Journal
HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE
Volume 12, Issue 5, Pages 734-743Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/1524839910369201
Keywords
North-South research collaboration; research practitioner partnerships; fieldwork lessons learned; school-based research; HIV prevention program evaluation
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Funding
- Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- York University, Toronto, Canada
- University of Toronto, Canada
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The value of collaborative international research in addressing global public health challenges is increasingly recognized. However, little has been written about lessons learned regarding fieldwork to help guide future collaborative efforts. Through a research partnership between two Northern universities, one Southern university, and a Southern faith-based organization, we evaluated a school-based HIV prevention intervention with South African adolescents. In this article, we highlight the seven key fieldwork-related challenges experienced and identify the lessons learned. The underlying theme is that of reconciling a structured and reasoned desk planning process with the more fluid and unpredictable reality of conducting fieldwork. This concern is particularly significant in resource-deprived environments and/or contexts that are less familiar to Northern partners. Fieldwork is unpredictable, but obstacles can be minimized through meaningful participation in both planning and field research. Sharing practical lessons from the field can prove a useful resource for both researchers and practitioners.
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