STOP-NCD
STOP-NCD is a five-year National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Centre which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of populations in West Africa through comprehensive and sustainable capacity strengthening for high-quality applied non-communicable disease (NCD) research.
Research Themes
STOP-NCD's three research themes reflect the level of support for person-centred, integrated and system-wide responses to inter-connected NCDs:
Individual and Community Support
Empowering individuals and communities with awareness, skills and resources to understand and manage NCD risk factors and health-seeking behaviours.
Primary Healthcare Facility Support
Strengthening primary care delivery for integrated NCD prevention, diagnosis and management, supported by well-equipped and motivated health workers.
Systems and Policy Support
Creating enabling policy environments and health system arrangements that sustain person-centred, integrated NCD responses at scale.
These themes are interrelated and complementary â for example, individual awareness of the nature and importance of NCD risk factors affects health-seeking behaviours, while facility-based care depends on staff support and an enabling policy environment. Work within each theme is organised according to the Centre's three research work packages (context analysis and evidence synthesis; intervention co-production; and implementation and evaluation), with each theme addressed through country-specific research projects.
Community and Stakeholder Engagement
STOP-NCD's approach is underpinned by a commitment to transformative engagement with individuals and groups through mutually respectful, inclusive and ethical research.
Participatory Co-production
Using action-reflection cycles to enable an in-depth understanding of intersecting experiences of marginalisation and exclusion, and allowing communities to identify and articulate their own needs.
Multi-stakeholder Forums
In each country, the Centre establishes an in-country multi-stakeholder forum comprising 15â20 decision-makers, health workers, managers, practitioners and civil society organisations. These advisory bodies help represent all voices in NCD research and provide a platform for cross-stakeholder exchange, engagement, advocacy and joint decision-making.
Engage People Living with NCDs
Central to the Centre's plans is engaging and involving people living with NCDs, their families and carers, including those often marginalised, through close partnerships with civil society organisations working in their respective languages and social contexts.
Creative Approaches
The Centre identifies and adapts creative approaches such as photovoice, participatory film-making and local theatre, with continued cross-country peer exchange to maximise impact for local people and communities.
Capacity Strengthening
STOP-NCD uses comprehensive and sustainable approaches to capacity strengthening, improving individual, organisational and system-level capacities of researchers (particularly earlier-career staff), local communities, and policymakers and practitioners.
Training & Education
Post-graduate training, short courses and workshops tailored to researchers, practitioners and community members.
Mentorship & Exchange
Structured mentorship support, cross-organisational exchange and learning, and communities of practice.
Co-production
The co-production process itself builds shared understanding, skills and ownership among all partners.
The Centre is currently supporting a number of doctorate and master's students across its partner institutions, including at LSHTM, Lancaster University, UMC Utrecht, Université de Montréal, Université Nazi Boni and Université Joseph KI-Zerbo, among others.
Who We Are
STOP-NCD's partnership is led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), the Centre's joint lead organisations, and involves Ashesi University (AU), the Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le DĂ©veloppement Local (LASDEL, Niger), and the UniversitĂ© Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest â UnitĂ© Universitaire Ă Bobo-Dioulasso (UCAO-UUB, Burkina Faso). STOP-NCD is hosted by LSHTM and GCPS.
Partner Institutions
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), United Kingdom
- Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), Ghana
- Ashesi University, Ghana
- Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le DĂ©veloppement Local (LASDEL), Niger
- UniversitĂ© Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest â UnitĂ© Universitaire Ă Bobo-Dioulasso (UCAO-UUB), Burkina Faso
International Advisory Committee
The Centre's work is further guided by an international Advisory Committee
- The Centre's work is further guided by an international Advisory Committee chaired by Prof. Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch (University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands), with members drawn from institutions including York University (Canada), the Public Health Foundation of India, the University of Montreal, Johns Hopkins University (USA), and Université Abdou Moumouni (Niger).