Towards Ethical International Research Partnerships in Gender-Based Violence Research: Insights From Research Partners in Kenya

Weber, Sanne; Hardiman, Margaret; Kanja, Wangu; Thomas, Sian; Robinson-Edwards, Nicole; Bradbury‐Jones, Caroline

doi:10.1177/10778012211035798

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted August 1, 2022. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.29.22278150 doi: medRxiv preprint perspectives for those involved, there are still many practical challenges with ensuring that participation is truly equitable [18,23,26].…”

Section: Although Cbpr Approaches Can Bring New Learning Opportunitie...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of CBPR in Sub-Saharan Africa can be traced back to earlier participatory approaches in the 1970s, including action research and Theatre for Development [19-25]. Although CBPR approaches can bring new learning opportunities and rich perspectives for those involved, there are still many practical challenges with ensuring that participation is truly equitable [18, 23, 26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although CBPR approaches can bring new learning opportunities and rich perspectives for those involved, there are still many practical challenges with ensuring that participation is truly equitable [18,23,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

Bissett

Gray

Abdulla

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, is rising in Sub-Saharan Africa countries like Tanzania and Malawi. This increase reflects complex interactions between diverse social, environmental, biological, and political factors. To intervene successfully, new approaches are therefore needed to understand how local knowledges and attitudes towards common NCDs influence health behaviours. This study compares the utility of using a novel arts-based participatory method and more traditional focus groups to generate new understandings of local knowledges, attitudes and behaviours towards NCDs and their risk factors. Single-gender arts-based participatory workshops and focus group discussions were conducted with local communities in Tanzania and Malawi. Thematic analysis compared workshop and focus group transcripts for depth of content and researcher-participant hierarchies. In addition, semiotic analysis examined the contribution of photographs of workshop activities to understanding participants’ experiences and beliefs about NCD risk factors. The arts-based participatory workshops produced in-depth, vivid, emotive narratives of participants’ beliefs about NCDs and their impact (e.g., “... it spreads all over your body and kills you - snake’s poison is similar to diabetes poison” ), while the focus groups provided more basic accounts (e.g., “diabetes is a fast killer” ). The workshops also empowered participants to navigate activities with autonomy, revealing their almost overwhelmingly negative beliefs about NCDs. However, enabling participants to direct the focus of workshop activities led to challenges, including the perpetuation of stigma (e.g., comparing smells associated with diabetes symptoms with sewage). Semiotic analysis of workshop photographs provided little additional insight beyond that gained from the transcripts. Arts-based participatory workshops are promising as a novel method to inform development of culturally relevant approaches to NCD prevention in Tanzania and Malawi . Future research should incorporate more structured opportunities for participant reflection during the workshops to minimise harm from any emerging stigma.

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Section: Although Cbpr Approaches Can Bring New Learning Opportunitie...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

Bissett

Gray

Abdulla

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Previous studies have acknowledged ethical challenges in global research [ 9 ] including studies on VAW [ 8 , 10 ]. Ethical and methodological challenges in global research on VAW are interlinked and both can undermine the quality of the data and findings [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical challenges in global research on health system responses to violence against women: a qualitative study of policy and professional perspectives

Lewis,

Kalichman,

Azeredo

et al. 2024

BMC Med Ethics

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Background Studying global health problems requires international multidisciplinary teams. Such multidisciplinarity and multiculturalism create challenges in adhering to a set of ethical principles across different country contexts. Our group on health system responses to violence against women (VAW) included two universities in a European high-income country (HIC) and four universities in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to investigate professional and policy perspectives on the types, causes of, and solutions to ethical challenges specific to the ethics approval stage of the global research projects on health system responses to VAW. Methods We used the Network of Ethical Relationships model, framework method, and READ approach to analyse qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 18) and policy documents (n = 27). In March-July 2021, we recruited a purposive sample of researchers and members of Research Ethics Committees (RECs) from the five partner countries. Interviewees signposted policies and guidelines on research ethics, including VAW. Results We developed three themes with eight subthemes summarising ethical challenges across three contextual factors. The global nature of the group contributed towards power and resource imbalance between HIC and LMICs and differing RECs’ rules. Location of the primary studies within health services highlighted differing rules between university RECs and health authorities. There were diverse conceptualisations of VAW and vulnerability of research participants between countries and limited methodological and topic expertise in some LMIC RECs. These factors threatened the timely delivery of studies and had a negative impact on researchers and their relationships with RECs and HIC funders. Most researchers felt frustrated and demotivated by the bureaucratised, uncoordinated, and lengthy approval process. Participants suggested redistributing power and resources between HICs and LMICs, involving LMIC representatives in developing funding agendas, better coordination between RECs and health authorities and capacity strengthening on ethics in VAW research. Conclusions The process of ethics approval for global research on health system responses to VAW should be more coordinated across partners, with equal power distribution between HICs and LMICs, researchers and RECs. While some of these objectives can be achieved through education for RECs and researchers, the power imbalance and differing rules should be addressed at the institutional, national, and international levels. Three of the authors were also research participants, which had potential to introduce bias into the findings. However, rigorous reflexivity practices mitigated against this. This insider perspective was also a strength, as it allowed us to access and contribute to more nuanced understandings to enhance the credibility of the findings. It also helped to mitigate against unequal power dynamics.

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“…The use of CBPR in Sub-Saharan Africa can be traced back to earlier participatory approaches in the 1970s, including action research and Theatre for Development [19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Although CBPR approaches can bring new learning opportunities and rich perspectives for those involved, there are still many practical challenges with ensuring that participation is truly equitable [18,23,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

Bissett

Gray

Abdulla

et al. 2022

PLOS Glob Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, is rising in Sub-Saharan African countries like Tanzania and Malawi. This increase reflects complex interactions between diverse social, environmental, biological, and political factors. To intervene successfully, new approaches are therefore needed to understand how local knowledges and attitudes towards common NCDs influence health behaviours. This study compares the utility of using a novel arts-based participatory method and more traditional focus groups to generate new understandings of local knowledges, attitudes, and behaviours towards NCDs and their risk factors. Single-gender arts-based participatory workshops and focus group discussions were conducted with local communities in Tanzania and Malawi. Thematic analysis compared workshop and focus group transcripts for depth of content and researcher-participant hierarchies. In addition, semiotic analysis examined the contribution of photographs of workshop activities to understanding participants’ experiences and beliefs about NCD risk factors. The arts-based participatory workshops produced in-depth, vivid, emotive narratives of participants’ beliefs about NCDs and their impact (e.g., “… it spreads all over your body and kills you—snake’s poison is similar to diabetes poison”), while the focus groups provided more basic accounts (e.g., “diabetes is a fast killer”). The workshops also empowered participants to navigate activities with autonomy, revealing their almost overwhelmingly negative beliefs about NCDs. However, enabling participants to direct the focus of workshop activities led to challenges, including the perpetuation of stigma (e.g., comparing smells associated with diabetes symptoms with sewage). Semiotic analysis of workshop photographs provided little additional insight beyond that gained from the transcripts. Arts-based participatory workshops are promising as a novel method to inform development of culturally relevant approaches to NCD prevention in Tanzania and Malawi. Future research should incorporate more structured opportunities for participant reflection during the workshops to minimise harm from any emerging stigma.

show abstract

Towards Ethical International Research Partnerships in Gender-Based Violence Research: Insights From Research Partners in Kenya

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

Ethical challenges in global research on health system responses to violence against women: a qualitative study of policy and professional perspectives

“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

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