Research Priority-Setting: Reproductive Health in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

For which topic were research priorities identified?

reproductive health

In which location was the research priority setting conducted?

Asia - Palestine

Why was it conducted at all?

Occupied Palestinian territory is an authority with limited resources. Therefore, research conducted in such a setting should be prioritized and coordinated to follow a national research agenda.

What was the objective?

to produce a research agenda for reproductive health in the occupied Palestinian territory that can be utilized by reproductive health stakeholders and contribute to the development of policy-based evidence to guide health practice

What was the outcome?

a ranking list of 50 research questions

How long did the research prioritization take?

December 2015 - January 2016: proposing research questions. January 2016 - February 2016: refining list of priorities. February 2016 - April 2016: scoring of priorities

Which methods were used to identify research priorities?

CHNRI approach

How were the priorities for research identified exactly?

Step 1: generating and collecting research questions: stakeholders asked to propose six research questions in the field of reproductive health, 1239 research questions submitted. Step 2: consolidation of research questions: data cleaning, thematic analysis, resulting in 232 research questions in 3 main thematic areas. Step 3: prioritization: stakeholders asked to rate each research question against five criteria

Which stakeholders took part?

Palestinian Ministry of Health and other governmental ministries, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and national non-governmental organizations, private physicians, and researchers representing Palestinian academic institutions

How were stakeholders recruited?

Participants were identified by consulting the stakeholders who were involved in the Palestinian National Reproductive Health Strategy and Action Plan 2014-2016.

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.