@article{59c2fc584fde41bfab414fd7640ee657,
title = "Saudi Arabia-United States collaboration in health research: A formula for success",
abstract = "The aim of this article is to share our experiences from an international collaborative effort to study health outcomes among Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) soldiers following the 1991 Gulf War. By paying particular attention to distinct social and religious customs, geopolitical differences, and unique aspects of the health care system, we achieved a successful international collaboration in health research.",
author = "Hooper, {Tomoko I.} and Smith, {Tyler C.} and Gray, {Gregory C.} and {Al Qahtani}, {Mohammed S.} and Memish, {Ziad A.} and Barrett, {Drue H.} and Schlangen, {Karen M.} and Cruess, {David F.} and Ryan, {Margaret A.K.} and Gackstetter, {Gary D.}",
note = "Funding Information: Travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the team of US researchers was allowed only under official government orders and required high-level support from the US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense and Saudi Arabian National Guard Health Affairs. Entry into the Kingdom was facilitated by US military officers assigned to SANG. Travel plans were coordinated to avoid conflict with religious observances, such as Ramadan or Christmas, as well as to avoid extremes in the physical environment. As international travelers, we had to remain aware of current political sensitivities and global events that could affect our safety and our ability to travel freely. Scheduling of teleconferences had to take into account at least 10 time zones, when the entire research team was involved, to connect the Western US and points in-between to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, meetings and teleconferences had to allow for differences in how the workweek is defined in Saudi Arabia and the United States. For Saudis, Thursday and Friday correspond to Saturday and Sunday in the United States. Thus, there was overlap on only 3 days of the workweek. Although our research team communicated regularly by e-mail and held periodic teleconferences to discuss data and analytic issues, we found that face-to-face meetings played a critical role in resolving a number of methodologic issues, such as addressing data inconsistencies or missing data, placing analytic results in proper context, and interpreting unusual results. For example, Saudi researchers traveled to the United States to facilitate the initial analyses and to assist with data quality control procedures. In addition, the Saudis provided insight into secular trends within the Kingdom to help interpret study findings. This enabled discussion and key decision making to take place prior to construction of a final analytic data set and smoothed the process of manuscript preparation. Even though much work on the manuscript was accomplished by e-mail and telephone communications, it was still important for the whole team to travel to a central location and meet to finalize manuscripts for publication. ",
year = "2005",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1016/j.ajic.2005.01.006",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "33",
pages = "192--196",
journal = "American Journal of Infection Control",
issn = "0196-6553",
publisher = "Mosby Inc.",
number = "3",
}