Table 5.
Top 20 research questions for Bangladesh (n = 54) with scores for each criterion, overall weighted RPS, and AEA
| Rank | Research questions | Domain | Answerability intermediate RPS | Effectiveness intermediate RPS | Deliverability intermediate RPS | Burden intermediate RPS | Equity intermediate RPS | Weighted RPS | AEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
How does the presence of skilled birth and neonatal care attendants influence survival outcomes for babies? |
HPSR |
0.956 |
0.965 |
0.948 |
0.752 |
0.947 |
0.911 |
0.860 |
| 2 |
What are the barriers and challenges of implementing facility-based KMC in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.982 |
0.960 |
0.942 |
0.752 |
0.919 |
0.909 |
0.859 |
| 3 |
What is the prevalence and cause of neonatal sepsis in preterm, LBW and SGA infants in LMICs? |
EPI |
0.969 |
0.940 |
0.927 |
0.773 |
0.897 |
0.900 |
0.844 |
| 4 |
How can referral network and systems be strengthened for timely referral of women experiencing obstetric emergencies (including preterm labour) from rural/primary care to higher care level facilities in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.944 |
0.954 |
0.935 |
0.718 |
0.965 |
0.900 |
0.840 |
| 5 |
How can acceptability and compliance KMC be increased in LMICs? |
RIEI |
0.924 |
0.956 |
0.952 |
0.750 |
0.864 |
0.888 |
0.827 |
| 6 |
How to promote early initiation and exclusive breast feeding of preterm, LBW and SGA infants in LMICs? |
RIEI |
0.941 |
0.954 |
0.943 |
0.708 |
0.904 |
0.887 |
0.821 |
| 7 |
Assess the effectiveness of community-based KMC in reducing neonatal mortality of clinically stable preterm and LBW infants? |
HPSR |
0.972 |
0.937 |
0.919 |
0.711 |
0.901 |
0.886 |
0.834 |
| 8 |
What are the clinical outcomes of preterm newborns discharged to continue KMC at home? |
EPI |
0.954 |
0.938 |
0.938 |
0.681 |
0.900 |
0.880 |
0.825 |
| 9 |
Assess the impact of quality improvement initiatives in improving KMC counselling. |
HPSR |
0.946 |
0.963 |
0.955 |
0.663 |
0.884 |
0.879 |
0.830 |
| 10 |
What are barriers and challenges to improving existing skin-to-skin practice in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.955 |
0.944 |
0.934 |
0.712 |
0.857 |
0.879 |
0.844 |
| 11 |
How can transport and referral systems for preterm LBW, SGA newborns be improved or maximised in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.939 |
0.914 |
0.923 |
0.722 |
0.909 |
0.879 |
0.837 |
| 12 |
What is the effect of antepartum complications in the current pregnancy (e.g. multiple gestation, cervical incompetence, preeclampsia, eclampsia, hypertension, diabetes etc.) on LBW, SGA and PTB in LMICs? |
EPI |
0.972 |
0.950 |
0.912 |
0.735 |
0.792 |
0.873 |
0.803 |
| 13 |
What is the effect of nutritional status (e.g. underweight, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiency etc.) on LBW, SGA and PTB in LMICs? |
EPI |
0.945 |
0.927 |
0.951 |
0.719 |
0.827 |
0.873 |
0.817 |
| 14 |
Evaluate interventions to screen women at risk of PTB during ANC (e.g. anaemia, preeclampsia, NCDs, malnutrition) and improve maternal and newborn outcomes in LMICs. |
HPSR |
0.941 |
0.916 |
0.914 |
0.700 |
0.903 |
0.872 |
0.805 |
| 15 |
What are barriers of doing ROP screening for all eligible preterm babies in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.965 |
0.915 |
0.896 |
0.729 |
0.841 |
0.868 |
0.808 |
| 16 |
How can care for preterm and LBW newborns in remote community settings be improved? |
HPSR |
0.917 |
0.935 |
0.905 |
0.687 |
0.901 |
0.866 |
0.794 |
| 17 |
What are the short- and long-term health and developmental outcomes of babies born preterm, LBW, or SGA in LMICs? |
EPI |
0.951 |
0.926 |
0.933 |
0.673 |
0.847 |
0.864 |
0.787 |
| 18 |
How can clinical support and supervision of community health workers in the management of small and sick newborns be improved in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.945 |
0.891 |
0.913 |
0.692 |
0.884 |
0.862 |
0.787 |
| 19 |
What are the barriers and enablers of improved accuracy of gestational age assessment in LMICs? |
HPSR |
0.946 |
0.936 |
0.886 |
0.685 |
0.851 |
0.860 |
0.803 |
| 20 | Evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of nutritional interventions in improving nutritional status of preterm infants in LMICs. | EPI | 0.937 | 0.893 | 0.892 | 0.692 | 0.899 | 0.860 | 0.807 |
LMICs – low and middle-income countries, KMC - Kangaroo Mother Care, RPS – research priority scores, AEA – average expert agreement, HPSR – health policy and systems research, EPI – epidemiological research, RIEI – research to improve existing interventions, RDNI – research to develop new interventions, LBW – low birth weight, SGA – small for gestational age, PTB – preterm birth, ROP – retinopathy of prematurity, NCD – non-communicable disease