CREDO
Clinical Research During Outbreaks (CREDO)
The Clinical REsearch During Outbreaks (CREDO) training curriculum was developed in 2017 in partnership with the WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), to support investigators in Low- and Middle- Income countries (LMICs) to generate clinical evidence during infectious disease outbreaks.
CREDO is building a globally connected, locally led network of researchers ready to generate the evidence needed during infectious disease outbreaks. Since 2024, four regional training hubs in Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and South America have trained 194 scholars across 14 countries. Through practical training, mentorship and locally developed research plans, CREDO goes beyond individual skills development to strengthen sustainable research capacity within institutions and regions — helping ensure that when the next outbreak occurs, local research teams are ready to respond.
Intended Audience
The CREDO training is intended for clinical researchers and key members of multidisciplinary clinical research teams (clinicians, nurses, data managers).
How CREDO helps
The CREDO training will provide trainees with a set of skills to lead the research response in an outbreak, and, as such strengthen the national capacities of LMICs to generate clinical evidence during outbreaks and facilitate networking and the sharing of resources, and thus improve national response to disease outbreaks.
The curriculum covers the full spectrum of activities that generate clinical evidence from gathering good quality descriptive clinical data right through to clinical trials of experimental therapeutic interventions with a focus on outbreak diseases.
Overall objectives of CREDO
- Describe the steps in the planning and implementation of a clinical research study
- Explain how an outbreak setting might influence the approach to these steps
- Rapidly develop a research plan for an observational study or a clinical trial for a disease of epidemic potential.
CREDO curriculum
The curriculum consists of several modules which are online and self-paced along with face-to-face workshop sessions. The curriculum contains theory and task-based competencies. Some key modules include:
- Clinical research methods for epidemic infections
- Research planning and governance
- Ethics of research in health emergencies
The final workshop and simulation exercise enables participants to put their knowledge into practice in an outbreak scenario. This will help reinforce the learning from e-modules.
