Ensuring equal participation and inclusion in a knowledge exchange initiative: evaluation using an equity-integrated logic model and checklist

Authors

  • Ruwaida Salem Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3639-7831
  • Reana Thomas
  • Najmeh Modarres Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
  • Sophie Weiner Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
  • Michelle Yao
  • Grace Gayoso Pasion
  • Aïssatou Thioye FHI 360
  • Irene Alenga Amref Health Africa
  • Tara Sullivan Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Keywords:

global health, equity, logic model, checklist, measurement, community of practice, knowledge exchange, knowledge sharing

Abstract

To ensure effective knowledge management (KM) in global health programs, all health workforce members must engage in the knowledge cycle, and KM systems must value and respect individuals’ unique knowledge needs and perspectives, regardless of their identity. However, power and privilege imbalances result in inequitable differences in KM opportunities and outcomes. We introduce the equity-integrated Knowledge Management for Global Health Logic Model and checklist and apply them to evaluate a knowledge exchange intervention. These tools can help plan for and monitor and evaluate equitable KM interventions by identifying who might be experiencing inequity in KM systems and which aspects of KM tools and techniques are not being delivered equitably. The evaluation identified key approaches that helped make the knowledge exchange intervention equitable including using an inclusive design thinking approach, adopting dialogue-based KM techniques, and including French-language discussion spaces for francophone participants. Challenges included meeting the high demand for participation, introducing new technology without hindering the opportunity for equal participation, and balancing the need for more discussion time, especially for Francophone participants, with participants’ overall limited time to participate. This case study demonstrates the utility of these tools as “niche innovations” for building more inclusive and useful KM systems and processes.

Author Biographies

Ruwaida Salem, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Ruwaida Salem, Senior Program Officer II at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, has more than 20 years of experience in the global health field. As team lead for knowledge solutions and lead author of Building Better Programs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Knowledge Management in Global Health, she designs, implements, and manages knowledge management programs to improve access to and use of critical health information among health professionals around the world. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Reana Thomas

Reana Thomas was a Technical Officer at FHI 360 at the time of this manuscript. In her role, she contributed to project development and design and knowledge management and dissemination. Her areas of specialization include research utilization, equity, gender, and youth health and development. She is currently a Fellow for the State Bank of India Youth for India program. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Najmeh Modarres, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Najmeh Modarres is the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Lead at the Knowledge SUCCESS project at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. She has over 15 years of monitoring and evaluation experience of international development and health programs, including over 10 years of managing Johns Hopkins University affiliated studies. She holds a Master of Public Health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Sophie Weiner, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Sophie Weiner is a Knowledge Management and Communications Program Officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs where she supports West Africa field programs, digital content creation, and knowledge management activities. Her interests include family planning/reproductive health, social and behavior change, and the intersection between population, health, and the environment. Sophie holds a B.A. in French/International Relations from Bucknell University, an M.A. in French from New York University, and a master’s degree in Literary Translation from the Sorbonne Nouvelle.

Michelle Yao

Michelle Yao has previously worked on community initiatives and research centered on child and youth health, reproductive justice, environmental racism, and cultural awareness in health education. Having grown up around Canada’s Chemical Valley, she is especially passionate about dismantling structures that perpetuate environmental racism and colonial violence. Michelle holds a Master of Bioethics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Health Sciences (with a Minor in English and Cultural Studies) from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Grace Gayoso Pasion

Grace Gayoso Pasion is currently the Asia Regional Knowledge Management Officer of the Knowledge SUCCESS project at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Program. More known as Gayo, she is a development communication professional with nearly two decades of experience in communication, public speaking, training and development, knowledge management, and behavior change communication.  After completing her graduate degree in communications from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore as an ASEAN scholar, she has been working in regional KM and communication roles for international development organizations assisting various Asian countries to improve their health communication and KM programs. She is based in the Philippines.

Aïssatou Thioye, FHI 360

Aïssatou Thioye is in the Research Utilization Division of the Global Health, Population and Nutrition practice area of FHI 360 and works for the Knowledge SUCCESS project as the Knowledge Management and Partnership Officer for West Africa. In her role, she supports the strengthening of knowledge management in the region, setting priorities and designing knowledge management strategies for FP/RH technical and partner working groups in West Africa. She also liaises with regional partners and networks. Previously, Aïssatou worked for more than 10 years as a press journalist, then as an editor-consultant for two years, before joining JSI where she worked on two Agriculture and Nutrition projects, successively as a mass-media officer and then as a Knowledge Management specialist.

Irene Alenga, Amref Health Africa

Irene Alenga is the KM and Communications Lead for East Africa on the Knowledge SUCCESS project. She is an established social economist with over 13 years’ experience in research, policy analysis, knowledge management, and partnership engagement. Irene has been involved in the coordination and implementation of over 20 social economic research projects and in health-related studies for public health and technology-focused institutions in Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda. Her expertise in developing and supporting management processes, lessons learned, and best practices is exemplified in the three-year organizational change management and project closure process of the USAID | DELIVER and Supply Chain Management Systems (SCMS) project in Tanzania.

Tara Sullivan, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Tara Sullivan leads the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs knowledge management program, is the project director for Knowledge SUCCESS, and teaches in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has worked for more than 20 years in international health with a focus on program evaluation, knowledge management (KM), quality of care, and family planning/reproductive health. Tara has developed frameworks and guides for KM program design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation and researched the contribution that KM makes to strengthening health programs. She holds degrees from Cornell University (BS) and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (Ph.D., MPH).

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Published

2023-05-09

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1/2 (2023): Uncomfortable truths in international development: approaches to the decolonization of knowledge from development practice, policy and research

Section

Papers

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Copyright (c) 2023 Ruwaida Salem, Reana Thomas, Najmeh Modarres, Sophie Weiner, Michelle Yao, Grace Gayoso Pasion, Aïssatou Thioye, Irene Alenga, Tara Sullivan

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The copyright of the articles published in this journal remains the property of the authors. For liability reasons, the title belongs to the Foundation for the Support of the Knowledge Management for Development Journal. The journal is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License. This journal is currently an open access journal as it has a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access. From the BOAI definition [1] of "open access", we support the rights of users to "read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles." However, some of the content (2009-2012) is only available on the Taylor and Francis website. Within the next few months, this issue too will become available on the OJS. [1] http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess