Community engagement in research in sub-Saharan Africa: current practices, barriers, facilitators, ethical considerations and the role of gender - a systematic review

Introduction

meaningful community engagement is increasingly being considered the major determinant of successful research, innovation and intervention uptake. Even though there is available literature recommending community engagement in health research, there are still knowledge gaps in how communities might be best engaged in Sub-Saharan Africa. We, therefore, synthesized the existing literature on the current practices, barriers and facilitators, ethical considerations, and gender mainstreaming in the engagement of communities in research in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

this synthesis was developed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). A combination of keywords and medical subject headings was used to search MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health Library through OVID SP, the Cochrane Library, PsychINFO, CINAHL, WHO Afro Library, WHO Global Index Medicus and the National Institute for Health Research, for all literature published between 1 January 2000 to 31 July 2021.

Results

thirty articles met our inclusion criteria. The key reported facilitators of effective community engagement in research included appropriate community entry and engagement of stakeholders. Barriers to effective community engagement in research included the availability of prohibitive cultural, historical and religious practices; geographical/spatial limitations, difficulties in planning and executing community engagement activities and communication barriers. Awareness creation and sensitization on the research through drama, social media, documentaries, and community durbars are some of the existing practices adopted in engaging communities in research. Gender mainstreaming was not considered appropriately in the engagement of communities in research, as only a few studies made provisions for gender considerations, and most of the time, interchanging gender for sex. Respect for autonomy, privacy and informed consent were the main ethical issues reported.

Conclusion

gender mainstreaming and ethical standards were reported as important, but not explored in depth. Gender as a social construct needs to be carefully integrated in the entire research cycle. Clear ethical concerns within a research project have to be co-discussed by the research team, community members and potential research participants.

Community engagement in research in sub-Saharan Africa: approaches, barriers, facilitators, ethical considerations and the role of gender - a systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Meaningful community engagement (CE) is increasingly being considered the major determinant of successful research, innovation and intervention uptake. Community leaders, policy makers and funders have expressed the need to engage communities in research. CE in research empowers the host community to participate in addressing its own health needs and health disparities while ensuring that researchers understand community priorities. Thus, appropriate CE opens a unique way to promote coproduction, coimplementation and coevaluation, which may strengthen both the sense of inclusion, ownership and the effectiveness of the research life-cycle. The aim of this review is to synthesise available evidence on how to engage communities in research in a gender-sensitive, ethical, culture-appropriate and sustainable way in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This protocol has been developed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols and follows the guidance provided by the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A combination of key text words and medical subject headings such as 'Community Engagement' or 'Community Involvement' will be used to search 009 databases for all literature published between 1 January 2000 and 31 July 2021. Citations retrieved from database searches will be exported into EndNote X9 to remove duplicate citations and imported into Rayyan QCRI for screening. Two independent reviewers will conduct the screening and data extraction process. Disagreements between review authors will be resolved through discussions, consensus a third reviewer serving as a tiebreaker. The risk of bias will be assessed using the 10-item Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. The three-staged process described by Thomas and Harden will be used for the thematic and narrative synthesis of findings.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This is a systematic review which uses already collected data thus ethical approval not required. Findings will be published in an open access peer-reviewed journal and presented in relevant conferences and workshops.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

This protocol has been submitted for registration in PROSPERO and has been published under registration number CRD42021282503 .