Embedding research into health services in Latin America and the Caribbean: experiences and challenges of the Technical Support Center

Abstract

This article describes the main models for embedding research and the successful experiences and challenges faced in joint work by researchers and decisionmakers who participated in the Embedding Research for the Sustainable Development Goals (ER-SDG) initiative, and the experience of the Technical Support Center. In June 2018, funding was granted to 13 pre-selected research projects from 11 middle- and low-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Paraguay, and Peru). The projects focused on the system-, policy-, or program-level changes required to improve health and build on the joint work of researchers and decisionmakers, with a view to bringing together evidence production and decision-making in health systems and services. The Technical Support Center supported and guided the production of quality results useful for decision-making. This experience confirmed the value of initiatives such as ER-SDG in consolidating bridges between research on the implementation of health policies, programs, and systems, and the officials responsible for operating health-related programs, services, and interventions. It highlighted the importance of both respecting and taking advantage of each context—and the specific arrangements and patterns in the relationships between researchers and decisionmakers—through incentives for embedded research.

Collaboration between health system decision makers and professional researchers to coproduce knowledge, a scoping review

“…32,33 Moving a step forward, as we discussed elsewhere, the best conditions for success can be linked to the presence of previous collaborations as well as the establishment of new relationships based on mutual trust. 34 As noted, it is hard to obtain evidence about the influence of the participation of research staff in the research process on the utilization of research results shortly after the finalisation of the research efforts. In fact, the literature rarely reports on decision-makers working in the design, execution and evaluation of research; unless its focus is precisely on these activities.…”

“…Since the objectives as well as the research question are not posed by them, this may somehow limit effective action on real and perceived needs within health services, which not necessarily helps to strengthen health systems 32,33 . Moving a step forward, as we discussed elsewhere, the best conditions for success can be linked to the presence of previous collaborations as well as the establishment of new relationships based on mutual trust 34 …”

Impact of Lung Cancer on Health-Related Quality of Life, Financial Toxicity, and Household Economics in Patients From the Public and the Private Healthcare Sector in Argentina

“…This sector also includes private insurance agencies called Prepaid Medicine Enterprises, nanced mostly through premiums paid by families and/or employers. 9 During 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Argentina with the aim of characterizing the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and economic impact in patients diagnosed with NSCLC who are treated in public hospitals, however, this study only had the perspective of patients served by the public health system and did not consider patients who are treated in the private healthcare sector. 10 Studies in other regions of the world have shown that the healthcare system or sector (private or public) is associated with differential nancial toxicity, so the estimate for the public sector may not be representative for the country as a whole, or for patients served by the private healthcare sector.…”