Healthlink Worldwide

Global Forum for Health Research, Cairo, Egypt, 2006

Cairo hosted the tenth Global Forum for Health Research (Forum 10), 29 October to 2 November 2006.

At Forum 10 Healthlink Worldwide, along with seven other agencies, ran a Communication Advisory Session. Participants were offered practical advice on ways to organise and communicate research information.

A special team of eight research, policy communication and ‘knowledge translation’ professionals were available throughout Forum 10. The team helped solve research problems and advise on any aspect of communicating health research:

What works and what doesn’t in research communication
What are the risks and what communication skills do researchers need? Who should be responsible – the researcher, the research manager, director or a communication specialist? How is knowledge managed?

How to make research more interesting to its intended audience
What should researchers be doing at the start of a project to improve communication and increase its influence?  How can research papers or technical reports be transformed to be useful to policy makers or community members? What is a policy briefing and how are they written?

How to manage research outputs
How do researchers make the most of online databases and open access journals? What types of communication materials should research institutes produce? What are the best ways to incorporate information and communication technologies such as print, Internet, video, or radio, into research and communication processes?

How to design a profile-raising campaign
How do researchers promote their research programme to donors and partners so that it becomes better known?    What is the media’s role in the research process and how should they be engaged?

How to manage a communication strategy
How can the objectives of research be connected with different communication channels and audiences?   How can researchers be persuaded to take their work beyond journals and technical papers? How can directors be made to see the importance of communicating research?  What techniques exist to synthesise and summarise large amounts of research?   

The advisory team:
Alison Dunn (IDS) has considerable experience in research communication including designing and implementing research communication strategies for international research partnerships and supporting participatory communication in research at the grassroots level, particularly in Burkina Faso.

Andrew Chetley (Healthlink Worldwide) has 30 years’ experience of translating research and field experience in health and development into practical, accessible and relevant communication materials, especially on child health and development, nutrition, HIV, TB, malaria, health systems strengthening, social determinants of health and rational use of essential medicines.

Jennifer Bakyawa (Makerere University, and COHRED) is a health journalist, based in Uganda, and project leader of the research communication and knowledge sharing project initiative of COHRED and Makerere University Institute of Public Health – which works on capacity development projects and looks at how health research organisations can improve their communication and knowledge sharing in health research.

Michael Devlin (COHRED) has 20 years’ experience translating research into practical materials for policy makers and practitioners, in capacity development and providing advice to organisations on how to have more effective science communication. He served several years as Chief Knowledge Officer for an international research institute working across Asia and Africa.

Ms. Nolwazi B.K. Gasa is an Health Specialist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, she has experience in research design and implementation, programme management and community mobilisation.

Peter MBONDJI  Ebongue (CRESAR) has eight years’ experience in public health in developing countries. He has worked in various areas of research communication -  promoting health and health research, health planning and operational research, health education, community health, and  programming and evaluation of health interventions and systems. This has included reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, malaria, and other social management of health problems.

Patience Cofie (Ghana) has worked at the Ministry of Health, Ghana on research to policy translation since 2000. She holds degrees in Epidemiology, Journalism, a PDG in Health Education and Health Promotion and a MSC in Health Education and Health Promotion. She is currently a PhD Candidate at Heidelberg University, Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health, Germany.

Sandy Campbell (Research Matters) has worked across Africa building capacity among researchers and research institutions to better manage and translate their research processes and findings.

Healthlink Worldwide is also took part in a session on advocacy and research, for more information please contact Andrew Chetley chetley.a@healthlink.org.uk