Community engagement on the Thai-Burmese border: rationale, experience and lessons learnt.
Open accessAbstract
Community engagement is increasingly promoted in developing countries, especially in international health research, but there is little published experience. The Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU) conducts research with refugees, migrant workers, displaced people, and day migrants on the Thai-Burmese border, and has recently facilitated the set up of the Tak Province Border Community Ethics Advisory Board (T-CAB). Valuable lessons have been learnt from consultation with the T-CAB especially in the area of participant recruitment and the informed consent process. A lot of new research questions have emerged from consultation with the T-CAB. This paper describes our experience, lessons learnt and the unique challenges faced working with the T-CAB from its initial conception to date. We conclude that consultation with the T-CAB has made improvements in our research in particular operational and ethical aspects of our studies.
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In 2008, increased community engagement resulted from the Tak Province Community Advisory Board in Thailand, which comprised community members, advised design, process and outcomes of interest, and subsequently approved or disapproved all studies conducted at SMRU.
“In 2008, increased community engagement resulted from the Tak Province Community Advisory Board in Thailand. This group, comprised of community members were asked to advise design, process and outcomes of interest, and subsequently approved (or disapproved) all studies conducted at SMRU. 26 , 27”
From Cohort Profile: the SMRU Refugee and Migrant Pregnancy Study in Western Thailand and Eastern Myanmar (2026) · cites this paper as [26]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFor the informal staff questionnaire consent was not deemed necessary by the Tak Border Committee Advisory Board because no-risk was thought to be attached.
“For the informal staff questionnaire consent was not deemed necessary by the Tak Border Committee Advisory Board because no-risk was thought to be attached [16].”
From Neonatal Intensive Care in a Karen Refugee Camp: A 4 Year Descriptive Study (2013) · cites this paper as [16]
As older people and those in greater authority positions are highly respected in this setting, younger, first-time mothers may have felt intimidated and spoken out less in the presence of older, more experienced mothers.
“As older people and those in greater authority positions are highly respected in this setting, younger, first-time mothers may have felt intimidated and spoken out less in the presence of older, more experienced mothers [34].”
From Pregnant migrant and refugee women’s perceptions of mental illness on the Thai-Myanmar border: a qualitative study (2015) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- Cheah, P. Y., Lwin, K. M., Phaiphun, L., Maelankiri, L., Parker, M., Day, N. P., White, N. J., & Nosten, F.
- Affiliations
- Mahidol University (TH)
- Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (TH)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cheah, Phaik Yeong
- Venue
- International Health
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-06
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 123-129
- ISSN
- 1876-3405 (ISSN-L)
- 1876-3413
- PMC
- PMC3442337
- OpenAlex
- W2127717574
- Semantic Scholar
- 1adf0c1d37538e143fbe6d795b543f51dbead5c7
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 3.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (090207, 093956)
- University of Oxford
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics in Clinical Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Community Health and Development
- Keywords
- community participation, community advisory board, research ethics, informed consent, participant recruitment, refugees, migrant workers, displaced persons, malaria research, Thai-Myanmar border, Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Tak Province
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