Spotlight on Global Health Research

In November 2020, we published a special issue of International Health that shone a spotlight on global health. From research ethics to decolonisation and transnational research partnerships, the special issue covers how global health research is a discipline in which it is highly possible to cause more harm than good.

The aim is to identify work that acknowledges this complexity but demonstrates best practice in the pursuit of fair and equitable approaches to global health research. 

All the articles are open access and free to read.

Guest editors

The guest editors for the special issue, Spotlight on Global Health Research, are:

Dr David Lawrence

David Lawrence works in the faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, based in Gaborone, Botswana. He is the Lead Clinician for the AMBIsome Therapy Induction OptimisatioN (AMBITION) trial.

Professor Margaret Gyapong

Professor Margaret Gyapong is director of the Centre for Health Policy and Implementation Research at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana.

Articles

Editorial

> Spotlight on global health research 

David S Lawrence, Margaret Gyapong

Commentary

> Ethical research in global health emergencies: making the case for a broader understanding of ‘research ethics’ 

Katharine S Wright

Original Articles

> Decolonising global health: transnational research partnerships under the spotlight 

David S Lawrence, Lioba A Hirsch

> Participant compensation in global health research: a case study 

Sepeedeh Saleh, Henry Sambakunsi, Deborah Nyirenda, Moses Kumwenda, Kevin Mortimer, Martha Chinouy

> Towards a fair and transparent research participant compensation and reimbursement framework in Vietnam

Lucy J Sansom, Trang Pham Nguyen Minh, Iona E Hill, Quyen Nguyen Than Ha, Thuan Dang Trong, Celine Vidaillac, Nhu Dong Quynh, Hugo C Turner, Jennifer Ilo Van Nuil, Dung Nguyen Thi Phuong, Evelyne Kestelyn

Short Communications

> Experiences of research ethics committee members and scientists of the research protocol review process in Uganda: a case study 

Agnes Ssali, Fiona Poland, Janet Seeley

Original Articles

> Managing ancillary care in resource-constrained settings: Dilemmas faced by frontline HIV prevention researchers in a rural area in South Africa 

Busisiwe Nkosi, Janet Seeley, Natsayi Chimbindi, Thembelihle Zuma, Maureen Kelley, Maryam Shahmanesh

> Research ethics in context: understanding the vulnerabilities, agency and resourcefulness of research participants living along the Thai–Myanmar border 

Napat Khirikoekkong, Nattapat Jatupornpimol, Suphak Nosten, Supa-at Asarath, Borimas Hanboonkunupakarn, Rose McGready, Francois Nosten, Jennifer Roest, Michael Parker, Maureen Kelley, Phaik Yeong Cheah

> Participant understanding of informed consent in a multidisease community-based health screening and biobank platform in rural South Africa 

Nothando Ngwenya, Manono Luthuli, Resign Gunda, Ntombizonke A Gumede, Oluwafemi Adeagbo, Busisiwe Nkosi, Dickman Gareta, Olivier Koole, Mark Siedner, Emily B Wong, Janet Seeley, on behalf of the Vukuzazi team

> Recommendations from Thai stakeholders about protecting HIV remission (‘cure’) trial participants: report from a participatory workshop 

Holly L Peay, Nuchanart Q Ormsby, Gail E Henderson, Thidarat Jupimai, Stuart Rennie, Krittaecho Siripassorn, Kunakorn Kanchawee, Sinéad Isaacson, R Jean Cadigan, Kriste Kuczynski, Udom Likhitwonnawut

> Comparative ethnographies of medical research: materiality, social relations, citizenship and hope in Tanzania and Sierra Leone 

Shelley Lees, Luisa Enria

> Cohorts as collections of bodies and communities of persons: insights from the SEARCH010/RV254 research cohort 

Gail E Henderson, Stuart Rennie, Amy Corneli, Holly L Peay