The value and impact of embedded implementation research: insights from Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

[Extract]. Embedded research is carried out as an integrated and systematic part of health decision and policy making and implementation. It means continuous collaboration between decision makers, researchers, and communities. Embedded research focuses on systems-level challenges and illuminates context-specific factors for real-world health programs, policy and system decisions. It improves ownership and implementa-tion. With this in mind, a joint initiative between the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (Alliance HPSR), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) issued an open call for researchers and policy and decision makers to identify chal-lenges requiring embedded research to accelerate progress towards the SDGs in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region and provided technical cooperation throughout the pro-cess. Following an open call for applications and reviewing more than 200 research proposals, 13 teams from 11 low- and middle-income countries in the LAC region were selected from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Paraguay, and Peru.