Simultaneously Developing Interventions for Low-/Middle-Income and High-Income Settings: Considerations and Opportunities

Most older adults reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) but most research dollars spent on interventions to improve the lives of older adults are awarded to researchers in high-income countries (HICs). One approach to improve the implementation of evidence-based innovations for older adults in LMICs is designing interventions that are relevant to LMICs and HICs simultaneously. We propose that researchers in HICs could partner with stakeholders in an LMIC throughout the intervention design process to better position their intervention for the implementation in that LMIC. We provide an example study from an adaptation of the Resources for Enhancing Caregiver Health II in Vietnam, which did not use this strategy but may have benefited from this strategy. We then turn to several considerations that are important for researchers to contemplate when incorporating this strategy. Finally, we explore incentives for creating interventions that are relevant to both HICs and LMICs for funders, intervention designers, and intervention receivers. Although this is not the only strategy to bring interventions to LMICs, it may represent another tool in researchers' toolboxes to help expedite the implementation of efficacious interventions in LMICs.

Automated summary

Most research dollars for interventions targeting older adults are awarded to researchers in high-income countries, even though the majority of older adults reside in low- and middle-income countries. One approach to improve implementation of evidence-based innovations in these countries is to design interventions relevant to both high-income and LMICs. This study suggests that partnering with stakeholders in LMICs during the intervention design process can help facilitate implementation. Considerations and incentives for researchers, intervention designers, and funders are also discussed.