Prioritizing the PMTCT Implementation Research Agenda in 3 African Countries: Integrating and Scaling Up PMTCT Through Implementation Research (INSPIRE)

For which topic were research priorities identified?

HIV

In which location was the research priority setting conducted?

Africa - Nigeria; Africa - Zimbabwe; Africa - Malawi

Why was it conducted at all?

Countries with high HIV prevalence face the challenge of achieving high coverage of antiretroviral drug regimens interventions including for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). In 2011, the World Health Organization and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Canada, launched a joint implementation research (IR) initiative to increase access to effective PMTCT interventions.

What was the objective?

to identify and prioritize the key operational issues and implementation challenges for effective delivery of PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) interventions

What was the outcome?

a ranking list of 8 research questions

How long did the research prioritization take?

2 days

Which methods were used to identify research priorities?

workshop

How were the priorities for research identified exactly?

Step 1: workshop with CHNRI method: reviewing PMTCT programs, identifying major barriers and problems, free listing of research questions, agreeing on consolidated list of questions, scoring of questions on six predefined criteria, presenting and discussing ranking based on total scores

Which stakeholders took part?

Policymakers, district health workers, academics, implementing partners, persons living with HIV. Workshop: 41 participants in Malawi, 77 participants in Nigeria, 73 participants in Zimbabwe.

How were stakeholders recruited?

No information provided.

Were stakeholders actively involved or did they just participate?

Stakeholders were mere participants of the research prioritization process; they were not actively involved in the process.