Developing, implementing, and monitoring tailored strategies for integrated knowledge translation in five sub-Saharan African countries

Health Research Policy and Systems

Research

Anke Rohwer¹  Nasreen S. Jessani²  Peter Delobelle³  Jean Berchmans Niyibizi⁴  Esther Bayiga-Zziwa⁵  Bonny E. Balugaba⁵  Jimmy Osuret⁵  Tamara Kredo⁶  Lisa M. Pfadenhauer⁷  Eva A. Rehfuess⁷  Kerstin Sell⁷  Firaol Mesfin⁸  Kiya Kedir⁸  Talitha Mpando⁹  Nyanyiwe Masingi Mbeye⁹  Bey-Marrié Schmidt^1,10 

[1] Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa;Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa;Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA;Chronic Diseases Initiative for Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa;Department of Public Health, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium;College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda;Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda;Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa;Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa;Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, LMU Munich, Elisabeth-Winterhalter-Weg 6, 81377, Munich, Germany;Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany;Non-Communicable Diseases Directorate, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi;School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa;Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa;

关键词: Public health;    Integrated knowledge translation;    Implementation;    Evaluation;    Non-communicable diseases;    Uganda;    South Africa;    Malawi;    Ethiopia;    Rwanda;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12961-023-01038-x

 received in 2023-02-24, accepted in 2023-08-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIntegrated knowledge translation (IKT) through strategic, continuous engagement with decision-makers represents an approach to bridge research, policy and practice. The Collaboration for Evidence-based Healthcare and Public Health in Africa (CEBHA +), comprising research institutions in Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Germany, developed and implemented tailored IKT strategies as part of its multifaceted research on prevention and care of non-communicable diseases and road traffic injuries. The objective of this article is to describe the CEBHA + IKT approach and report on the development, implementation and monitoring of site-specific IKT strategies.MethodsWe draw on findings derived from the mixed method IKT evaluation (conducted in 2020–2021), and undertook document analyses and a reflective survey among IKT implementers. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. The authors used the TIDieR checklist to report results in a structured manner.ResultsPreliminary IKT evaluation data (33 interviews with researchers and stakeholders from policy and practice, and 31 survey responses), 49 documents, and eight responses to the reflective survey informed this article. In each of the five African CEBHA + countries, a site-specific IKT strategy guided IKT implementation, tailored to the respective national context, engagement aims, research tasks, and individuals involved. IKT implementers undertook a variety of IKT activities at varying levels of engagement that targeted a broad range of decision-makers and other stakeholders, particularly during project planning, data interpretation, and output dissemination. Throughout the project, the IKT teams continued to tailor IKT strategies informally and modified the IKT approach by responding to ad hoc engagements and involving non-governmental organisations, universities, and communities. Challenges to using systematic, formalised IKT strategies arose in particular with respect to the demand on time and resources, leading to the modification of monitoring processes.ConclusionTailoring of the CEBHA + IKT approach led to the inclusion of some atypical IKT partners and to greater responsiveness to unexpected opportunities for decision-maker engagement. Benefits of using systematic IKT strategies included clarity on engagement aims, balancing of existing and new strategic partnerships, and an enhanced understanding of research context, including site-specific structures for evidence-informed decision-making.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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