Manandhar Mary, Maimbolwa Margaret, Muulu Elson, Mulenga Mary Mwange, O'Donovan Diarmuid
Health Promotion Research Centre and Department of Health Promotion, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
Health Promot Int. 2009 Mar;24(1):58-67. doi: 10.1093/heapro/dan036. Epub 2008 Nov 12.
The Health Promotion Research Centre of the National University of Ireland, Galway and the University of Zambia's School of Medicine conducted operational research to understand and address the socio-cultural and gender contexts of maternal survival. Together with an analytical policy and programming review and qualitative research, the project process also involved the convening of 'Interest Group' meetings involving intersectoral stakeholders at Central (Lusaka) and Provincial (Kasama) levels. These meetings aimed to catalyse debate and stimulate advocacy on the project theme by using discussion of qualitative research as entry point. Participants came from government departments, civil society groups, the indigenous health system, academia, technical provider associations, and media, advocacy and human rights organisations. We found that engagement in Interest Groups was successful at Provincial level with lively participation from civil society, media and advocacy stakeholders and strong engagement by the health system. The process was welcomed as an opportunity to fill gaps in understanding about underlying social determinants of health and jointly explore intervention approaches. Overburdened government staff at central level faced with disease-focused interventions rather than underlying contextual determinants, and a weak culture of health sector engagement with civil society, academics and activists, contributed to less successful functioning in Lusaka. Final Dissemination and Discussion Events incorporated material from Interest Group Meetings to stimulate wider discussion and make recommendations. This project highlights the potential value of intersectoral stakeholder discussions from the inception stage of research to stimulate intersectoral exchange and alliance building, inform advocacy, and catalyse the process of research into action.
爱尔兰国立大学戈尔韦分校的健康促进研究中心与赞比亚大学医学院开展了行动研究，以了解并应对孕产妇生存的社会文化和性别背景。该项目过程除了进行分析性政策与规划审查以及定性研究外，还召集了中央（卢萨卡）和省级（卡萨马）层面跨部门利益相关者参与的“利益集团”会议。这些会议旨在以定性研究讨论为切入点，引发关于项目主题的辩论并推动宣传工作。与会者来自政府部门、民间社会团体、本土卫生系统、学术界、技术供应商协会以及媒体、宣传和人权组织。我们发现，省级层面的利益集团参与活动取得了成功，民间社会、媒体和宣传利益相关者积极参与，卫生系统也深度介入。该过程受到欢迎，被视为填补对健康潜在社会决定因素理解空白并共同探索干预方法的契机。中央层面负担过重的政府工作人员面对的是针对疾病的干预措施而非潜在的背景决定因素，且卫生部门与民间社会、学术界和活动人士的互动文化薄弱，这导致卢萨卡的活动成效较差。最终的传播与讨论活动纳入了利益集团会议的材料，以激发更广泛的讨论并提出建议。该项目凸显了从研究初始阶段开展跨部门利益相关者讨论的潜在价值，以促进跨部门交流与联盟建设、为宣传提供信息并推动研究转化为行动的进程。
