Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Sep 13;18(9):e1003788.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003788. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Social Innovation For Health Research: Development of the SIFHR Checklist

Eneyi E Kpokiri  1 , Elizabeth Chen  2 , Jingjing Li  3 , Sarah Payne  4 , Priyanka Shrestha  5 , Kaosar Afsana  6 , Uche Amazigo  7 , Phyllis Awor  8 , Jean-Francois de Lavison  9 , Saqif Khan  10 , Jana Mier-Alpaño  11 , Alberto Ong Jr  12 , Shivani Subhedar  13 , Isabelle Wachmuth  14 , Luis Gabriel Cuervo  15 , Kala M Mehta  13 , Beatrice Halpaap  16 , Joseph D Tucker  1   3   17
Affiliations
Review

Social Innovation For Health Research: Development of the SIFHR Checklist

Eneyi E Kpokiri et al. PLoS Med. .

Abstract

Background: Social innovations in health are inclusive solutions to address the healthcare delivery gap that meet the needs of end users through a multi-stakeholder, community-engaged process. While social innovations for health have shown promise in closing the healthcare delivery gap, more research is needed to evaluate, scale up, and sustain social innovation. Research checklists can standardize and improve reporting of research findings, promote transparency, and increase replicability of study results and findings.

Methods and findings: The research checklist was developed through a 3-step community-engaged process, including a global open call for ideas, a scoping review, and a 3-round modified Delphi process. The call for entries solicited checklists and related items and was open between November 27, 2019 and February 1, 2020. In addition to the open call submissions and scoping review findings, a 17-item Social Innovation For Health Research (SIFHR) Checklist was developed based on the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) Checklist. The checklist was then refined during 3 rounds of Delphi surveys conducted between May and June 2020. The resulting checklist will facilitate more complete and transparent reporting, increase end-user engagement, and help assess social innovation projects. A limitation of the open call was requiring internet access, which likely discouraged participation of some subgroups.

Conclusions: The SIFHR Checklist will strengthen the reporting of social innovation for health research studies. More research is needed on social innovation for health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: LGC is Senior Advisor on Research for Health at the Pan American Health Organization and has contributed to SIHI Global and the SIHI-LAC (Americas) coordination. Contributions to this article do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of his employer.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Overview of the process of developing consensus.
M&E, monitoring and evaluation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Update of

References

    1. Halpaap BM, Tucker JD, Mathanga D, Juban N, Awor P, Saravia NG, et al.. Social innovation in global health: sparking location action. Lancet Glob Health. 2020;8(5):e633–e4. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30070-X - DOI - PubMed
    1. Castro-Arroyave D, Monroy MC, Irurita MI. Integrated vector control of Chagas disease in Guatemala: a case of social innovation in health. Infect Dis Poverty. 2020;9(1):1–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yang F, Zhang TP, Tang W, Ong JJ, Alexander M, Forastiere L, et al.. Pay-it-forward gonorrhoea and chlamydia testing among men who have sex with men in China: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20(8):976–82. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30172-9 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mothe J, Vacaflor LE, Castro-Arroyave DM, Cuervo LG, Saravia NG. Exploring social innovation in health in Central America and the Caribbean. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2020;44. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2020.77 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Altman DG, Simera I. A history of the evolution of guidelines for reporting medical research: the long road to the EQUATOR Network. J R Soc Med. 2016;109(2):67–77. doi: 10.1177/0141076815625599 - DOI - PMC - PubMed