Understanding the drivers of change in sexual and reproductive health policy and legislation in Kenya

The thesis explored the drivers and inhibitors of change in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policy and legislation in Kenya. The overall purpose was to contribute to the limited knowledge on national-level debates that shape how developing countries adapt the SRH agenda, which originated from international processes. The thesis explains how and why some SRH reforms have been realised in Kenya amid contention, while others have been blocked. Guided by a synthesis conceptual framework that emphasised the central role of discursive power in decision-making, the thesis adopted a qualitative case-study design enriched with various anthropological concepts. Three case-studies (two bureaucratic, i.e. adolescent RH policy and national RH policy, and one legislative, i.e. sexual offences law) were deconstructed. Data collection involved semi-structured in-depth interviews with policy actors, observations and note-taking in meetings, and document review. Findings revealed that four influential narratives of SRH – the moral narrative, cultural narrative, medical narrative (with two variations i.e. ‘moralised’ versus ‘comprehensive’ medical narratives), and human rights narrative – underpinned by conflicting actor interests, mediated the interplay of actor networks, knowledge, context and institutions to determine reforms. The findings revealed that the strong entrenchment of the moral and cultural narratives in the Kenyan context (mainly public structures and institutions) was a major barrier to reforms on contested SRH issues. Even then, the hegemonic narratives were in some cases unsettled to make reforms possible. The most important factors in unsettling the hegemonic narratives to facilitate reforms included: a change in the political context that brought in new political actors supportive of reforms, the presence of knowledgeable and charismatic issue champions within political and bureaucratic institutions, the availability of compelling knowledge (scientific or lay) on an issue, sustained evidence-informed advocacy by civil society/non-governmental organisations, donor pressure, and reduced political costs (for politicians and bureaucrats) for supporting reforms. The main contribution of the thesis is three-fold. First, the thesis captures the disconnect between international SRH agreements and national-level realities, showing the need for international actors to consider national-level realities that shape decision-making. Second, its findings provide lessons for informing future SRH reform efforts in Kenya and in other sub-Saharan African countries. Third, its analysis of discursive power contributes to a major theoretical gap in health systems research in developing countries identified as lack of critical analysis of power in decision-making

Engaging media in communicating research on sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa: experiences and lessons learned

Background: The mass media have excellent potential to promote good sexual and reproductive health outcomes, but around the world, media often fail to prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights issues or report them in an accurate manner. In sub-Saharan Africa media coverage of reproductive health issues is poor due to the weak capacity and motivation for reporting these issues by media practitioners. This paper describes the experiences of the African Population and Health Research Center and its partners in cultivating the interest and building the capacity of the media in evidence-based reporting of reproductive health issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: The paper utilizes a case study approach based primarily on the personal experiences and reflections of the authors (who played a central role in developing and implementing the Center’s communication and policy engagement strategies), a survey that the Center carried out with science journalists in Kenya, and literature review. Results: The African Population and Health Research Center’s media strategy evolved over the years, moving beyond conventional ways of communicating research through the media via news releases and newspaper stories, to varying approaches that sought to inspire and build the capacity of journalists to do evidence-based reporting of reproductive health issues. Specifically, the approach included 1) enhancing journalists’ interest in and motivation for reporting on reproductive health issues through training and competitive grants for outstanding reporting ; 2) building the capacity of journalists to report reproductive health research and the capacity of reproductive health researchers to communicate their research to media through training for both parties and providing technical assistance to journalists in obtaining and interpreting evidence; and 3) establishing and maintaining trust and mutual relationships between journalists and researchers through regular informal meetings between journalists and researchers, organizing field visits for journalists, and building formal partnerships with professional media associations and individual journalists. Conclusion: Our experiences and reflections, and the experiences of others reviewed in this paper, indicate that a sustained mix of strategies that motivate, strengthen capacity of, and build relationships between journalists and researchers can be effective in enhancing quality and quantity of media coverage of research

Review of published evidence on knowledge translation capacity, practice and support among researchers and research institutions in low- and middle- income countries

Background Knowledge translation (KT) is a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to yield beneficial outcomes for society. Effective KT requires researchers to play an active role in promoting evidence uptake. This paper presents a systematised review of evidence on low- and middle- income (LMIC) researchers’ KT capacity, practice and interventions for enhancing their KT practice (support) with the aim of identifying gaps and informing future research and interventions. Methods An electronic search for peer reviewed publications focusing on LMIC researchers’ KT capacity, practice and support across all academic fields, authored in English and from the earliest records available to February 2019, was conducted using PubMed and Scopus. Selected studies were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool , data pertaining to publication characteristics and study design extracted and an a priori thematic analysis of reported research findings completed. Results The search resulted in 334 screened articles of which 66 met the inclusion criteria. Most (43) of the articles presented original research findings, 22 were commentaries and 1 was a systematic review. 48 articles reported on researchers’ KT practice, 12 assessed institutional KT capacity of academic/research organisations and 9 reported on KT support for researchers. More than half (59%) of the articles focused on sub-Saharan Africa and a majority (93%) on health research. Most of the primary studies used the case study design (41%). The findings suggest that LMIC researchers rarely conduct KT and face a range of barriers at individual and institutional levels that limit their KT practice including inadequate KT knowledge and skills particularly for communicating research and interacting with research end-users, insufficient funding and inadequate institutional guidelines, structures and incentives promoting KT practice. Furthermore, the evidence-base on effective interventions for enhancing KT among LMIC researchers is insufficient and largely of weak quality. Conclusions More high-quality research on researchers’ KT capacity, practice and effective KT capacity strengthening interventions is needed. Study designs that extend beyond case studies and descriptive studies e are recommended. Furthermore, realist approaches, pragmatic trials, impact evaluations, implementation research and participatory action research are recommended for evaluating interventions

Operationalising sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa: constraints, dilemmas and strategies

BACKGROUND: The continued poor sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa highlight the difficulties in reforming policies and laws, and implementing effective programmes. This paper uses one international and two national case studies to reflect on the challenges, dilemmas and strategies used in operationalising sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in different African contexts. METHODS: The international case study focuses on the progress made by African countries in implementing the African Union’s Maputo Plan of Action (for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights) and the experiences of state and non-state stakeholders in this process. The case was developed from an evaluation report of the progress made by nine African countries in implementing the Plan of Action, qualitative interviews exploring stakeholders’ experiences and perceptions of the operationalisation of the plan (carried out as part of the evaluation) in Botswana and Nigeria, and authors’ reflections. The first national case study explores the processes involved in influencing Ghana’s Domestic Violence Act passed in 2007; developed from a review of scientific papers and organisational publications on the processes involved in influencing the Act, qualitative interview data and authors’ reflections. The second national case study examines the experiences with introducing the 2006 Sexual Offences Act in Kenya, and it is developed from organisational publications on the processes of enacting the Act and a review of media reports on the debates and passing of the Act. RESULTS: Based on the three cases, we argue that prohibitive laws and governments’ reluctance to institute and implement comprehensive rights approaches to SRH, lack of political leadership and commitment to funding SRHR policies and programmes, and dominant negative cultural framing of women’s issues present the major obstacles to operationalising SRH rights. Analysis of successes points to the strategies for tackling these challenges, which include forming and working through strategic coalitions, employing strategic framing of SRHR issues to counter opposition and gain support, collaborating with government, and employing strategic opportunism. CONCLUSION: The strategies identified show future pathways through which challenges to the realisation of SRHR in Africa can be tackled