Seeking Research Questions from Implementers: Considerations for Leveraging Ground Actors Research Needs in the Fight against Malaria in West Africa.
Abstract In the Sahel countries of West Africa, malaria remains a public health scourge. To strengthen the fight against malaria, it is imperative to identify weaknesses and possible solutions before programs implementation. This study reports experiences gained from collaboration between decision-makers and researchers from a project undertaken by the World Bank, titled: Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in the Sahel (SM/NTD). The objectives of this World Bank project were to identify bottlenecks in malaria program implementation as well as related research questions they bring up. Questionnaire addressed to National Malaria Control Program managers and prioritization workshops were used as a medium to identify research questions. Identified research questions were implemented in selected countries and the results, as presented in this study showed that priority issues were those related to prevention, governance, drugs, monitoring and evaluation. The first five priority questions were: (1) compliance with drug doses on the second and third days during the seasonal chemoprevention (SMC) campaigns, (2) the contribution of community-based distributors to the management of severe cases of malaria in children under 5 years, (3) the SMC efficacy, (4) artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs) tolerance and efficacy according to existing guidelines, and (5) the quality of malaria control at all levels of the health system. In conclusion, this work showed the effectiveness of collaboration between implementers, programs managers, and researchers in identifying research questions. Furthermore, the results of this study will contribute to improving the implementation of malaria control programs across African countries.