Table 3 Papers of knowledge user engagement in knowledge synthesis from LMICs
Author, year; country | Country income status, Context | Type of knowledge users involved | Type of engagement | Challenges to engagement | Benefits of engagement | Outcomes of engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Agweyu 2012 [68]; Kenya | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Policy-makers | • Consultation with key informants • Formal meeting/workshop with expert panel | • Limited resources and an absence of mechanisms to rapidly gain wider opinions from key sources including patients, caregivers and policy-makers • Striking a balance between research evidence and expert opinions in the decision-making process | Not reported | Not reported |
Akl 2016 [41]; Lebanon | Middle-income, Applied research settings | • Policy-makers | • Consultation with key informants • Focus groups, interviews and formal meeting/workshop with expert panel | Not reported | • A multidisciplinary team developed and validated the tool | Not reported |
Buchan 2011 [69]; Brazil | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Policy-makers | • Key informant interviews | • Time and resource limitations meant that only some of the key individuals who were informants on the issue could be consulted | • Key informants provided additional reports and grey literature for review and provided contextual evidence | Not reported |
Clarke 2016 [70]; Cambodia | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Healthcare professionals & organizations • Government agencies • Policy-makers | • Key informant interviews, focus groups and surveys | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Higashi 2011 [71]; Vietnam | Middle-income, Various policy settings | • Government agencies • Policy-makers | • Key informant interviews, focus groups and surveys • Formal meeting/workshop with key informant | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Muller 2005 [72]; South Africa | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Government agencies • Non-government agencies • Patients, patient organizations & caregivers • Policy-makers | • Consultations with principal knowledge users • Working group | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Orem 2012 [73]; Uganda | Low-income, Various policy settings | • Policy-makers | • Key informant interviews | • Finding key informants with relevant interest in a given policy concern • Establishing unbiased opinion based on political interest | • Key informant interviews with policy-makers provided contextual considerations for knowledge synthesis and subsequent translation | Not reported |
Sidibe 2014 [74]; Kenya | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Community members & advocates • Funding bodies • Health system managers • Non-government agencies • Policy-makers | • Formal meeting/workshop with key informants | Not reported | Not reported | Not reported |
Teerawattananon 2016 [75]; Thailand | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Funding bodies • Healthcare professionals & organizations • Industry stakeholders • Non-government agencies • Patients, patient organizations & caregivers • Policy analysts • Policy-makers | • In-person Delphi with expert panel • Formal meeting/workshop with key informants | • Stakeholder topic expertise can limit the scope of the discussion | • Stakeholders can help prioritize research topics for assessment, help fine-tune research questions and the scope of study, and verify and validate preliminary results as well as fine-tune policy recommendations • Once final results have been obtained and policy recommendations have been formed, a stakeholder consultation meeting can help to verify and validate recommendations • Can be a powerful approach to systematically develop and legitimise policy-relevant HTA information | Not reported |
Wiysonge 2012 [76]; South Africa | Middle-income, National healthcare system | • Health system managers | • Key informant interviews | Not reported | • Key informant interviews helped define the review scope and helped ensure the report addresses relevant practice issues | Not reported |