Strategies for capacity building in a low-resource setting: Stakeholders’ voices

Abstract

Although global prevalence of autism has grown substantially, researchers still report inequity in access to evidence-based interventions in many low-resource settings where majority of world’s children live. Capacity building of diverse stakeholders in low-resource settings has been suggested to be a potential way to mitigate low levels of access to resources; however, little is known about what these stakeholders consider as helpful strategies in capacity building. In this qualitative research, we conducted five focus groups with 30 Mongolian caregivers of children with autism and 15 individual interviews with professionals in Mongolia. Three themes emerged from this study, including (a) partnership, (b) advocacy, and (c) empowerment. Each theme also contained several categories. For example, partnerships included enhancing collaboration among stakeholders and collaboration with international development agencies; advocacy included parental and legislative advocacy; and empowerment included training for diverse stakeholders, including caregivers and professionals. Implications and directions for future research are also suggested. Lay abstract Prevalence of autism is increasing all around the globe, but there is still great inequity in accessing evidence-based interventions. Although the field of autism research has made great strides in identifying and establishing evidence-based interventions, dissemination and implementation of these interventions have been reported as inequitable. This inequity is especially highlighted in many low-resource settings, such as Mongolia. As a field, there is still much to be learned about what strategies are used by stakeholders in low-resource settings to build capacity and to mitigate the hardships. To gain a deeper understanding of strategies for capacity building within a low-resource setting, we conducted five focus groups with 30 Mongolian caregivers of children with autism and 15 individual interviews with various professionals who work in Mongolia. These stakeholders reported three main strategies, including (a) partnership, (b) advocacy, and (c) empowerment, which included several strategies and implications on capacity-building practices. Furthermore, the findings from this study may suggest important implications for future intervention research.

Training on Education Policy Analysis for Education Stakeholders in Brebes

“…The training will cover techniques for gathering relevant data, using statistical tools to analyze this data, and applying the findings to inform policy decisions. This data-centric approach will help stakeholders develop policies based on factual evidence rather than assumptions or anecdotal information (Lee et al, 2024).…”

Shifting the centre of gravity: Towards a truly global representation in autism research

“…Fourth, the range of manuscripts submitted to us and finally reaching publication reflect the range of interests in autism research in LMIC, and the various stages that autism research may be in across different settings. This included research in exploring autism community priorities for autism research and capacity building in low-resource contexts ( Lee et al, 2022 ; Perez Liz et al, 2023 ), developing and evaluating interventions (e.g. Brandi Gomes Godoy et al, 2023 ; Schlebusch et al, 2022 ) and applying novel technologies to facilitate autism assessment ( Lockwood Estrin et al, 2023 ; Mukherjee et al, 2022 ).…”