TY - JOUR T1 - Unmasking power as foundational to research on sexual and reproductive health and rights JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005482 VL - 6 IS - 4 SP - e005482 AU - Marta Schaaf AU - Anuj Kapilashrami AU - Asha George AU - Avni Amin AU - Soo Downe AU - Victoria Boydell AU - Goleen Samari AU - Ana Lorena Ruano AU - Priya Nanda AU - Rajat Khosla Y1 - 2021/04/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/4/e005482.abstract N2 - Summary boxThe current extensive body of research on power and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) assesses power at various levels of analysis, from the micro to the meso and the macro, and their interstices.Some research describes expressions of power and how these affect SRHR, while other research seeks to identify how power dynamics shaping SRHR can be shifted.We propose areas where further theoretical and empirical work could better interrogate power, strengthening the evidence base for action.Areas for further research include researching the role of ‘hidden’ flows of power in shaping global SRHR agendas; examining the relationship between macrolevel flows of power and communities’ SRHR care experiences; deepening insight into the exercise of power by patients and service users, and among providers at the front lines of the healthcare system; and embedded research and evaluation on civil societies’ and the government’s role in larger social movements.These priorities for research content have implications for research processes. Most importantly,research agendas should better reflect the priorities of people most affectedby SRH injustice, and thegrassroots groups that work in these communities.Relations of power are intrinsic to the social determinants of sexual and reproductive health (SRH); they influence the content, quality and outcomes of SRH care; and they shape the negotiation and realisation of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) more broadly. Power dynamics pervade how SRHR is understood, studied and acted on, in ways that are distinct from other health issues.1 For example, the deeply held personal beliefs about women’s sexuality and childbearing, cultural mores regarding adolescent sexuality and state goals related to fertility all mark SRHR as a sphere with distinct and deeply contested power dynamics.Unmasking power as a central element in SRHR research is therefore crucial to developing a research agenda that can produce … ER -