies in India) I wanted to help early-career investigators who have less access to research resources to disseminate their research findings to the global scientific community. (Professor James Sharman, Australia, Member of the Lancet Commission on Hypertension Group) As Sir Isaac Newton said ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ This was my experience with my mentors who, through their professional experience, enabled me to write a piece of scientific research of global value. In LMICs, it is next to impossible to search and acquire the support of professionals with global exposure to writing such thematic articles. CDC played a vital role of searching mentors of global standing and linking them with researchers for the task of building a valuable manuscript. (Omer Tarar, special section author who published on trans-fat control in Pakistan) I enjoyed and found it of great relevance, with a considerable potential of amplification in LMIC countries. I make myself available for future initiatives. (Professor Angelo Scuteri, Italy, Member of the Lancet Commission Hypertension Group) The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. None.