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Improving global maternal and newborn survival via innovation: Stakeholder perspectives on the Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge.

ABSTRACT: The Saving Lives at Birth (SL@B) funding partners joined in 2011 to source, support, and scale maternal and newborn health (MNH) innovations to improve maternal and newborn survival by focusing on the 24 hours around the time of birth. A multi-methods, retrospective portfolio evaluation was conducted to determine SL@B's impact. Forty semi-structured, key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with experts in global MNH based in low- and middle-income and in high-income countries to assess the SL@B program. KIIs were conducted with global MNH technical experts, innovators, government officials in low- and middle-income countries, donors, private investors, and implementing partners to include the full spectrum of voices involved in identifying and scaling innovations. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Stakeholders believe the SL@B program has been successful in changing the way maternal and newborn health programs are delivered with a focus on doing things differently through innovation. The open approach to sourcing innovation was seen as positive to the extent that it brought more interdisciplinary stakeholders to think about the problem of maternal and newborn survival. However, a demand-driven approach that aims to source innovations that address MNH priority needs and takes into account the needs of end users (e.g. individuals and governments) was suggested as a strategy for ensuring that more innovations go to scale.

SUBMITTER: Finnegan A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8279342 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectiveEmbedding researchers within health systems results in more socially relevant research and more effective uptake of evidence into policy and practice. However, the practice of embedded health service research remains poorly understood. We explored and assessed the development of embedded participatory approaches to health service research by a health research team in Kenya highlighting the different ways multiple stakeholders were engaged in a neonatal research study.MethodsWe conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with key stakeholders. Data were analysed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches.SettingOver recent years, the Health Services Unit within the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi Kenya, has been working closely with organisations and technical stakeholders including, but not limited to, medical and nursing schools, frontline health workers, senior paediatricians, policymakers and county officials, in developing and conducting embedded health research. This involves researchers embedding themselves in the contexts in which they carry out their research (mainly in county hospitals, local universities and other training institutions), creating and sustaining social networks. Researchers collaboratively worked with stakeholders to identify clinical, operational and behavioural issues related to routine service delivery, formulating and exploring research questions to bring change in practice PARTICIPANTS: We purposively selected 14 relevant stakeholders spanning policy, training institutions, healthcare workers, regulatory councils and professional associations.ResultsThe value of embeddedness is highlighted through the description of a recently completed project, Health Services that Deliver for Newborns (HSD-N). We describe how the HSD-N research process contributed to and further strengthened a collaborative research platform and illustrating this project's role in identifying and generating ideas about how to tackle health service delivery problems CONCLUSIONS: We conclude with a discussion about the experiences, challenges and lessons learned regarding engaging stakeholders in the coproduction of research.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Grand Challenges for international health and development initiatives have received substantial funding to tackle unsolved problems; however, evidence of their effectiveness in achieving change is lacking. A theory of change may provide a useful tool to track progress towards desired outcomes. The Saving Lives at Birth partnership aims to address inequities in maternal-newborn survival through the provision of strategic investments for the development, testing and transition-to-scale of ground-breaking prevention and treatment approaches with the potential to leapfrog conventional healthcare approaches in low resource settings. We aimed to develop a theory of change and impact framework with prioritised metrics to map the initiative's contribution towards overall goals, and to measure progress towards improved outcomes around the time of birth. METHODS:A theory of change and impact framework was developed retrospectively, drawing on expertise across the partnership and stakeholders. This included a document and literature review, and wide consultation, with feedback from stakeholders at all stages. Possible indicators were reviewed from global maternal-newborn health-related partner initiatives, priority indicator lists, and project indicators from current innovators. These indicators were scored across five domains to prioritise those most relevant and feasible for Saving Lives at Birth. These results informed the identification of the prioritised metrics for the initiative. RESULTS:The pathway to scale through Saving Lives at Birth is articulated through a theory of change and impact framework, which also highlight the roles of different actors involved in the programme. A prioritised metrics toolkit, including ten core impact indicators and five additional process indicators, complement the theory of change. The retrospective nature of this development enabled structured reflection of the program mechanics, allowing for inclusion of learning from the first four rounds of the program to inform implementation of subsequent rounds. CONCLUSIONS:While theories of change are more traditionally developed before program implementation, retrospective development can still be a useful exercise for multi-round programs like Saving Lives at Birth, where outputs from the development can be used to strengthen subsequent rounds. However, identifying a uniform set of prioritised metrics for use across the portfolio proved more challenging. Lessons learnt from this exercise will be relevant to the development of pathways to change across other Grand Challenges and global health platforms.

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Improving global maternal and newborn survival via innovation: Stakeholder perspectives on the Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge.

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