Strengthening the Research to Policy and Practice Interface: Exploring Strategies Used by Research Organisations Working on Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS

The report, published as a special Supplement of the journal Health Research Policy and Systems (HARPS), has been produced by the Sexual Health and HIV Evidence into Policy (SHHEP) initiative. The supplement brings together the experiences of academics and communications professionals from Africa (South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Ghana) and Asia (Bangladesh and India) to explore how they have influenced decision-makers. Whilst each paper is context- and issue-specific, the lessons learned are intended to be relevant for researchers, practitioners, donors, and policymakers working elsewhere and on topics other than health.

Topics covered by the papers include:

•    How researchers working to improve the health of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV in Ghana formed a close relationship with government health and social welfare departments.
•    Building trust between researchers, community members, and policymakers in herpes simplex virus treatment trials in South Africa.
•    Assessing the impact of a new report Reviewing Emergencies for Swaziland that documents the impact of HIV on this country.
•    Work to engage the media about sexual and reproductive health in Kenya, where researchers worked with the popular soap opera Makutano Junction on storylines that tackled issues like rape and homosexuality.
•   How an approach to safe sex which focuses on pleasure rather than disease and death can strengthen HIV prevention interventions.
•    How researchers in Bangladesh brought together journalists, public health workers, and academics to discuss sexuality and rights issues with sexual minorities - for example gay men and lesbians.

Abstracts are available online without registration. Registration with BioMed Central is available free of charge for access to the complete supplement.