Page 56 - SAMRC Annual Report 2024-2025

Alcohol Diagnostic Validation for Injury-Related Trauma study workshop.

in these areas could have a devastating effect on Youth Advisory Boards: MASTRU established
staffing and would need a radical downsizing of the advisory boards to co-develop stigma awareness and
unit. The unit is slightly protected by the fact that education training for communities on substance
we have productive partnerships with countries in use, HIV, gender-based violence, peer influence, and
the global south and the fact that we have funding family challenges through skits and drama.
from European countries.
Community Advisory Boards. We hosted virtual
and in-person meetings with Community Advisory
Research Translation Through Arts Boards, facilitating open dialogue and incorporating

and Science feedback to shape our studies.
MASTRU staff employed various innovative strategies Protect Our Next (PON) Campaign Collaboration:
to effectively communicate their research findings MASTRU collaborated with a think tank to
and engage stakeholders. This included: Social communicate and disseminate research through
Media Outreach. Using social media announcements community engagements, including school
to celebrate the launch of our studies and increase presentations and youth group sessions.
stakeholder engagement; Innovative Storytelling:
MASTRU incorporated narrative-based interviews Media Engagement: In the 2024-25 financial
year, MASTRU staff gave more than 10 media
capturing the lived experiences of pregnant women interviews on topics related to alcohol, drug use,
receiving an intervention, enhancing the relatability suicide prevention, and mental health helping to
and impact of the research.
disseminate our research findings to the public.
Community Engagement: MASTRU used creative These efforts demonstrate MASTRU's commitment
ethnographic research methods to document the to creatively and effectively communicating their
real-life experiences of intervention participants, research to diverse audiences.
making the findings more accessible and engaging.

54 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2024-25