Communication and engagement strategies are often developed along with vaccination programs, but the specific context of a clinical trial in an outbreak setting was a unique situation with major challenges that have been successfully overcome. Lessons learnt from this experience, and on the use of enabling technologies, have been shared during the EBODAC symposium. An online training tool and guidebook have been developed to further share these learnings. In 2020 the consortium held a virtual colloquium and developed an EBODAC manuscript and webstory which provides a comprehensive overview of the project and lessons learned. An educational module was developed from the colloquium material and will be disseminated to public health, medical and nursing schools in the US, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa with a target of 500 screenings, 100,000 audience members and 500,000 online viewers. At the point of writing this report the biometric identification tools are being customized for use by WHO in their Covid -19 vaccine evaluation study.
The external impacts of EBODAC & EBOVAC1 encompass capacity building for Sierra Leonean staff in Kambia through employment, experience, and training on clinical trials, community engagement, use of mobile, biometric identification (ID), development of MOTS for CHWs and other technological tools.
Local capacity-building efforts to prepare for trials in Sierra Leone and to train local Kambian staff will contribute to building research capacity in the country, including capacity to conduct research in epidemic/outbreak conditions. The successful implementation of educational measures, communication strategies, and mechanisms to ensure proper handling of clinical data will contribute to the optimal performance of clinical trials in Sierra Leone in the future.
