Practitioners research their own practice: Collaborative research in family planning

Abstract

A recurring problem in many African countries is that the results of research carried out in public health programmes are often not used by programme planners and managers. Collaborative research, which involves programme practitioners in applied research projects with social scientists, can strengthen the link between programme research and its application in programme implementation. In this paper, the rationale for a collaborative research approach is discussed. The article illustrates use of this approach in a study conducted in Senegal of midwives' interpersonal communication behaviour during family planning consultations. Once the practitioner-researcher team had summarized the study findings, they developed detailed recommendations for key aspects of family planning service delivery. This experience suggests that a collaborative research approach can be beneficial insofar as it can generate practical recommendations for improving health programmes, strengthen programme staff's applied research skills and increase their motivation to use research results. Several constraints associated with the use of a collaborative research approach are also identified. Based on this experience, suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of social scientists' involvement in research activities in collaboration with programme practitioners are formulated.