What This Means
This research describes a structured process to identify the most important sexual and reproductive health research questions for Bangladesh. Using a method called CHNRI (Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative), 76 experts from various fields submitted and then scored nearly 200 unique research questions across five topic areas: adolescent health, fertility, women's reproductive cancers and conditions, maternal and newborn health, and the sexual health of marginalized groups. The experts rated each question on criteria like feasibility and potential impact, producing ranked lists of the most critical research priorities.
The top 20 research priorities spanned all five topic areas, with adolescent health and maternal/newborn health each contributing six questions. Key priorities included understanding and preventing adolescent pregnancy, improving sexual health education and mental health among teenagers, detecting cervical and other gynaecological cancers earlier (including through HPV testing), improving care for newborns at district hospitals, reducing postpartum hemorrhage, and addressing the stigma faced by marginalized groups that prevents them from seeking sexual and reproductive health care. Notably, experts showed strong agreement on which questions ranked highest, suggesting a shared understanding of research gaps in Bangladesh.
This research suggests that future investment in Bangladesh's sexual and reproductive health should focus especially on intervention studies — research that tests practical solutions to known problems rather than simply documenting those problems. By involving a broad group of stakeholders in setting these priorities, the findings are intended to make research funding and programming more relevant to the real needs of Bangladesh's population, potentially improving health outcomes for adolescents, women, newborns, and marginalized communities.