Practical lessons for bringing policy-makers on board in sexual and reproductive health research.
The need to translate research into policy, i.e. making research findings a driving force in agenda-setting and policy change, is increasingly acknowledged. However, little is known about translation mechanisms in the field of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outside North American or European contexts. This paper seeks to give an overview of the existing knowledge on this topic as well as to document practical challenges and remedies from the perspectives of researchers involved in four SRH research consortium projects in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, China and India.



A literature review and relevant project documents were used to develop an interview guide through which researchers could reflect on their experiences in engaging with policy-makers, and particularly on the obstacles met and the strategies deployed by the four project consortia to circumvent them.



Our findings confirm current recommendations on an early and steady involvement of policy-makers, however they also suggest that local barriers between researchers and policy-making spheres and individuals can represent major hindrances to the realization of translation objectives. Although many of the challenges might be common to different contexts, creating locally-adapted responses is deemed key to overcome them. Researchers' experiences also indicate that - although inevitable - recognizing and addressing these challenges is a difficult, time- and energy-consuming process for all partners involved. Despite a lack of existing knowledge on translation efforts in SRH research outside North American or European contexts, and more particularly in low and middle-income countries, it is clear that existing pressure on health and policy systems in these settings further complicates them.



This article brings together literature findings and researchers' own experiences in translating research results into policy and highlights the major challenges research conducted on sexual and reproductive health outside North American or European contexts can meet. Future SRH projects should be particularly attentive to these potential obstacles in order to tailor appropriate and consistent strategies within their existing resources.
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium. aguieu@gmail.com.|MOMI consortium, . aguieu@gmail.com.|DIFFER consortium, . aguieu@gmail.com.
Aurore
A
Guieu
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|MOMI consortium.|INPAC consortium.
Wei-Hong
WH
Zhang
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|DIFFER consortium.
Yves
Y
Lafort
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|CERCA consortium.
Peter
P
Decat
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|CERCA consortium.
Sara
S
De Meyer
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|INPAC consortium.
Shuchen
S
Wang
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|MOMI consortium.
Birgit
B
Kerstens
International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, UZP114, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.|MOMI consortium.
Els
E
Duysburgh
D000288:Administrative Personnel; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D002681:China; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007843:Latin America; D011050:Policy Making; D060728:Reproductive Health; D034121:Reproductive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D012106:Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012725:Sexual Behavior
China; India; Latin America; Policy; Policy-makers; Research Translation; Sexual and Reproductive Health; Stakeholders; Sub-Saharan Africa