Vacature Internship Prep4tbvax

Internship Prep4TBVAX

• Closing date: 11 June 2024

Internship opportunity at KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation

KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) is one of the leading international non-profit organizations dedicated to fighting tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. We are an international center of expertise for TB control that stimulates effective, efficient and sustainable tuberculosis control strategies in a national and international context. We are an organization of passionate TB professionals; including medical doctors, researchers, training experts, nurses and epidemiologists.

Over the past century we have built a wealth of knowledge and expertise, initially by successfully driving back TB in the Netherlands, and subsequently by partnering in the fight against TB in over 40 countries worldwide.

We operate from a central office in The Hague in the Netherlands and additional country offices worldwide). KNCV raises funds from individual, institutional and corporate donors.

Supervisors:

Dr. Ineke T. Spruijt, MSc, PhD & Joeri S. Buis, MSc.

Title Internship:

Prep4TBVAX - Preparing for the Introduction of TB Vaccines: A qualitative study across high TB burden countries

Research question:

We will assess the preferred vaccine candidates, potential implementation strategies, and barriers and facilitators of their implementation. We will assess lessons learned from COVID-19 vaccination programs to inform potential strategies for future implementation of new TB vaccine candidates for adults and adolescents in high TB burden countries.

Scientific background:

To this day, tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health threat with an estimated 1.3 million deaths and over 10 million people who developed the disease in 2022 globally [1] . Ensuring the availability of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine for adults and adolescents is one of the World Health Organization's (WHO) key strategies to end tuberculosis (TB) [2] : a new TB vaccine could potentially prevent the development of TB among millions of people [3] . With four TB vaccines for adults and adolescents in phase 3 clinical trials [4] , there is an urgency to understand TB vaccine preparedness in countries with a high TB burden. Rapid and effective implementation is critical to ensure that people can receive these vaccines, which will ultimately influence the public health impact once a new TB vaccine is available.

In 2022, Pelzer et al. [5] published a qualitative study on potential implementation strategies for the M72/AS01E vaccine and BCG-revaccination candidates, seeking understanding of the acceptability and feasibility in China, South Africa, and India. The study highlighted that key populations for vaccination, and perceived implementation challenges and concerns, such as stigma, logistical challenges, and adverse effects in people living with HIV, are country-specific. This underscores the nuanced interplay between country-specific contexts, and vaccine acceptability and feasibility.

Notably, Pelzer et al. (2022) collected data prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lessons learned, including the barriers and facilitators of the rapid implementation and scale-up of COVID-19 vaccine programs may provide relevant insights in potential implementation strategies for new TB vaccines. Moreover, there is a need to understand benefits and challenges of implementation for the TB vaccines beyond M72/AS01E development.

We propose to extend the work of Pelzer et al. by studying potential implementation strategies and the feasibility and acceptability of introducing new vaccines in high TB burden countries. This study will include more vaccine candidates, additional high TB burden countries, and seek insights from the relevant barriers and facilitators of the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccines among adults and adolescents. This internship will support the assessment of this project.

Research design:

A qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews.

Methods

• Setting: The aim is to select and approach 4 countries for their participation in the study. Countries with a high TB burden and either a high or low COVID-19 vaccine uptake will be selected, with preference for countries with whom KNCV has already established connections with.
• Data collection: Semi structured in-depth interviews with around 5-8 key stakeholders per country.
• Analysis: Inductive and deductive coding of the transcripts of the interviews.

Work to do and competences:

The intern will support the activities of this project. The main activities will consist of transcribing and analysis of the interviews, setting up and assisting in hosting a webinar to disseminate the results, and contributing to writing a manuscript.

Requirements

• The intern must be affiliated/enrolled in an education program, of which this internship should be part.
• Living in the Netherlands, and ability to work in the The Hague office 2 days/week.
• Speaking and writing in fluent English
• Experience with conducting and analyzing qualitative interviews
• Experience with using Nvivo is preferred

Time schedule

September 2024- January 2025

This is a fulltime internship (working week of 38 hours)

Supervision

The daily supervisions will be the responsibility of Joeri Buis (TB consultant with specialization in TB vaccine implementation research) and there will be bi-weekly supervision by dr. Ineke T. Spruijt.

Ethics

Ethical approval will be obtained from KNCV's internal ethical review board (ERB) and depending on the countries involved, ethical approval from the country's ERB will be obtained.

Application and information
You can apply for this position by sending your CV and motivation letter before 11 June 2024 to Joeri Buis ( ). If you have any questions, feel free to contact Joeri Buis via . For further information on KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, please visit our website www.kncvtbc.org .

Functie:	internship
Startdatum:	29-05-2024
Ervaring:	Ervaren
Educatielevel:	HBO
Contracttype:	Stage
Salaris:	onbekend – onbekend
Uren per week:	38 – 38

Heb je interesse in deze vacature en wil je graag op deze functie solliciteren? Neem dan contact op met Unknown via Unknown of Unknown. Of bezoek hun website Unknown.