Page 38 - The lraternational Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand.indd

The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XV-2023

Table 4 Numbers of Specific Common CRF Topics

JR MCR Total projects Percentage of all 44 projects
Numbers of topic 11 10 12
group

Covid-19 5 1 6 13.6 %

Dental Health 5 1 6 13.6 %
General Health 0 5 5 11.4 %

ANC/Pregnancy 2 2 4 9.1 %
Antibiotics 2 1 3 6.8 %

Dengue 2 0 2 4.5 %
TB 1 1 2 4.5 %

Herb 2 0 2 4.5 %

Nutrition 1 1 2 4.5 %
Sexual Health 2 0 2 4.5 %

Stroke 1 1 2 4.5 %

Others 7 1 8 18.1 %
Total 30 14 44 100 %

JR = Junior Researchers, MCR = Mid-Career Researchers, ANC = antenatal care

Discussion

In the past, research support was often a straightforward activity, as it relied on
the donation of money by wealthy individuals to trusted people. A classic example
was the development of the “harmonic telegraph” by Graham Bell under funding
from his wealthy father-in-law (Bellis, 2023).

In developing countries, research grants have often focused on specific topics
or issues, such as infectious and communicable diseases (Pukrittayakamee, 2004).

Most grants were from rich countries, and awarded to Western academics. Over recent
decades, there is a growing support for building the research capacity of low-and
middle-income countries. This extends to the direct funding of local investigators
living in these countries (Pukrittayakamee et al, 2018; Chotivanich & Pukrittayakamee,

2014).

A Research Support Model for Research Capacity Building on
30 Health Science: A Case Study in Lao PDR