There are a variety of ways that research is shared and undertaken through the IRHAP collaborative: some managed through the IRHAP hub, and others as part of ongoing conversations. We list here some of the main joint research projects that are currently underway, as well as completed joint research and affiliated student work..
| CURRENT PROJECTS | COMPLETED PROJECTS | STUDENT PROJECTS |
LITERATURE REVIEW AND DATA COLLECTION
IRHAP continues to conduct systematic literature reviews on related topics, and collect related data in an electronic database (to be made available on this website, Jan 2012). IRHAP is also a primary partner in the emerging RFDWeb Project ... more ...
EVALUATION PROJECTS
IRHAP is currently conducting several evalution projects.
COLLABORATIVE BOOK PROJECTS
IRHAP is currently leading three collaborative book projects which bring researchers and practitioners together for the purposes of joint-learning - resulting in an edited book collection as a process for collaborative engagement. Two other book projects are now reaching completion: 'When Religion and Health Align' (IRHAP) and partner network CHART's: 'Religion, HIV and AIDS'.
SPIRITUAL CAPACITIES AGAINST GENDERED VIOLENCE
IRHAP is involved in a research project which aims to identify and understand the positive mediating influences of faith, religion and spirituality on self-inflicted and interpersonal violence involving males in contexts of historical colonization in specific communities in South Africa and the USA, for the purposes of violence prevention and safety and peace promotion. Other core partners include the Safety and Peace Promotion Research Unit (SAPPRU - MRC&UNISA); Institute for Social Sciences (UNISA); Methodist Lebonheur Healthcare; Indigenous Wellness Research Institute ... more ...
CAPACITY BUILDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
IRHAP and partners are involved in several capacity-building projects which aim to build leadership capacities through training and technical assistance.
CONFERENCE PLANNING
The IRHAP Hub at UCT is engaged in planning for the next IRHAP Conference, planned for early 2013, with a theme of 'Faith and Health Systems Strengthening' ... more ...
COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING
There are several new mapping projects (in Africa and the US) in which IRHAP and partners are engaged. These seek to build capacity and refine tools for community mapping as a process for community engagement amd upliftment.
COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING FOR THE HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE ASSOC: 2010
ARHAP was commission by the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of South Africa (HPCA) to design a toolset and train a team of local facilitators in the use of a participatory toolset for community collaboration and engagement for improved health.
THE POTENTIALS AND PERILS OF PARTNERSHIP: 2007-2009
ARHAP was commission by Tearfund and UNAIDS to conduct a three-country study of collaboration between religious entities and their collaborative stakeholders (donors, governments and interfaith bodies) in Malawi, Kenya and the DRC ... more ...
THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS ENTITIES TO HEALTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: 2007-2008
ARHAP was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct a sub-Saharan study of health services provided by religious communities. The focus was on describing the services provided, their 'comparative advantage', the way they network and collaborate with each other and the public health system, and specific recommendations on funding of these services. A desk review of existing literature complimented in-depth case studies in Zambia, Uganda and Mali ... more ...
PAIRED SITE MAPPING IN USA AND SOUTH AFRICA: 2007-2008
A large-scale religious health asset mapping project took place in Atlanta (GA, USA), in collaboration with paired research sites in Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) and Johannesburg (South Africa). This mapping project incorporated local partners with academics and students from Emory University, the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of KwaZulu Natal.
RELIGIOUS HEALTH ASSET MAPPING IN MEMPHIS: 2007-2008
A diverse team took part in a combined participatory-GIS mapping exercise in south Memphis. The mapping began in 2007 and the first phase was conducted by MLH staff and included graduate students from the University of Memphis, Memphis Theological Seminary, and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ENGAGEMENT IN THE EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: 2007
Researchers from the University of Cape Town, the Medical Research Council (Centre for Health Policy, Wits University) and the Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE), supported by the Vesper Society, piloted a leadership engagement process in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, on religious health assets. The 'Session' incorporates three two-day meetings, in an open-ended encounter between leaders responsible for policy and practice in health care and organizations that work in health on the ground, including members of different religious or faith groups. The goal was to shift the way in which the working relationship between various parties is conceived and acted upon.
APPRECIATING ASSETS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF RELIGION TO UNIVERSAL ACCESS IN AFRICA: 2005-2006
The World Health Organization awarded ARHAP a one year grant to map religious health assets in Zambia and Lesotho in support of its Universal Access Initative for HIV/AIDS. The objective was to identify, assess, and map the assets of religious communities that can accelerate Universal Access to HIV/AIDS treatment, care and prevention services, while developing an in-depth understanding of how these RHAs function and how they relate to each other. The methodology included GIS mapping and Participatory Inquiry (for which the ARHAP toolset PIRHANA was developed). The research team included researchers from the universities of Wits, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town and Emory, as well as a local colleagues ... more ...
MASANGANE EVALUATION: EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA: 2005-2006
The Vesper Society commissioned ARHAP to do research on the integrated Masangane HIV/AIDS programme affiliated with the Moravian Church in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Completed in 2006, this study aimed to understand the role of the religious health assets of the Masangane ART programme for public health, as a model for a replicable response to HIV/AIDS. A crucial aspect of this research involved teasing out what value is added to this programme by its faith-based nature. Field work for this case study consisted of more than 20 key informant interviews of various stakeholders: Masangane staff and management; church leaders; health seekers; donors and health providers. Health seekers also answered 77 questionnaires and were involved in two focus groups...more...
LITERATURE REVIEW AND DATA COLLECTION: 2005-ONGOING
This ARHAP literature review focuses on the under-studied intersection between religion and public health, with a particular emphasis on literature addressing sub-Saharan Africa in the last ten years, and a further focus on literature addressing HIV/AIDS. By assessing a wide-ranging array of literature, the review seeks to establish a literary foundation for the theoretical work and conceptual concerns that motivate the interdisciplinary ARHAP group, which promises a better understanding of the way in which religion interacts with public health concerns and systems. It also raises questions for future study.
CASE STUDY - LESOTHO: 2003-2005
A research team consisting of graduate students and staff from the University of the Witwatersrand investigated the intersection of health and religion in Lesotho. A significant advance here was the introduction of the term “Bophelo” into the ARHAP theoretical framework - conceptualised in English as “healthworld” - to capture the complex manner in which the Basotho construct their understandings of health and illness in local contexts, and how these play themselves out in terms of multiple health seeking behaviours
CASE STUDY - ZAMBIA: 2003-2005
A small grant was made available for field work to be carried out in Zambia during 2004 and 2005. This project is also closely aligned to the ARHAP Theory Matrix, utilizing interdisciplinary research methods in order to unpack and evaluate it. Seven key research foci were addressed by different researchers, of which the first four focus on specific assets and the other three on the agency of various players. It aimed to understand the current state of health - and the wealth of religious agencies providing health-related services - in the Copperbelt against the conditions that shaped them. The Zambian research team consists of researchers from the University of KwaZulu Natal.
IRHAP holds as a core objective the vision of building capacity in students - especially those in development contexts. Support is seen in the form of intellectual guidance, fieldwork and project experience, conference support, and assistance in the production of theses and papers...a list of past and presently affiliated students coming here...
