The BRIDGE guidelines are good epidemiological practice (GEP) guidelines specifically for global health epidemiology.

Why are specific GEP guidelines needed for global health?

Research integrity and research fairness have gained considerable momentum in the past decade and have direct implications for global health epidemiology. Existing good epidemiological practice guidelines developed by national epidemiological associations lack international legitimacy and are not tailored to the idiosyncrasies of global health. Existing guidelines for fair and equitable partnerships in global health are not specific to epidemiology. Comprehensive guidelines which tackle both integrity and fairness are needed to provide practical support to epidemiologists navigating the complex global health landscape.

How were these guidelines developed?

We developed the BRIDGE guidelines through a Delphi consultation study involving experts with a wide range of experience and expertise in global health and epidemiology.

For whom are these guidelines?

The BRIDGE guidelines are for all people involved in the commissioning, conduct and appraisal of global health research.

What is the aim of the guidelines?

The BRIDGE guidelines foster high-quality epidemiological studies with impact where it is needed the most: in the local communities and local research systems where the research is conducted.

What do the guidelines look like?

The BRIDGE guidelines bring together existing principles for research integrity and fairness in one checklist. The checklist focuses on practical implications for research and covers the six steps of study implementation: study preparation, study protocol and ethical review, data collection, data management, analysis, reporting and dissemination.

Translations

Français:

• Déclaration BRIDGE: lignes directrices pour de bonnes pratiques épidémiologiques

Español:

• Declaración BRIDGE: directrices para una buena práctica epidemiológica

Tools

• BRIDGE Checklist (Excel)
• BRIDGE Checklist (Français)
• BRIDGE Checklist (Español)
• BRIDGE Checklist (Swahili)
• BRIDGE Checklist (Fillable PDF Form)

The ‘Bat’ Story

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Media Coverage

• Nature – The Cape Town Statement on fairness, equity and diversity in research

The benefits of scientific collaboration are too often skewed towards wealthier countries. Epidemiologist at KIT Sandra Alba, Bioethicists, and others present guidance on how stakeholders such as researchers can change this.

• ViceVersa – Helpen codes tegen ethics dumping?

Een klein aantal landen domineert de wetenschap, wat tot oneerlijke praktijken kan leiden. Een nieuwe generatie onderzoekers stimuleert verandering door krachtige ethische codes door te voeren. Een dubbelinterview met Doris Schröder en Sandra Alba, die allebei aan innovatieve richtlijnen werkten.

• ViceVersa – Can ethics codes help prevent ethics dumping?

Scientific output is dominated by a small number of countries. This dominance can lead to unfair practices, like “ethics dumping”. But a new generation of research leaders is fueling change by introducing powerful ethics codes. A double interview with Europeans Doris Schröder and Sandra Alba who have both worked on new, innovative ethics guidelines.

• Significance Magazine – Bats, parachutes and bridges: How can epidemiologists improve global health research practice?

Epidemiologist Sandra Alba is part of a team that developed a new set of guidelines to address issues of research integrity and fairness in international health research collaborations. In this article she explains what the guidelines hope to achieve, and how.

• UK Collaborative on Development Research – Addressing the global health crisis: Epidemiologists attempt to bring back harmony with the BRIDGE guidelines – by Sandra Alba and Susan F. Rumisha, from the blog series ‘Equitable partnerships: Lessons from practitioners’.

• MTb – Bulletin of the Netherlands Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health: Decolonising Global Health – Bats, Parachutes and Bridges: How can epidemiologists improve global health research practice? (pg 12- 18)

Courses & Events

• Good Epidemiological Practice: implementation and analysis of global health studies. December 12^th to December 16^th 2022. This one-week course aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to critically appraise and reflect on epidemiological practice in global health, as a basis for high-quality impactful research.

• 7^th World Conference on Research Integrity, Cape Town, South Africa 29^th May – 1 June 2022

• The Power of Knowledge 2022 – The BRIDGE guidelines were presented as part of the Prince Claus Chair dialogue session on strategies to address and prevent wrongs related to knowledge production, use, and circulation in global health.

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National HREC Conference – 23-25 November in Australia 

Contact

For comments on the BRIDGE statement, as well as any other questions or suggestions, please contact: gep@kit.nl

Follow the latest BRIDGE news on LinkedIn and Twitter with the hashtag #epibridge

Promoting Good Epidemiological Practice

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