LEARN Lao PDR - PhD students make positive progress in their research

LEARN PhD students make positive progress in their research

The Lao Equity through policy Analysis and Research Networks (LEARN) programme aims to support the development of evidence-based research and its use in health policy formulation, and also strengthen institutional research capacity. One of the activities contributing to this is the support LEARN offers to four PhD candidates, Kethmany Ratsavong, Souksamone Thongmyxay, Viengnakhone Vongxay and Sysavanh Phommachanh. In late October 2017 they took to the main stage and presented the preliminary findings of their research at the 11th National Health Research Forum, in Lao PDR, an event also supported by LEARN.

During the Research Forum Kethmany Ratsavong showed a correlation between the nutritional status of mothers in Lao PDR with anthropometric indicators of their children. Souksamone Thongmyxay found that 5.9% of the family planning service users rated the service as ‘not good’, mostly because of the way the information was provided. Viengnakhone Vongxay highlighted that there are many different drivers at different levels for teenage pregnancy in Lao PDR. At national level poverty and an unenforced law preventing child marriage are major drivers. Additionally, there is a lack of sexual education at school level and limited availability of services at community level. Lastly, Sysavanh Phommachanh showed that antenatal care (ANC) services have improved in Lao PDR, indicated by the increased number of pregnant women that visit the ANC services. She also found that ANC services can potentially improve even more if determinants such as supplies, privacy and skills of practitioners improve in the future.

Additionally, these findings are also being shared at a regional level, where one of those PhD students presented a poster of his findings at the 9th International Conference on Public Health among Greater Mekong Sub-Regional Countries in Yangon, Myanmar at the end of November.

The PhD students are not only contributing to the goals of the LEARN programme, but also to the National Health Research Agenda, the National Nutrition Strategy and the wider Sustainable Development Goals. Much of the research is related to nutrition and family planning which are high on the National Health Research Agenda and included in SDG 2 (zero hunger) and 3 (good health and well-being). The LEARN team will support the PhD candidates in the next step of translating their findings into policy recommendations, tailoring their messaging to different stakeholders in Laos. Watch this space as more research findings come in!