Table 3 Suggested objectives per goal
Goal 1: Establishing a National Research Culture in the Pharmaceutical sector It is suggested that pharmaceutical authorities take the following actions to keep pace with a changing research environment and communicate better research activities at the national level: • Establishing a national center for pharmaceutical research to assess, monitor, and conduct pharmaceutical research in the country • Raising resources to support strategy development and implementation • Keeping abreast of health-related developments and information in Lebanon through a national pharmaceutical research observatory • Networking and regularly exchanging with the national and international research community • Improving scientific communication and dissemination of research results • Developing an open-access repository of databases and results of all research |
Goal 2: Focusing Pharmaceutical Research on National Priority Health Needs The goal is to champion research on priority health needs. The strategy would help identify research priorities and mobilize the response. The range of health challenges is broad, and agreeing on priorities is not always easy. Actions to be taken by pharmaceutical authorities to achieve the priority goal include: • Synthesizing data on gaps in national and global pharmaceutical research • Convening consultations to identify the priorities and funding for research based on available information, gaps in data, and health priorities • Reporting on national priorities and resources for pharmaceutical research • Developing research agendas for priority areas • Advocating support for research on national priorities • Improving the coherence of research activities by reviewing research agendas, including criteria for initiating, adjusting, and ending research programs |
Goal 3: Helping Institutions and Workforce in developing a Sustainable Pharmaceutical Research Actions to be taken by pharmaceutical authorities, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to achieve this goal include: •Mapping the research workforce in Lebanese institutions, assessing their plans, and projecting their future directions •Attracting and retaining young and brilliant researchers and fostering potential future leaders in pharmaceutical research •Promoting capacity building related to research in academia and hospitals and improving research competencies •Supporting research projects that fall within the scope of national priorities •Promoting interdisciplinary, inter-university, interinstitutional, and interprofessional research projects •Reviewing the arrangements for working with partners and seeking partners from all sectors that impact sustainable pharmaceutical research |
Goal 4: Promoting Good Practice in Research and Setting Norms/Standards at the National Level Actions to be taken by pharmaceutical authorities, in collaboration with other stakeholders (particularly the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon), to achieve this goal include: • Developing a code of good research practice to be added to pharmacy curricula • Strengthening ethical standards and peer review, using evidence to develop guidelines, and reviewing existing policies in the light of new evidence • Promoting ethics committees’ practice in institutions under the authority of competent ministries • Developing and implementing quality standards for the accreditation of research laboratories |
Goal 5: Strengthening Links Between Pharmaceutical Research and Health Policy and Practice Actions to be taken by pharmaceutical authorities, in collaboration with other stakeholders (particularly MOPH), to achieve this goal include: • Establishing a national committee that suggests relevant pharmaceutical policies based on research results • Ensuring research results are transformed into health policies, as necessary, in collaboration with the involved authorities • Promoting the culture of evidence-based decisions • Assess the impact of pharmaceutical research on patient health in Lebanon, using appropriate methods (e.g., registries, electronic platforms) |