Page 50 - The lraternational Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand.indd

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

Because Kravanh research site is located within the district hospital, is not far from the
provincial hospital, and is well connected by the road networks, it is the central site
for field researchers and staff to organize and plan other research sites.

Currently Kravanh research site is hosting three major studies that includes
EFFORT, DeTACT and Roll out Radical Cure (RORC) study, and two other studies

are currently being planned and stationed that includes verbal autopsy study, and
household survey.

Among the studies that are hosted by Kravanh research site, EFFORT has
completed the total sample size of 220 (co-contributed by Siem Pang and Chambak)
and is following up patients until February 2023. Another major clinical trial DeTACT

is progressing well soon to achieve the required sample size. DeTACT is also
currently recruiting patients at Siem Pang, Kravanh and Chambak.

RORC—an operational study amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
The other study hosted and successfully completed by Kravanh site is RORC
(Roll Out of Radical Cure for vivax malaria). RORC was an operational study that

explored the feasibility and practicalities of deploying the SD biosensor among village
malaria workers (VMWs) (Adhikari et al, 2022b). The SD biosensor is a device to
quantitate Glucose-6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) enzyme to prevent potential
haemolysis by radical cure regimen consisting of 8-aminoquinoloes. The study started

in May 2021 right at the middle of pandemic and was implemented throughout the
pandemic period. Several adaptations were made to ensure RORC operated in the
community. For instance, at the outset, the number of attendees were restricted (for
physical distancing), training sessions were frequented so that it could host only a

small number of VMWs instead of convening all together. Remote monitoring was
encouraged by providing smart phone devices so that VMWs could record the
snapshots of biosensor readings. All VMWs tested G6PD among participants in the
village (Figure 3). As pandemic slowly began declining in addition to increasing vaccine

coverage rates, VMWs were visited at the community sites to observe their performance
and resolve the queries at real time.

Sustaining Health Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic:
42 Lessons from Field Sites in Rural Cambodia