Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review

The research question was what studies are available that have assessed community engagement in the health services research on soil-transmitted helminths? We aimed to synthesise evidence on how communities were engaged in health services research on soil-transmitted helminths in low-and-middle-inco...

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Main Authors: Cho Naing, Wong Siew Tung, Norah Htet Htet, Htar Htar Aung, Maxine A. Whittaker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032488/?tool=EBI
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author Cho Naing
Wong Siew Tung
Norah Htet Htet
Htar Htar Aung
Maxine A. Whittaker
author_facet Cho Naing
Wong Siew Tung
Norah Htet Htet
Htar Htar Aung
Maxine A. Whittaker
author_sort Cho Naing
collection DOAJ
description The research question was what studies are available that have assessed community engagement in the health services research on soil-transmitted helminths? We aimed to synthesise evidence on how communities were engaged in health services research on soil-transmitted helminths in low-and-middle-income countries of the Asia-Pacific Region. We focused on this region because soil-transmitted helminths are endemic, and their burden is significant in this region. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Relevant studies were searched in health-related databases including PubMed, Ovid, and Google Scholar. We selected studies based on the selection criteria set for this review. We collected textual information about the type of health services research, the degree of community engagement, the research phases involved, and the barriers/enablers affecting community engagement in research since they are pertinent to our review question and objective. Ten studies from seven countries in the Asia Pacific region were identified for this review. Albeit with variation in the extent of their involvement, various forms of communities/groups within communities were included such as Aboriginal communities, local communities, school children and their parents, school teachers and headmasters of schools, heads of villages, religious leaders, and so on. Overall, community engagement in health services research focused on of soil-transmitted helminths was limited. Six studies (60%) had collaboration at ‘developing methodology’, mainly through an explanation of the objectives of the study or study process to be conducted. Seven studies (70%) revealed community participation in soil-transmitted helminths at the “data collection” stage. Only one study (10%) documented that a community leader was involved as a co-author, reflecting an involvement in ‘report writing’ and further ‘dissemination’. Findings suggest that there were various forms of community engagement in various aspects of the health services research context. Overall, there was moderate level of participation, but there was insufficient information on the partnership between various stakeholders, which prevented in-depth analysis of the engagement. Future health services research on soil-transmitted helminth interventions needs to be carefully planned, well designed, grounded in principles of community engagement, and designed methodologically to allow in-depth participation by communities in all stages of the research.
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spelling doaj.art-6fca52c143d44bed8405fb1595f248372023-09-03T14:34:14ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752023-01-0133Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic reviewCho NaingWong Siew TungNorah Htet HtetHtar Htar AungMaxine A. WhittakerThe research question was what studies are available that have assessed community engagement in the health services research on soil-transmitted helminths? We aimed to synthesise evidence on how communities were engaged in health services research on soil-transmitted helminths in low-and-middle-income countries of the Asia-Pacific Region. We focused on this region because soil-transmitted helminths are endemic, and their burden is significant in this region. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Relevant studies were searched in health-related databases including PubMed, Ovid, and Google Scholar. We selected studies based on the selection criteria set for this review. We collected textual information about the type of health services research, the degree of community engagement, the research phases involved, and the barriers/enablers affecting community engagement in research since they are pertinent to our review question and objective. Ten studies from seven countries in the Asia Pacific region were identified for this review. Albeit with variation in the extent of their involvement, various forms of communities/groups within communities were included such as Aboriginal communities, local communities, school children and their parents, school teachers and headmasters of schools, heads of villages, religious leaders, and so on. Overall, community engagement in health services research focused on of soil-transmitted helminths was limited. Six studies (60%) had collaboration at ‘developing methodology’, mainly through an explanation of the objectives of the study or study process to be conducted. Seven studies (70%) revealed community participation in soil-transmitted helminths at the “data collection” stage. Only one study (10%) documented that a community leader was involved as a co-author, reflecting an involvement in ‘report writing’ and further ‘dissemination’. Findings suggest that there were various forms of community engagement in various aspects of the health services research context. Overall, there was moderate level of participation, but there was insufficient information on the partnership between various stakeholders, which prevented in-depth analysis of the engagement. Future health services research on soil-transmitted helminth interventions needs to be carefully planned, well designed, grounded in principles of community engagement, and designed methodologically to allow in-depth participation by communities in all stages of the research.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032488/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Cho Naing
Wong Siew Tung
Norah Htet Htet
Htar Htar Aung
Maxine A. Whittaker
Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
PLOS Global Public Health
title Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
title_full Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
title_fullStr Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
title_short Community engagement in health services research on soil-transmitted helminthiasis in Asia Pacific region: Systematic review
title_sort community engagement in health services research on soil transmitted helminthiasis in asia pacific region systematic review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10032488/?tool=EBI
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