I had the opportunity to travel to Bonthe District in Sierra Leone to participate in a pilot study by Research Program on Children and Adversity (RCPA) in partnership with Caritas Freetown, Tulane University, Boston College, Kenema Government Hospital Sierra Leone and the University of Makeni Sierra Leone. The study entailed collecting data for 12 families as part of the 5th wave of the Intergenerational Longitudinal Study for War Affected Youth (ISWAY) study. The study aims to understand the relationship between war-affected adults and their intimate partners and children. The team utilized questionnaires and biological information that will reveal how parents and their children are doing in terms of mental and physical health. One of the things I enjoyed the most was working alongside the team of researchers and learning about the community where the pilot was launched.
My role involved working alongside the project manager of the project to help with troubleshooting equipment on the day of the pilot and report any issues that could be fixed in the long term. This particular region is also the birth place of my maternal grandmother it felt so nice to be around familiar language and culture. The landscape driving to this part of Sierra Leone is so beautiful and during the rainy season you get to enjoy the lush greenery around you and the beautiful mountains that wrap around the entire country. We spent a total of three days and the team will be spending 3 weeks collecting pilot data. From my experience in Bonthe District, I learned so much about the importance of engaging communities during research:
- Build Genuine Relationships with community members: On the first day of the pilot study, we met with the chief of Jong Chiefdom and the head of police as well as members of the Ministry of Gender and Social Affairs. All of these meetings were really beneficial. There were many questions raised particularly by the members of the ministry of gender about the benefits of the study, why the location was chosen, and more intricate details. I really valued these questions that were raised because it showed me that the community had gatekeepers who valued the members in their community. This also cautioned me as an emerging researcher about the importance of building trusting relationships with community members and thinking about what impact the research, I lead in the future will yield.
- Ensure Community Members are well versed in the project and have the opportunity to contribute feedback: This was a very important learning point for me. On Day 2 of our project focused on meeting with our first two families to conduct the survey. Two teams were divided up and spent the day with one family each. The team had to conduct the survey, racer and the simulation for the dyads with the family. The below portions of the report outline some of the learnings both from Day 1 and 2. At the start of day 1 most of the community key stakeholders were yet to hear of the pilot until we arrived at the site, however as the team worked together, they were able to provide more detailed overview of the project and gathered the necessary feedback to strengthen the data collection process. This also made it easier working with families and making necessary adjustments as they provided feedback.
- Involve community members throughout the process: One of the things I walked away with in being a part of this pilot study visit is that the community should be engaged throughout the process from the data collection to dissemination. I had the opportunity to also visit one of Caritas’ other projects focused on nutrition for mothers and their children. Something that was so evident was how invested the community was in the projects the organization was implementing because even after the project they continued staying in touch with the families served. The same should be done with research and scientists must make a concerted effort to ensure we are sharing findings with our community and creating opportunities to address the findings from our studies.