The majority of the world population resides in what is commonly referred to as “majority countries” encompassing low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), or the Global South.1,2 However, a substantial proportion of health and child development research originates from the “minority countries”, also known as High Income (HIC) or Global North, where only about 16% of the global population resides. There are increasing concerns that this disproportional representation is due to unequal opportunities for publishing research findings from studies carried out in the “majority countries” as well as barriers for authors from these countries in opportunities to publish. While there could be many reasons for these barriers, one is that adapting and/or developing methodologies for health research in global LMIC settings is challenging, and there is little published evidence on the often-arduous process and its idiosyncratic results.
The journal Pilot and Feasibility Studies with the impact factor of 1.7, is planning to address this lack of evidence by announcing a new Collection of articles on Global Health.
The overall aim of Pilot and Feasibility Studies is to provide a peer-reviewed, high-quality forum for evidence and discourse “on aspects of the design, conduct and reporting of pilot and feasibility studies in biomedicine”. For this Collection on Global Health we are inviting manuscripts addressing any of the below mentioned topics while planning, conducting, and (or) interpreting results of feasibility studies across a diverse range of communities.
Possible topics:
- Exploring cultural and contextual sensitivities
- Challenges impacting the feasibility
- Adaptation of methodologies in LMICs
- Community engagement while planning or assessing feasibility
- Challenges of data collection in low-resource settings
- Unexpected situations and their resolution
We are particularly interested in showcasing a range of approaches to address feasibility challenges, including the process of piloting in a range of countries, for example when a methodology has only been validated elsewhere; consideration and execution of modification of procedures, sampling and recruitment, measures, and decisions on adaptations of protocols (and their rationale). Papers describing studies that had to be scaled down or even abandoned due to feasibility reasons are eligible and welcome.
Our main goal for this Collection is to add transparency and build evidence on challenges in conducting health-related studies globally, to provide a resource for health researchers, and ultimately contribute to increased and equal representation in all regions. The type of articles for this special series should include:
- Original research
- Methodology papers
- Commentaries
- Reviews
- Case Studies
The manuscripts are expected to follow the process of submission to Pilot and Feasibility Studies, with a flag for “Collection on Global Health” indicated in the cover letter and online submission.
- Alam, S. (2019). Majority world: Challenging the West's rhetoric of democracy. Amerasia Journal, 34, 88–98. https://doi.org/10.17953/amer.34.1.l3176027k4q614v5
- Draper, C. E., Barnett, L. M., Cook, C. J., Cuartas, J. A., Howard, S. J., McCoy, D. C., Merkley, R., Molano, A., Maldonado-Carreño, C. Obradović, J., Scerif, G., Valentini, N. C., Venetsanou, F., & Yousafzai, A. K. (2023). Publishing child development research from around the world: An unfair playing field resulting in most of the world's child population under-represented in research. Infant and Child Development, 32(6), e2375. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.237
