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Forum on International Collaborative Research in Rehabilitation
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(U.S. LATIN - AMERICAN RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS IN HEALTH & REHABILITATION)
Nancy Carney, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health
& Science University, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
Walter Videtta, M.D., Chief, Intensive Care Unit
(ICU)
Hospital Nacional Professor Alejandro Posadas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Abstract
In August 2000, a research project was initiated, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), to compare outcomes for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) between the United States and Argentina. Cases from the NIDRR-funded TBI Model System database all recipients of rehabilitation would constitute the treatment group. They would be matched to cases from Argentina, where there is no rehabilitation for TBI. U.S. investigators traveled to Argentina and trained a team of physicians in all aspects of the research protocol. Three years later, there are 278 cases in the Argentina dataset. This presentation will illustrate the challenges encountered by both Argentine and U.S. investigators as they conducted their research. We will focus on (1) discovery and resolution of hidden cultural differences, (2) confronting new questions as the research progressed, and (3) reconciling the disparity between what is needed and what is available for patient care.