Role of Research-Practice-Policy Partnerships in Optimizing Prevention Science and the Use of Research Evidence: Building a Stakeholder Task Force to Advance Prevention Science

This abstract was presented at the 2018 Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting which was held May 29 – June 1, 2018 in Washington, DC, US.

Jenelle R. Shanley Georgia State University 

Lisa P. Armistead Georgia State University; Victoria Mutiso Africa Mental Health Foundation; David Ndetei Africa Mental Health Foundation

Adapting an existing evidence-based program into a new international setting divergent from the original context in which it was developed and tested requires significant investment by and responsibilities of stakeholders. This presentation will discuss the development of a multi-disciplinary task force of key stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya to create a community informed process to advise the research and adaptation processes of an evidence-based parenting program to prevent child maltreatment across Kenya. Engaging key stakeholders is critical to optimize implementation, helping identify facilitators and barriers to implementation. 

The research-practice-policy partnerships for this project will include the model developers, research partners, community members, and parents. To date, several government and community stakeholders have been secured: (1) Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is a Kenyan government agency mandated to make provision for parental responsibility, custody, maintenance, guardianship, care and protection of children, and holds promise to support the implementation of SafeCare in Kenya. (2) Childline Kenya, in partnership with the DCS, addresses child abuse and neglect by offering a nationwide hotline for the public to report concerns for children, connecting children and families to community services, and providing parent support services to address child maltreatment. (3) Woodley Clinic is a maternal and child health clinic located in Kibera that offers child well visits and mental health services. (4) Aga Khan University Hospital employs the physician who initiated the contact with the model developer after seeing a large number of cases of child neglect and abuse, as well as preventable injuries. (5) Daystar University’s Department of Psychology & Counseling and Institute of Child Development and Development Studies (CDDS) are committed to supporting human beings to realize their potentials in life. The CDDS conducts significant community outreach and connected the PI Shanley with Childline Kenya. The Task Force will discuss the research protocol, procedures and services to ensure cultural sensitivity with Kenyan families, using Fantuzzo’s et al. (1998) community-based partnership-directed research guidelines. 

This presentation will provide an illustration of the strategies to establish, leverage and maintain collaborative stakeholder buy-in and facilitation with a diverse set of research-practice-policy partners. We will highlight successes and challenges to date with this project. It is the aim of this presentation to provide an illustration to other researchers embarking on international collaborations to facilitate implementation and prevention science.