Reciprocal Innovation in Action: Adapting a Community-Based Care Model for Pregnant and Parenting Women in Kenya to Indiana

Background: Reciprocal innovation and global learning emphasize mutual exchange, shared benefit, and co-creation between partners in high-, middle-, and low-income settings to address persistent global health inequities. Building on more than three decades of collaboration between Indiana University and the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare partnership in western Kenya, the IU Center for Global Health established a reciprocal innovation program to apply lessons from global partnerships to health challenges in Indiana.

Objectives/Methods: This article presents a case study of reciprocal innovation in action through the adaptation of Chamas, a community-based maternal and child health program developed in Kenya, for Haitian immigrant communities in Indianapolis.

Findings: We describe the co-design and early implementation of the Chamas-Indiana program using a five-stage process framework for reciprocal innovation: (1) building partnerships and trust with immigrant-serving organizations; (2) identifying shared challenges and priorities; (3) shared learning and adaptation of Chamas; (4) piloting and evaluation; and (5) reciprocal feedback with Kenyan partners.

Conclusions: By situating this work within a shared global health priority area of maternal and child health, the case illustrates how reciprocal innovation can strengthen health equity efforts, bridge global and local learning, and foster enduring partnerships rooted in trust, cultural responsiveness, and mutual learning.