Table 3.

Strengths and challenges of conflict and health research in Lebanon at the individual, organizational and institutional levels

Strengths of conflict and health research in Lebanon
Level	Element
Individual	Most faculty have research training from US and European countries with relatively few PhD programs in Lebanon
	Open and willing to learn new ways of teaching new content
	Aware of own limitations with teaching research
	Qualitative and quantitative research is valued by researchers, with bias toward quantitative
	Experience with international collaborations and are comfortable with these
	Strong interest across all junior researchers in developing research skills
	Highly receptive to online learning teaching methods
	Consider that continuing education with accreditation can provide the necessary skills while working
Organizational	Lebanon is considered a major health research hub in the region
	Civil society interested in developing research critique skills, especially qualitative
	Research is a part of each university’s mission
	Some universities like AUB and USJ are considered regional hubs for health research
	There is an individual IRB mechanism for most universities and hospitals
	Increased collaborations between universities, NGOs, and Ministries
	Serious attempts to fill gaps in the curricula in research skills and rising health topics
	Capacity strengthening for health research in conflict is prioritized internationally
Challenges of conflict and health research in Lebanon
Individual	Faculty members with experience in designing and conducting qualitative research studies is limited
	Commitment to e-learning based certificates
Individual/Organizational	Limited mentorship opportunities within most universities
Organizational	Huge disparities in human resources and research infrastructure among universities and among local NGOs
	Teaching methods and topics vary widely
	Power dynamics within certain universities negatively impacts research
	Concentration of research in few universities such as AUB, USJ and LU.
	Complicated university bureaucracy
Organizational /Institutional	Lack of sustainable funding
	Gap between research conducted, policy and practice
	Limited communication with different stakeholders
Institutional	Limited access to data
	Political instability
	Data quality of national datasets
	IRB for some studies is decentralized and unregulated
All levels	Lack of research culture in Lebanon and the wider MENA region
	Questionable ethical standards in research especially for local NGOs