The third meeting of the External Advisory Board of the COHESION-I Project took place on November 20th, 2024. During the session, international advisors and the project team discussed the status of three agenda items: (1) progress on the optimization process and preliminary results of the formative research in India, (2) the communication components of the interventions co-designed, and (3) the status of the initial survey part of the intervention quantitative evaluation.
One of the aims of our project is to adapt and optimize the approach developed in the COHESION Project (2016-2020, read more) to different Indian contexts. This entails conducting formative research such as analysis of national health policies, health system evaluations, and community health perception studies, and using the findings to co-create, co-design, and pilot test interventions. During the meeting, our team members from India presented preliminary findings of the formative studies. The findings were categorized into key areas such as awareness, access and utilization, policies, infrastructure, human resources, training, processes, and other areas related to universal health coverage, laboratories, and pharmacies, among others.
Regarding the communication components of the interventions to be implemented in Mozambique, Nepal, and Peru, our team members provided updates on our co-design processes. In Mozambique, we are developing materials for patients and health workers, in Nepal, we are preparing summaries of the main findings of the co-design process to inform the development of communication materials, and in Peru, we are finalizing materials for patients and health workers and preparing to coordinate the infrastructure improvements in healthcare facilities. Collaboration is central to our project, and for this reason, our team based in Peru with the support of internal and external communication experts, is accompanying our team members based in Mozambique and Nepal in developing the intervention communication outputs and evaluation.
Lastly, updates on the quantitative evaluation, specifically about the initial survey, were presented. In Peru, the initial survey began in September 2024, with over 1,400 participants surveyed across eight communities, detecting cases of diabetes using the FINDRISC score. Similar surveys will soon start in Nepal and Mozambique. Fieldwork challenges include long distances, limitations in recruiting participants in some areas due to harvest season, a lack of receptivity to the survey process by some local authorities, and reluctance toward blood sampling among the population, highlighting the complexities of conducting research in diverse settings.
Members of COHESION-I’s External Advisory Board postulated valuable questions and shared suggestions to enhance the project’s outcomes. We extend our gratitude to them and to the project team for their dedication and commitment to the COHESION-I Project.