RACSMEI - Community Space
Your village was chosen at random, along with 99 other villages in Cambodia, to help us understand the health of the entire population of the country. By participating, you help us learn more about the diseases that are circulating so that authorities can make better decisions to protect everyone.
For more information about the RACSMEI project or to inquire about collaboration opportunities, please contact:
Why this study in your village?
Your village was chosen at random, along with 99 other villages in Cambodia, to help us understand the health of the entire population of the country. By participating, you help us learn more about the diseases that are circulating so that authorities can make better decisions to protect everyone.
How to participate? It's simple and voluntary.
- A first information visit: A member of our team and the village chief will come to present the study to you with an illustrated booklet and a video.
- Your Agreement: Participation is 100% voluntary. You have time to think and ask questions. If you agree, you (or the parents for a child) will sign a consent form. You can change your mind at any time.
- The survey visit: Our team will ask you questions about your home and your health. A qualified nurse will take a small blood test.
The privacy of your information is our priority.
All your personal information will be replaced with a unique code. No one outside the core team will be able to know who you are. The results will be presented in a grouped manner, without ever naming the people or villages.
If you have any questions about your rights, please contact the Medical Referent or the Data Protection Officer (contact details are available in the information sheet given during the visit).
Sharing results with the community
We will not give the results of blood tests to every person, because these tests are for research and not for individual diagnosis. However, we will hold meetings in your area to share the overall results of the study and discuss ways to protect against disease together.
Scan this code to access the results page and project news
A. Ethical Framework
Ethical framework. RACSMEI adheres to national regulations and international best practices in research ethics, participant protection, animal welfare, and data governance.
Ethics approvals. The study protocol received approval from the National Ethics Committee for Health Research (NECHR), Ministry of Health, Cambodia, and from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Institut Pasteur (France). The animal-sampling approach was also reviewed by the UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) as part of the grant submission.
Data protection. All human data are collected with informed consent and handled under strict confidentiality: identifiers are separated from research data, datasets are de-identified/pseudonymized, access is role-based, and storage uses secure, access-controlled environments. Data are used solely for approved research purposes and retained/shared only in line with ethics approvals and applicable laws.
Animal welfare. Field procedures follow recognised welfare standards, with trained personnel, minimal handling, and protocols designed to reduce, refine, and replace animal use where possible.
Governance & oversight. RACSMEI operates under documented SOPs, audit trails, and a data-access process that requires prior approval. Any protocol amendments or reportable events are notified to the relevant ethics bodies.
Consent of Participants Participation is entirely voluntary. A rigorous informed consent process is in place, including a preliminary information visit, the provision of written materials (fact sheet, illustrated booklet) and the use of video materials to facilitate understanding
B. Data Management
● All data collected is anonymized and stored securely in accordance with international data protection standards.
● Access to the data is restricted to authorized research personnel.
● Any data sharing with partners follows strict access agreements that maintain participant confidentiality.
C. Long-term Data Stewardship
Our commitment is to responsible data management beyond the project timeline, to ensure that valuable information remains accessible for future public health initiatives while protecting privacy.
A. Ethical Framework
● If I have questions, who can I get in touch with?
The project’s medical referent’s contact details are on your information page.
● After the research, what happens to my samples?
If you agree, your biological samples will be securely stored in the biobank of the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge for use in future studies of infectious diseases. Access is morally allowed and strictly restricted.
● Will my test results be sent to me?
Individual results will not be shared because these tests are intended for population-level studies rather than for clinical diagnosis. This is explained in detail in the info sheet.
- Institut Pasteur du Cambodge 2025