Analysis of nutrition research networks in West Africa: Application of social network analysis to co-authorship data to understand and enhance collaboration
Description: The World Health Assembly (WHA) targets are instrumental for identifying primary knowledge gaps and priority areas for action and decision-making. Across West Africa, prevalence of these six WHA indicators for maternal infant and young child nutrition remain high. To address these nutrition challenges a strong research network is needed to deliver context-specific evidence to inform decision-making on effective programs and policies in the region.
In response to this need, Transform Nutrition West Africa undertook a systematic mapping review of literature related to WHA indicators in West Africa from 2009 to 2017. Results of this analysis will enable decision-makers to better understand what is researched (or not), who are the key actors (researchers and institutions) in this space, and what are potential pathways to engage them and advance research capacity and leadership on the WHA targets in the region.
This webinar presented results from social network analysis (SNA) of nutrition networks in West Africa. A sub-component of the systematic review, this work applies SNA to authorship and affiliation data collected for the review to illuminate the patterns of collaboration and the structures of collaborative networks. The results highlight how SNA can be used to analyze research networks.
Photo credit: Bioversity International/M.Karambiri
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