Dataset Information

Research Priorities for Eight Areas of Adolescent Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To conduct an expert-led process for identifying research priorities for eight areas of adolescent health in low- and middle-income countries. Specific adolescent health areas included communicable diseases prevention and management, injuries and violence, mental health, noncommunicable diseases management, nutrition, physical activity, substance use, and health policy.

Methods

We used a modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative methodology for reaching consensus on research priorities. In a three phase process, we (1) identified research and program experts with wide-ranging backgrounds and experiences from all geographic regions through systematic searches and key informants; (2) invited these experts to propose research questions related to descriptive epidemiology, interventions (discovery, development/testing, and delivery/implementation), and health policy/systems; and (3) asked the experts to prioritize the research questions based on five criteria: clarity, answerability, importance or impact, implementation, and equity.

Results

A total of 142 experts submitted 512 questions which were edited and reduced to 303 for scoring. Overall, the types of the top 10 research questions in each of the eight health areas included descriptive epidemiology (26%), interventions: discovery (11%), development/testing (25%), delivery (33%), and policy, health and social systems (5%). Across health areas, the top questions highlighted integration of health services, vulnerable populations, and different health platforms (such as primary care, schools, families/parents, and interactive media).

Conclusions

Priority questions have been identified for research in eight key areas of adolescent health in low- and middle-income countries. These expert-generated questions may be used by donors, program managers, and researchers to prioritize and stimulate research in adolescent health.

SUBMITTER: Nagata JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5357763 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Research Priorities for Eight Areas of Adolescent Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Nagata Jason M JM Ferguson B Jane BJ Ross David A DA

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 20160524 1

<h4>Purpose</h4>To conduct an expert-led process for identifying research priorities for eight areas of adolescent health in low- and middle-income countries. Specific adolescent health areas included communicable diseases prevention and management, injuries and violence, mental health, noncommunicable diseases management, nutrition, physical activity, substance use, and health policy.<h4>Methods</h4>We used a modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative methodology for ...[more]

PMID: 27235375

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Project description:BackgroundResearch on menstrual health is required to understand menstrual needs and generate solutions to improve health, wellbeing, and productivity. The identification of research priorities will help inform where to invest efforts and resources.ObjectivesTo identify research priorities for menstrual health across the life-course, in consultation with a range of stakeholder groups from a variety of geographic regions, and to identify if menstrual health research priorities varied by expertise.MethodsA modified version of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach was utilized to reach consensus on a set of research priorities. Multisector stakeholders with menstrual health expertise, identified through networks and the literature, were invited to submit research questions through an online survey. Responses were consolidated, and individuals were invited to rank these questions based on novelty, potential for intervention, and importance/impact. Research priority scores were calculated and evaluated by participants' characteristics.ResultsEighty-two participants proposed 1135 research questions, which were consolidated into 94 unique research questions. The mean number of questions did not differ between low- and middle-income country (LMIC) and high-income country (HIC) participants, but significantly more questions were raised by participants with expertise in mental health and WASH. Sixty-six participants then ranked these questions. The top ten-ranked research questions included four on 'understanding the problem', four on 'designing and implementing interventions', one on 'integrating and scaling up', and one on 'measurement'. Indicators for the measurement of adequate menstrual health over time was ranked the highest priority by all stakeholders. Top ten-ranked research questions differed between academics and non-academics, and between participants from HICs and LMICs, reflecting differences in needs and knowledge gaps.ConclusionsA list of ranked research priorities was generated through a consultative process with stakeholders across LMICs and HICs which can inform where to invest efforts and resources.

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Project description:Priority-setting in health is risky and challenging, particularly in resource-constrained settings. It is not simply a narrow technical exercise, and involves the mobilisation of a wide range of capacities among stakeholders - not only the technical capacity to "do" research in economic evaluations. Using the Individuals, Nodes, Networks and Environment (INNE) framework, we identify those stakeholders, whose capacity needs will vary along the evidence-to-policy continuum. Policymakers and healthcare managers require the capacity to commission and use relevant evidence (including evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness, and of social values); academics need to understand and respond to decision-makers' needs to produce relevant research. The health system at all levels will need institutional capacity building to incentivise routine generation and use of evidence. Knowledge brokers, including priority-setting agencies (such as England's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and Health Interventions and Technology Assessment Program, Thailand) and the media can play an important role in facilitating engagement and knowledge transfer between the various actors. Especially at the outset but at every step, it is critical that patients and the public understand that trade-offs are inherent in priority-setting, and careful efforts should be made to engage them, and to hear their views throughout the process. There is thus no single approach to capacity building; rather a spectrum of activities that recognises the roles and skills of all stakeholders. A range of methods, including formal and informal training, networking and engagement, and support through collaboration on projects, should be flexibly employed (and tailored to specific needs of each country) to support institutionalisation of evidence-informed priority-setting. Finally, capacity building should be a two-way process; those who build capacity should also attend to their own capacity development in order to sustain and improve impact.

Project description:Strengthening research capacity in low- and middle-income countries is one of the most effective ways of advancing their health and development but the complexity and heterogeneity of health research capacity strengthening (RCS) initiatives means it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. Our study aimed to enhance understanding about these difficulties and to make recommendations about how to make health RCS evaluations more effective. Through discussions and surveys of health RCS funders, including the ESSENCE on Health Research initiative, we identified themes that were important to health RCS funders and used these to guide a systematic analysis of their evaluation reports. Eighteen reports, produced between 2000 and 2013, representing 12 evaluations, were purposefully selected from 54 reports provided by the funders to provide maximum variety. Text from the reports was extracted independently by two authors against a pre-designed framework. Information about the health RCS approaches, tensions and suggested solutions was re-constructed into a narrative. Throughout the process contacts in the health RCS funder agencies were involved in helping us to validate and interpret our results. The focus of the health RCS evaluations ranged from individuals and institutions to national, regional and global levels. Our analysis identified tensions around how much stakeholders should participate in an evaluation, the appropriate balance between measuring and learning and between a focus on short-term processes vs longer-term impact and sustainability. Suggested solutions to these tensions included early and ongoing stakeholder engagement in planning and evaluating health RCS, modelling of impact pathways and rapid assimilation of lessons learned for continuous improvement of decision making and programming. The use of developmental approaches could improve health RCS evaluations by addressing common tensions and promoting sustainability. Sharing learning about how to do robust and useful health RCS evaluations should happen alongside, not after, health RCS efforts.

Dataset Information

Research Priorities for Eight Areas of Adolescent Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Research Priorities for Eight Areas of Adolescent Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

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