Good Participatory Practice (GPP) in research ensures respectful community engagement and strengthens trust through collaborative partnerships.
The first edition of the Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for biomedical HIV prevention trials was initially published in 2007 by AVAC and UNAIDS. The GPP guidelines were created to provide a consistent global standard for stakeholder engagement across the research life-cycle and have since been adapted to benefit clinical research across fields, research areas, geographies and populations.
The World Health Organization's Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for Emerging Pathogens (GPP-EP) were developed in 2016 to support prevention and treatment trials of emerging pathogens that were likely to cause severe disease outbreaks. The guidelines were adapted in 2020 specifically for COVID-19 to address how to engage community stakeholders and promote ethical standards throughout the research process: Good Participatory Practice for COVID-19 clinical trials: a toolbox
This page is for people who are designing and implementing COVID-19 or other rapid research studies and are looking for information on how to apply GPP effectively. It signposts to resources from other research areas (e.g. HIV and Ebola) which are generally applicable or adaptable to any disease or study.
BENEFITS OF GOOD PARTICIPATORY PRACTICE
GPP applies across research types and settings, and at all stages of research. There are many benefits including:
- Strengthening the design, acceptability and quality of research as well as assessing feasibility of site selection
- Strengthening recruitment and informed consent processes by incorporating local views and through dissemination of information
- Identifying and minimising physical or social risks (e.g. community or individual stigma) that may result from enrolment
- Strengthening alignment of research approaches and outcomes with the priorities of collaborating populations
- GPP can empower communities and demonstrate respect, both as goals in themselves, and to strengthen mutual understanding, uptake of findings, trust and credibility of researchers with implications for current and future research
GENERAL GUIDELINES & TOOLS
Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines |
Community Engagement Guides |
Risk Communication & Behaviour Change Resources |
Monitoring & Evaluation |
Training |
Other Useful Resource Hubs |
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Ethics, Justice & Respect |
Trust |
Addressing Stigma |
Social & Political considerations |
Engagement at a distance |
Mental Health & Gender-based violence |
LEARNING FROM PAST PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES
Ebola virus disease |
HIV/AIDS Research |
APPLYING GPP TO EACH STAGE OF YOUR RESEARCH
ADD YOUR RESOURCES
Please help the materials grow and evolve by sharing your resources related to Good Participatory Practices and Community Engagement in COVID-19 research.
We would love to hear your reflections, experiences and learning. Please get in touch: mesh@tghn.org
Discover more about GPP in the context of engagement with vaccine research and development in the the Mesh theme area HERE
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