Tumwesige Wilberforce, Namatovu Phionah, Bahar Ozge Sensoy, Byansi William, McKay Mary M, Ssewamala Fred M
Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Pediatr Med. 2021 Feb;4. doi: 10.21037/pm-20-86. Epub 2021 Feb 28.
The African region remains the world's most affected region in the HIV epidemic. A related consequence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including in Uganda, is the high prevalence of children and adolescents who have lost one or both parents to this virus or who have been perinatally infected. Guided by the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability (PRISM) framework, this paper describes the strategies by which we have engaged community and government partners in research using three NIH-funded randomized clinical trials testing an evidence-based combination intervention aimed at improving health and mental health outcomes among children and adolescents impacted by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. We specifically lay out four strategies that have been used to facilitate stakeholder engagement, namely consultative meetings, stakeholder accountability meetings, training of key players (task-shifting), and policymaker engagement. We emphasize that community collaborations and partnerships are especially critical when implementing combination interventions that require a high level of communication and coordination among multiple implementation partners. We underline that building and sustaining long-term relationships and communication with the stakeholders can allow the researchers to successfully design rigorous studies that are responsive to local needs and can make a difference especially in low-resource settings. Finally, we highlight that the process of engagement and collaboration can be guided by conceptual frameworks.
非洲地区仍是全球受艾滋病疫情影响最严重的地区。在撒哈拉以南非洲地区（包括乌干达），艾滋病病毒/艾滋病带来的一个相关后果是，有大量儿童和青少年因这种病毒失去了一位或双亲，或在出生时就受到感染。在实用、稳健实施与可持续性（PRISM）框架的指导下，本文介绍了我们通过三项由美国国立卫生研究院资助的随机临床试验，与社区和政府合作伙伴开展研究的策略。这些试验测试了一种循证联合干预措施，旨在改善乌干达受艾滋病病毒/艾滋病影响的儿童和青少年的健康及心理健康状况。我们具体阐述了用于促进利益相关方参与的四项策略，即协商会议、利益相关方问责会议、关键人员培训（任务转移）和政策制定者参与。我们强调，在实施需要多个实施伙伴之间高度沟通与协调的联合干预措施时，社区合作与伙伴关系尤为关键。我们强调，与利益相关方建立并维持长期关系及沟通，能够使研究人员成功设计出符合当地需求的严谨研究，尤其在资源匮乏的环境中能产生重要影响。最后，我们强调，参与和合作过程可由概念框架指导。
