HIV Prevention and the 'Everywhere' Project: Small Grant report

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation was delighted to support Dr Nigel Sherriff, Principal Research Fellow at the University of Brighton, with a Daiwa Foundation Small Grant in September 2011, in order to assist with his collaborative research with Japanese academics at Nagoya City University and NGO practitioners in the field of HIV prevention and risk-reduction. An account of his project, kindly sent to us by Dr Sherriff, follows below.

There is a similar epidemiology (and political/social/economic concern) between the UK and Japan in terms of rising new HIV infections among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). Following contact between Nagoya City University in Japan and the University of Brighton in the UK, it was agreed to try and develop a new enduring partnership providing mutual opportunities to engage in collaborative research, teaching and knowledge exchange between the UK and Japan. The project aimed to do this by creating: 1) academic staff exchange opportunities and 2) conducting a feasibility study regarding the role of ‘gay’ businesses in HIV prevention for MSM. In terms of the latter, given the degree of tourism and travel between the two countries, it was agreed that an initial research collaboration could involve exploring whether it’s feasible, acceptable and desirable to build on recent HIV prevention work in Europe (The Everywhere Project; see www.everywhereproject.eu) for potential adaptation and implementation to the Japanese context*.

To maximise the scope of the project’s activities, in parallel with the Daiwa Foundation Small Grant, Associate Professor Dr Noriyo Kaneko and Professor Dr Seiichi Ichikawa (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Research Group on HIV Prevention Policy) supported a visit to Japan by Dr Nigel Sherriff from the University of Brighton under ‘International Relations’ funding. This initial visit in January 2012 was to begin the process of collaboration between the two institutions.

As a result of this first visit, a further fellowship proposal was submitted by Professor Ichikawa to the ‘Program for the Invitation of Foreign Scientists to a Japanese Institute’ to the Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention (JFAP). This fellowship was intended to complement the Daiwa Small Grant to support Dr Sherriff in visiting Japan for a second time to continue the collaboration, and specifically, to continue the planned Daiwa activities in exploring practicalities and challenges of adapting and implementing the Everywhere Project for Japan.

Consequently, in June 2012, Dr Sherriff (University of Brighton) and Ross Boseley (Terrence Higgins Trust) travelled to Nagoya to work with colleagues from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Research Group on HIV Prevention Policy. The purpose of this second visit was (primarily) to conduct a series of workshops in Nagoya, Tokyo, and Osaka with local HIV and/or gay NGOs to explore the potential to implement a full-scale pilot (including evaluation) of the Everywhere HIV Prevention Project for MSM. A secondary purpose of the visit was to continue to build on the developing relationship between colleagues from Nagoya City University (NCU) and the University of Brighton.

The main outcomes of the programme of activities (including workshops, presentations, and meetings) included agreements that:

• Both parties are interested in progressing the idea of Everywhere in Japan and potentially elsewhere (e.g. to include other Asia-Pacific countries);

• Colleagues from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Research Group on HIV Prevention Policy are interested in travelling to the UK to progress further research collaborations and publication outputs;

• Both parties are interested in contributing to the submission of academic articles on the outcomes of the collaboration to date;

• Both parties are interested in continued knowledge and cultural exchange between the UK and Japan.

Further details of the outcomes of the Everywhere in Japan workshop series will be published in peer reviewed journals in due course. In the meantime, for further details please contact either Dr Nigel Sherriff (n.s.sherriff@brighton.ac.uk) or Associate Professor Dr Noriyo Kaneko (noriyok@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp).

This project has been an important, stimulating, and cultural learning experience for all partners involved which could not have happened without the financial support of the Daiwa Foundation, Nagoya City University International Relations Committee, and the Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention. In addition, we are indebted to colleagues from: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Research Group on HIV Prevention Policy; Nagoya City University; dista; Angel Life Nagoya; LIFE Toka; akta; Place; JaNP+; MASH; Yarokko; Love Act Fukuoka; nankr; Haat Ehime; the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, and the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Dr. N S Sherriff CPsychol AFBPsS CSci
Principal Research Fellow
Centre for Health Research (CHR)
Brighton, UK

8th Febuary 2013

*The Everywhere project has received funding from the European Commission under the Public Health Programme 2003-2008. However, the sole responsibility for the study lies with the author and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.