Journal Article

Aligning Community Engagement With Traditional Authority Structures in Global Health Research: A Case Study From Northern Ghana

Tindana, Paulina O., Lavery, James V., Rozmovits, Linda, Boulanger, Renaud F., Hodgson, Abraham V. O., Kolopack, Pamela, Bandewar, Sunita V. S., Aborigo, Raymond A.

2011

Overview

Despite the recognition of its importance, guidance on community engagement practices for researchers remains underdeveloped, and there is little empirical evidence of what makes community engagement effective in biomedical research. We chose to study the Navrongo Health Research Centre in northern Ghana because of its well-established community engagement practices and because of the opportunity it afforded to examine community engagement in a traditional African setting. Our findings suggest that specific preexisting features of the community have greatly facilitated community engagement and that using traditional community engagement mechanisms limits the social disruption associated with research conducted by outsiders. Finally, even in seemingly ideal, small, and homogeneous communities, cultural issues exist, such as gender inequities, that may not be effectively addressed by traditional practices alone.

• Publisher: American Public Health Association
• Subject: Biological and medical sciences / Biomedical research / Biomedical Research - organization & administration / Biomedicine / Case studies / Community / Community involvement / Community Participation / Data collection / Decision making / Disruption / Focus Groups / Gender inequality / General aspects / Ghana / Global health / Health Policy and Ethics / Health research / Humans / Interviews / Local Government / Malaria / Medical research / Medical sciences / Miscellaneous / Organizational Case Studies / Public health / Public health. Hygiene / Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine / Software / State Government / Traditions / Women