Partnering for Change and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Partnering for Change set out to understand the complex challenge of non-communicable disease (NCD) care in humanitarian settings, partnering with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) as its lead academic partner. Several scientific articles on the research conducted are now published. A programme of research has been conducted since 2018 to better understand and improve the management of people with NCDs in humanitarian settings. LSHTM, Partnering for Change operational partners (International Committee of the Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, Lebanon Red Cross and Iraq Red Crescent) and local academic institutions collaborate on global- and country-level studies. Several scientific articles have been published and their findings have fed into the design of new NCD programmes and evaluations. 

The LSHTM team is integral to the partnership, documenting the existing context and interventions with the operational partners, and working with them to develop interventions that are based on independent scientific evidence. LSHTM is assisting with needs assessment, intervention design, as well as project monitoring and evaluation. LSHTM ensures that all interventions and recommendations are evidence-based and Partnering for Change strives to translate research into action and measurable impact. On the ground, LSHTM works with different local academic institutions to conduct its research activities at the various study sites. Thus far, the Hawler Medical University and team of independent research consultants have been collabarating as local academic partners in Lebanon and Iraq, respectively. 

The issue brief series

The scientific articles have been published in peer review journals and each is accompanied by an easy-to-read introductory paper – an Issue Brief. So far, four papers have been published and around ten more are expected by the end of the partnership. The research includes  literature reviews, interviews with global experts and in-country case studies.  

Key topics raised by these publications include issues related to current models of care for hypertension and diabetes in humanitarian settings (including access) and patient as well healthcare providers’ perspectives on health system responses. These publications permeate and inform the work done by Partnering for Change and are freely available, providing guidance to other actors in the field and enabling further research.  

Based on these initial research findings, two implementation research projects are currently being conducted in Lebanon: the first one, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross, evaluates an “integrated model of NCD care”, integrating mental health, rehabilitation and primary health care for people living with NCDs, and the second, led by Danish Red Cross and the Lebanese Red Cross, is evaluating a peer support strategy for people living with NCDs. These two studies will be the first of their kind in humanitarian settings and the results are expected by mid-2024.