Developing and planning country-specific integrated knowledge translation strategies: experiences from the GELA project in Malawi, Nigeria, and South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The Global Evidence, Local Adaptation (GELA) project aims to maximise the impact of research on poverty-related diseases by increasing researchers' and decision-makers' capacity to use global research to develop locally relevant guidelines for newborn and child health in Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa. To facilitate ongoing collaboration with stakeholders, we adopted an Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) approach within GELA. Given limited research on IKT in African settings, we documented our team's IKT capacity and skills, and process and experiences with developing and implementing IKT in these countries. METHODS: Six IKT champions and a coordinator formed the GELA IKT Working Group. We gathered data on our baseline IKT competencies and processes within GELA, and opportunities, challenges and lessons learned, from April 2022 to March 2023 (Year 1). Data was collected from five two-hour Working Group meetings (notes, presentation slides and video recordings); [2] process documents (flowcharts and templates); and [3] an open-ended questionnaire. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Three overarching themes were identified: [1] IKT approach applied within GELA [2], the capacity and motivations of IKT champions, and [3] the experiences with applying the GELA IKT approach in the three countries. IKT champions and country teams adopted an iterative approach to carry out a comprehensive mapping of stakeholders, determine stakeholders' level of interest in and influence on GELA using the Power-Interest Matrix, and identify realistic indicators for monitoring the country-specific strategies. IKT champions displayed varying capacities, strong motivation, and they engaged in skills development activities. Country teams leveraged existing relationships with their National Ministries of Health to drive responses and participation by other stakeholders, and adopted variable communication modes (e.g. email, phone calls, social media) for optimal engagement. Flexibility in managing competing interests and priorities ensured optimal participation by stakeholders, although the time and resources required by IKT champions were frequently underestimated. CONCLUSIONS: The intentional, systematic, and contextualized IKT approach carried out in the three African countries within GELA, provides important insights for enhancing the implementation, feasibility and effectiveness of other IKT initiatives in Africa and similar low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings.

Human resources for health governance and leadership strategies for improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are facing a crisis of human resources for health (HRH) attributed to poor governance and leadership that characterizes the health sector in this setting. It is unclear which specific strategies are effective in ameliorating the crisis. METHODS: Selected electronic databases were searched up until 30 May 2020. Two authors screened studies independently and extracted data from included studies. Quality assessment was done using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Thematic analysis of the outcomes was done. RESULTS: We included 18 studies of variable designs across Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific islands. Most were case-based studies and were of moderate to high quality. Several governance strategies with a positive impact on the health workforce and health outcomes identified included decentralization, central coordination and facilitation process, posting and transfer policies as well as the setting up of human resource units. CONCLUSIONS: Governance and leadership strategies targeting the HRH crises in LMIC are variable, interdependent and complex. While some show benefits in improving health workforce outcomes, only a few have an impact on population health outcomes.