Table 4 Priority research agenda for COVID-19 in SEAR

Thematic area: health system

1

What is the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continuity of essential health services?

Bhutan, Nepal, SEARO

2

What are the major gaps in policies and strategies in effectively responding to the pandemic in SEAR Member States?

SEARO

3

How was the readiness for the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines assessed in SEAR Member States; what were the key aspects where the countries were ready and where were the gaps?

Myanmar

5

What was the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (including rates of infection, stress, burnout, stigmatization and violence) and measures taken to address them, including any gender-specific response?

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Timor-Leste, SEARO

7

Assessment of health system capacity (especially preventive and promotive) to manage the epidemic

Myanmar, Timor-Leste, SEARO

11

What was the role of the primary level of care in SEAR Member States in case management and its referral linkages with higher levels?

Myanmar, Timor-Leste, SEARO

13

In SEAR Member States, how did the existing roles and responsibilities of the hierarchy in the governance system of COVID-19 response enable or constrain an effective pandemic response?

Myanmar

14

How were supply chain issues quantified and reliable supplies ensured from national to subnational levels in SEAR Member States for all essential items?

SEARO

17

To what extent were health services (diagnostic, curative, promotive, preventive, rehabilitative) disrupted due to COVID-19 and what was the resulting adverse impact on the prevention and control of priority public health conditions (TB, mental health, SRMNCAH, NCDs)?

Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, SEARO

24

What process changes did SEAR Member States introduce in healthcare facilities to cater to the dual load of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients during the pandemic?

Maldives

Thematic area: public health and social measures

6

Acceptability of COVID-19 vaccine and barriers to vaccination among the general population and among healthcare workers

Timor-Leste, SEARO

8

What are the sociocultural influences and other barriers to and enablers of community behaviour change regarding COVID-19?

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, SEARO

12

What policy and programmatic interventions for the COVID response are safe and effective in preventing transmission in different local contexts (points of entry/internally displaced people/workplaces)?

Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, SEARO

21

Analysis of prevention strategies by SEAR Member States and their effectiveness in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 and limiting its adverse socioeconomic impact

Bangladesh, India

25

Analysis of the use of contact tracing mobile applications to accelerate the COVID-19 response and for addressing challenges in case finding and contact tracing in communities, in different contexts within countries

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, SEARO

26

Evaluation of the COVID-related communication campaigns in SEAR Member States

Bangladesh, Myanmar, SEARO

Thematic area: epidemiology

4

To estimate the severity of disease (mild/moderate/severe) in various groups (by age group, geographical location, sex, health status, vulnerable groups, etc.) and conduct a trend analysis

Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Timor-Leste, SEARO

10

Sero-surveillance/sero-surveys to assess and monitor the infection burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection in various groups (by age, geographical location, sex, etc.)

Myanmar, Nepal

16

What are the early warning indicators to identify COVID-19 clustering?

Sri Lanka

23

COVID-19 disease transmission studies in various settings (slums, rural areas, workplaces)

Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka

27

Analysis of COVID-19 data disaggregated by sex and age (and any other available stratifier) for policy-relevant trends revealed by such analysis

Bangladesh, Myanmar

Thematic area: socioeconomic and equity

9

How did COVID-19 exacerbate pre-existing inequities and their (negative) health and non-health impact on various disadvantaged groups, taking as migrants or others as illustrative examples?

Indonesia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste, SEARO

19

To what extent have sex and gender figured/been addressed in clinical trials and other COVID-19-related research in SEAR Member States?

Nepal, SEARO

22

Which COVID-19 related policies have addressed the needs of vulnerable groups and to what extent has the response been equity-focused, gender-responsive and human rights-based (using specific vulnerable groups as illustrative examples)?

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Timor-Leste

Thematic area: clinical sciences

15

Clinical features, disease progression and outcome of COVID-19 infection in various vulnerable groups (by age, sex or health status, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, slum-dwellers, people living with a disability, etc.)

Bangladesh, Bhutan Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, SEARO

Thematic area: basic sciences

18

What is the duration and level of immune response in COVID-19 positive patients by age, sex and comorbidities (HIV/TB/NCDs)?

Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, SEARO

Thematic area: pandemic response

20

How did existing laboratory capacity influence the national testing strategy adopted in SEAR Member States; how did countries improve their laboratory capacity, and what lessons have been learned to improve laboratory performance in the future?

Bangladesh, Nepal