The Department of Global Health and Infection at Brighton & Sussex Medical School (BSMS), in collaboration with the Faculty of Geographical and Environmental Science is managing a grant from the UK National Institute for Health Research, to conduct research on severe stigmatizing skin diseases from social science perspective (2019-2023).
This project entitled: Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatizing Skin Diseases (The 5-S Foundation) is working to end neglect of three conditions: mycetoma, scabies and podoconiosis through bringing the social sciences to bear on these conditions in three partner countries: Rwanda, Sudan and Ethiopia. Social science research around NTD’s is essential if key biomedical advances are to be successfully translated into elimination and control programmes, and our research will transform the health and wellbeing of people affected by these conditions by identifying interventions informed by social science perspectives at the level of the patient, the community and national and international policy.
The faculty of Geographical and Environmental Sciences is one of the twenty-two faculties of University of Khartoum. The establishment of the faculty shows how University of Khartoum is so concerned with and deeply recognizes the importance of geography and the environment, and the way these disciplines contribute to human knowledge, research and community service. The faculty endeavours to be a leading and distinctive faculty in the field of geographical, environmental and multidisciplinary research and adopts a holistic approach to manage complex research problems at a local, regional and global level.
The aims of the programme are:
- To examine the cultural logics and social and economic contexts of podoconiosis, mycetoma and scabies;
- To understand the dynamics and dimensions of stigma;
- To investigate how all three diseases have been conceptualised at national and international policy levels;
- To evaluate existing interventions using social science perspectives;
- To refine the conceptual framework developed to guide the Foundation’s research;
- To develop a comprehensive intervention strategy for each disease;
- To support endemic-country training posts (PhD and postdoctoral) in a manner that will leave enduring capacity for social science research;
- To facilitate South-South and North-South sharing of best practice in research and advocacy applicable to a wide range of stigmatising conditions in low-resource settings.