insights

Research findings for development policy and practice

November 2009

'Getting research into policy and practice', insights #78

insights #78
'Getting research into policy and practice'

Editorial

Investing in the future

Influencing legislative change

Building ownership of research

Knowledge intermediaries

Scaling up male circumcision

Sexuality and rights

Acting on the evidence

Making headlines

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This edition of insights is guest edited by Jo Crichton and Sally Theobald. The issue looks at some experiences from the field of sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS research, to see how effective it has been in decision-making, influencing and in bringing about change.

Each link below will take you to the articles from this issue.

Editorial
The true test of the effectiveness of health and development research is whether people use it – for decision-making, influencing, referencing, or most importantly, to bring about change?

Investing in the future 
Randomised controlled trials are considered the gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of new interventions. Communicating the results of these trials presents challenges for researchers who need to work with stakeholders to prepare for potentially positive outcomes, while at the same time living with the knowledge that trials may show no effect.

Influencing legislative change for sexual violence survivors in Ghana
As a human rights lawyer, I was commissioned by a research organisation, the INDEPTH Network, to work with a team to assess the laws and policies governing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in Ghana.

Building ownership of research in Ghana
The Research and Development Division (RDD) is the research arm of the Ghana Health Service. Previously named the Health Research Unit, the RDD was established over 20 years ago with the aim of building research capacity within the Ghana Health Service to conduct policy-relevant research.

Knowledge intermediaries
Policymakers in the UK struggle to take up and use information on health in developing countries. Researchers and the private and non-government sectors are engaged in ever more sophisticated marketing and advocacy campaigns which can leave policymakers overwhelmed.

Scaling up male circumcision for HIV prevention in Tanzania
HIV and AIDS remain the most important public health problems in Tanzania. Promoting effective interventions that prevent new infection and control the epidemic is a priority. Male circumcision is effective in preventing HIV in men. However, there have been some challenges in scaling up circumcision services in Tanzania.

Bringing sexuality and rights into the open in Bangladesh
In Bangladesh there is an environment of conservatism and a
culture of collective denial of the existence of same-sex sexualities,
which stifles public debate. The lack of protection of sexual rights of
homosexuals and transgendered people results in harassment, silence, shame and fear. This pushes the issues underground.

Acting on the evidence
The uptake of research findings into policy is often subject to
contextual and political factors. Research from the Evidence for Action research programme illustrates the need to use policy analysis frameworks to understand how research can play a role in policy processes.

Making headlines
While the mass media play a critical role in communicating information, it is often difficult to interest them in covering research. Many journalists argue that research is presented in technical formats that are difficult to understand and that researchers are sometimes elitist and or too theoretical. Researchers, on the other hand, can be wary about engaging with the media because they lack experience of working with them or fear their work will be misrepresented.

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