Public Health Market Research
Public-health research sits at the intersection of epidemiology, behaviour change, service delivery and policy — each with its own evidence requirements and audiences. Meraki Research works with public-health agencies, multilateral organisations, NGOs and funders across South Africa, the continent and internationally, producing research that supports both programmatic and policy decisions.
Why Public Health Research Matters
- Public-health research audiences span communities, frontline workers, programme managers and policymakers, and no single instrument reaches them all.
- Evidence standards for funders (including DoH, the Gates Foundation, USAID legacy structures, CDC and WHO-affiliated programmes) vary and research design has to match.
- South Africa's public-health architecture — NDoH, provincial DoH, NHLS, SAMRC — shapes both data access and research legitimacy.
- Behavioural research in public health has to respect community contexts and protocols that commercial research frameworks rarely accommodate.
- POPIA and research-ethics obligations are especially stringent in public-health fieldwork given the sensitivity of health information.
Our Public Health Research Services
Programme Evaluation Research
Formative, process and outcome evaluation for public-health programmes, designed to funder evidence standards and local methodological realities.
Behavioural and Social Science Research
Qualitative and quantitative behavioural research — including HCD and behavioural-economics-informed designs — on health behaviours such as adherence, uptake and prevention.
Community and Frontline Worker Research
Research with community members and frontline health workers including CHWs, nurses and programme staff, using formats respectful of operational constraints.
Policy and Stakeholder Research
Structured research with policymakers, advocacy groups and implementing partners to inform policy design, rollout and revision.
Outbreak and Emergency Response Research
Rapid-turnaround qualitative and quantitative research during outbreaks and emergencies, including vaccine hesitancy, NPI adherence and risk-perception work.
Data and Health Information Systems Research
Research on the usability and uptake of health information systems, including DHIS and facility-level reporting tools.
How We Approach Research in This Sector
Public-health research demands methodological rigour and deep respect for community and participant context. We run all fieldwork under documented ethical clearance, engage local researchers in every community we work in, and design engagement to respect the time of the frontline workers and participants who make the research possible. Findings are delivered in formats useful to programme teams as well as executive leadership.
Why Choose Meraki Research for Public Health?
- Senior researchers with direct experience in South African and African public-health programmes, including NDoH, SAMRC, USAID- and Gates-funded programmes historically.
- Established relationships with provincial DoH, NGO and community structures across SA.
- Ethical clearance processes and POPIA-compliant research operations calibrated to the sensitivity of public-health fieldwork.
- Methodological range — from epidemiologically informed quantitative work to deep qualitative community engagement.
What We Deliver
| Deliverable | Format | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Research Protocol and Ethics Package | PDF + submission materials | Week 2 |
| Formative Research Report | PDF + clip library | Week 5 |
| Quantitative Baseline or Outcome Report | PDF + dashboard | Week 7 |
| Policy Briefing | PDF report | Week 8 |
| Community and Frontline Worker Feedback Session | Half-day workshop | Week 9 |