Evidence for Action one year on
27 June 2007
One year into the research programme of Evidence for Action (EfA), the Alliance has initiated a number of projects, and is drafting additional funding proposals linked to the international consortium’s research themes.
The Alliance is working with the five-year programme, funded by the UK Department for International Development, on how to design, manage and deliver comprehensive HIV treatment and care programmes in resource-poor settings. We are one of seven international partners, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Current projects include designing a study that looks at the sexual and reproductive health needs of HIV-positive adolescents in Uganda, Malawi and Zambia. We are also planning a quantitative and qualitative study of the role of local social networks in supporting adherence in paediatric care, and a cost effectiveness study of the ACER model.
Also as part of EfA, the Alliance has designed a proposal for funding for research in Uganda on interventions linked to access to treatment and care for children with HIV, increasing adherence to antiretrovirals, and strengthening links between communities and health systems for their care. The study would be based on the Alliance’s existing research on community engagement approaches with adults in Zambia and Uganda. It is proposed to broaden the study to India, Malawi and Zambia at a later stage.
Another of our projects is to investigate the role of community action in strengthening local responses to HIV. We have initiated a literature review on this and will be collaborating with LSHTM to design a research protocol aiming to map out more systematically the ways in which local communities participate in antiretroviral treatment and care delivery. We hope that this research will become the first step towards organising an international conference or workshop on the topic as part of EfA.
In addition, the Alliance will be supporting a ‘Communication Strategy’ workshop this autumn. The workshop will aim to develop novel strategies and build new communication skills for EfA research consortium partners, to improve internal and external communication within the consortium and to engage more extensively with policy makers, specialised institutions and the media at large.
EfA’s research themes fall under four broad headings: what package of treatment and care services should be provided; what delivery systems should be used; how best to integrate HIV treatment and care into other health and social systems; and how to translate rapidly the evidence from research into improved policy and programming. The consortium is focusing on research based mainly in India, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.
The Alliance has already been involved in a number of EfA activities. A workshop we co-hosted at LSHTM on policy research and how to translate evidence into policy generated a range of policy research projects in EfA partner institutions, together with cross-cutting projects involving multiple countries. Arising from the workshop, the Alliance will take the lead on producing more evidence for policy initiatives about the role of community groups in supporting and developing antiretroviral treatment delivery and health systems.
Finally, the Alliance also took part in a paediatric workshop in Lusaka, and will take the lead on research projects on barriers to paediatric adherence in low-income settings, and on the role of civil society and local networks in improving adherence rates and the tracking of mothers and infants born with HIV.
