TY - JOUR T1 - What works in global health partnerships? Reflections on a collaboration between researchers from Vietnam and Northern Ireland JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005535 VL - 6 IS - 4 SP - e005535 AU - Chris Jenkins AU - Ho Thi Hien AU - Bui Linh Chi AU - Olinda Santin Y1 - 2021/04/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e005535.abstract N2 - SummaryThere is a growing body of literature on global health research partnerships but a lack of pragmatic and practical literature to help support researchers working in this field.This short commentary highlights key themes related to communication, trust and working with equality relevant for both individuals and institutions involved in collaborative global health research.Institutional and practical realities, along with power and financial inequalities, create challenges for the development of good and equitable relationships. These realities have to be actively addressed within research teams and between institutions.Good communication builds good relationships and all researchers should appreciate the importance of reflection and reflexivity within their collaborations.There is a growing body of literature within global health that highlights the importance of thinking actively about how research partnerships should function. Our field is slowly coming to terms with inherent power inequalities that continue to characterise many global health research partnerships.1–6 It is encouraging to see the growth and breadth of articles being written on this crucially important subject.1 5 7–9 We felt, however, that the literature is often theoretically focused, and that a short piece discussing practical and real-world examples of factors contributing to partnership development may be beneficial for global health researchers.This is, therefore, a short practical example of research in practice. It is not intended to be reflective of all the diverse challenges and themes within this area. It concerns our experiences of working together on cancer-related research in Vietnam.Collaboration between the Hanoi University of Public Health and Queen’s University Belfast formally began in 2016, so this research partnership remains young and in its formative stages. These collaborations focused on first understanding challenges in breast cancer service delivery and the experiences of women with breast cancer in Vietnam. Our team came together in 2018 to … ER -