Health – Integra LLC

Asia, Asia, Health, Health, Open Project Positions

Senior MEL Specialist – USAID Indonesia

Position: Senior MEL Specialist

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Integra and partners are pursuing the anticipated five-year USAID/Indonesia PRO – Monitoring, Evaluation, Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting – MECLA Platform (RFP No. TBD). This contract will support the implementation of the U.S. Government’s and USAID’s current priorities such as the Indo-Pacific Vision as well as future priorities that may arise during the life of the activity. This support encompasses activities related to the design, M&E, CLA, KM, and dissemination of results and learning throughout the program cycle.

The project will provide monitoring support services; designing and implementing performance, developmental, and impact evaluations and other studies, research, data analyses, and assessments; developing collaborating, learning and adapting initiatives; and providing short-, medium- and long-term consulting and advisory services and logistical support services to strengthen the implementation of USAID/Indonesia’s CDCS and enhance USAID’s organizational effectiveness.

The activities will be underpinned by cross-cutting support for localization, inclusive development, and partnerships with local stakeholders including the Government of Indonesia, private sector, civil society, and other development partners. USAID Indonesia programming focuses on issues such as democratic resilience and governance, economic growth, education, health, environment, and local institutional strengthening (see https://www.usaid.gov/indonesia/our-work for details).

Position Description: Integra is seeking a Senior MEL Specialist for the anticipated USAID/Indonesia MECLA activity. This will be a full-time position, pending award. The MEL Specialist will require experience in ensuring the MEL principles and priorities are coordinated and consistently applied in compliance with USAID and Integra principles, policies, and procedures.

Primary Responsibilities:

Support the design and implementation of MEL activities across Indonesia, through data collection, monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities.
Responsible for monitoring and tracking of performance indicators to ensure project activities/interventions are impactful and sustainable.
Responsible for data collection, cleaning, compilation, and reporting, in line with USAID protocols, standards, and policies.
Lead the development of MEL Plan, MEL Guide and Toolkit, and Work Plan. Develop Results Chains and Frameworks. Develop data collection instruments (tools and templates), trainings, etc.
Lead or contribute to MEL Communities of Practice and working groups.
Lead or contribute to MEL capacity strengthening efforts for USAID, local organizations and implementing partners.
Support project reports development. Reporting and coordinating MEL information for contract reports and deliverables.
Coordinate with Integra staff, Chief of Party and CLA teams to enable successful delivery of Mission task orders.
Analyze and use project data to assess and improve project quality and performance.
Contribute to collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) activities, events, and exercises.
Contribute to data reporting and visualization for success stories, case studies, social media materials, etc.
Manage multi-disciplinary and dynamic teams.

Qualifications:

Advanced degree in economics, public policy, public administration, international relations, economics, business administration, law or a related discipline.
Background in project cycle approach to planning and designing data collection strategies.
10 years of experience in data-collection and analysis, management systems, data interpretation, and integrating outputs into decision-making processes.
Experience using project/program performance tracking indicators and developing theories of change.
Experience identifying and setting and tracking monitoring indicators, data collection techniques and data analysis.
Experience developing Results Frameworks and MEL Plans (i.e., AMELPs).
Strong analytic and critical thinking skills in evaluation and visualization.
Experience planning and designing MEL management systems.
Familiar with USAID MEL work plans and data flow diagrams for M&E data collection, reporting, learning meetings, and data quality assessments.
Can adapt and update log frames, indicator plans, and indicator tracking tables based on the activity situation.
Familiar with quantitative and qualitative tools in adaptive management.
Desire and ability to improve MEL initiatives by identifying best practices, field-tested lessons learned, and creative recommendations.
Demonstrate excellent skills in technical writing experience in relevant areas, including queries, reports, and presentations.
Proficiency with Microsoft, Adobe, R, Stata, SPSS, Power Bi, Nvivo preferred.
Exceptional proficiency in written and spoken English, with fluency in Bahasa Indonesia a plus. Indonesian nationals strongly encouraged to apply.
Strong familiarity with USAID MEL policies and procedures required.
Strong management, communication, writing and interpersonal skills, including a proven ability in quality assurance for technical, reporting and other deliverables.

How to Apply: To respond to this position, please send your resume to jobs@integrallc.com with the title of the position in the subject line of your email.

Closing Date: October 31, 2024

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

September 13, 2024/by jschur

Asia, Asia, Health, Health, Open Project Positions

Senior CLA Specialist – USAID Indonesia

Position: Senior CLA Specialist

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Integra and partners are pursuing the anticipated five-year USAID/Indonesia PRO – Monitoring, Evaluation, Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting – MECLA Platform (RFP No. TBD). The project will provide monitoring support services; designing and implementing performance, developmental, and impact evaluations, as well as other studies, research, data analyses, and assessments; developing collaborating, learning and adapting (CLA) initiatives; and providing short-, medium- and long-term consulting and advisory services and logistical support services to strengthen the implementation of USAID/Indonesia’s CDCS and enhance USAID’s organizational effectiveness.

Position Description: Integra is seeking a Senior CLA Specialist to manage the learning, adaptive management, and communication activities under this contract. This position is expected to be based in Jakarta, Indonesia and is contingent upon award.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Facilitate strong CLA management practices in USAID/Indonesia business processes and throughout the program cycle.
Foster strong, collaborative relationships with key Mission stakeholders; drive dialogue and learning around emerging issues; identify and respond to key learning issues.
Coordinate CLA efforts amongst implementing partners (IPs) working on common Development Objectives (DOs).
Develop and implement a learning plan for the Mission and IPs outlining key learning questions, learning objectives, stakeholder roles and engagement.
Support strategic communications, including producing publications and organizing public events with partners and other stakeholders.
Advise USAID and buy-in clients on research and measurement activities that establish the evidence base for quantifying impact and enabling learning.
Conduct business process re-engineering, including assisting in negotiating change management around monitoring, evaluation, and learning related issues.
Support Mission staff in aligning policies, practices, and processes with lessons learned. Provide recommendations to respond to lessons learned.
Facilitate the development of learning agendas and share best practices.
Design, execute, facilitate workshops, events, conferences, pause-and-reflects, and other CLA activities.
Produce reflections on the implications of new learning and develop plans for adapting programs.
Establish and maintain a network of key stakeholders.
Ensure monitoring and evaluation information is shared and fully utilized through knowledge sharing and strategic learning processes.
Work with the Mission CLA Community of Practice to promote CLA Activities for strategic collaboration to identify possible program and context gaps at the strategy level and offer periodic opportunities to reflect on progress.

Qualifications:

Master’s degree in development or a related development field, such as economics, evaluation sciences, political science, public administration, business administration, or other discipline related to development assistance required.
A minimum of eight years of progressive professional experience in communications, change management, adult learning, knowledge management, and monitoring and evaluation.
Experience designing and facilitating tailored learning activities.
Experience in developing and implementing capacity strengthening approaches that leverage multiple learning approaches and media.
Experience in organizational development and human-centered design preferred.
In-depth knowledge of development theory, systems thinking, and organizational change management.
Experience leveraging digital technologies and information systems to adaptively manage programs and drive results.
The ability to work well under pressure and skilled in change management, crisis management, and problem solving.
Demonstrated knowledge of USAID Evaluation Policy; the Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Framework; and other initiatives.
Previous experience working on USAID-funded projects preferred.
General professional proficiency in English and Bahasa Indonesia (preferred).

How to Apply: To respond to this position, please send your resume to jobs@integrallc.com with the title of the position in the subject line of your email.

Closing Date: October 31, 2024

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

September 13, 2024/by jschur

Asia, Asia, Health, Health, Open Project Positions

Chief of Party (COP) – USAID Indonesia

Position: Chief of Party (COP)

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Position Description: Integra is seeking a Chief of Party (COP) to lead and manage the anticipated USAID/Indonesia MECLA activity. This will be a full-time, key personnel position, pending award. The COP will require experience in leading a team of experts in both management and technical areas, with a proven track record of programmatic accomplishment in MEL, professional achievement, management competence, and interpersonal skills. The selected individual will also have work experience in Asia.

This position is expected to be based in Jakarta, Indonesia, contingent upon award, and will be responsible for providing oversight on all activities to be conducted in Indonesia.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Lead Integra’s team and serve as the primary point of contact with USAID regarding day-to-day activity implementation and management matters.
Lead technical operations to ensure that project tasks are completed, and the objectives of the MECLA platform are successfully met.
Develop systems that mitigate against performance and contractual risks and manage issues in collaboration with Integra staff.
Prepare and submit reports and deliverables as included in Integra’s contract.
Lead internal and external planning and reporting meetings with Integra and USAID. Coordinate with USAID and liaise with key counterparts.
Assure that all assistance provided under the contract, whether by international or local experts/personnel, is technically sound and appropriate for the needs to be addressed.
Plan, manage and supervise the work of all experts/personnel provided under the contract, providing mentorship and guidance.
Contribute technical leadership on MEL and CLA activities.
Ensure all activities of the project are compliant with USAID requirements and regulations, including the Automated Directives System (ADS) Chapter 201 – Program Cycle Operational Policy, ADS Chapter 508 Privacy Program, ADS Chapter 579 USAID Development Data, the USAID Evaluation Policy,
Oversee partners, team members, short-term consultants and subcontractors, ensuring effective consortium communication and collaboration, in coordination with team’s finance and operations, administration, and human resources staff.
Work with Integra staff to ensure project activities are implemented on schedule and within budget.
Ensure quality control and client responsiveness fit the requirements of USAID.

Qualifications:

Advanced degree in economics, public policy, public administration, international relations, economics, business administration, law or a related discipline.
Minimum 10 years of experience in aiding USAID in evaluations and assessments, of similar size and scope in developing countries and comparable experience with learning and adaptive management.
A track record for successful implementation of development programs in Asia required.
Familiarity or experience working with local or regional MEL organizations preferred.
Experience providing technical and administrative oversight of partners and subcontractors in a multicultural setting.
Strong knowledge of USAID’s CLA framework and Program Cycle.
Strong familiarity with USAID policies and procedures required.
Strong management, communication, writing and interpersonal skills, including a proven ability in quality assurance for technical, reporting and other deliverables.
Exceptional proficiency in written and spoken English, with fluency in Bahasa Indonesia a plus. Indonesian nationals strongly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply: To respond to this position, please send your resume to jobs@integrallc.com with the title of the position in the subject line of your email.

Closing Date: October 31, 2024

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

September 13, 2024/by jschur

Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

National Framework for mHealth: Ethiopia

Ethiopia is at a pivotal moment in its efforts to improve the health status of its people and move the country into a new phase of social and economic development. The country’s massive Health Extension Program (HEP) program has placed over 34,000 community health workers in 14,000 health posts in less than 8 years. Now, health authorities are exploring ways to improve the program with mobile solutions.

Sponsored by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Vital Wave Consulting authored the “mHealth in Ethiopia: Strategies for a new Framework” report for the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. The report offers a framework for addressing specific information, communication and inventory management issues with mHealth interventions.

Download the report by clicking the link below – and let us know what you think in the comments!

Initiative:

Evidence Commons

Maternal Newborn mHealth

April 10, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Family Planning, Health, Health, Maternal & Child Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Women in Development

mHealth for Women: A Diverse Set of Applications

Photo Credit: Anupam Nath / AP

In an ode to International Women’s Day, we wanted to review a few of the mobile health projects and programs directly focused on women’s health issues. mHealth has a great variance in the type of applications used to promote and assist in women’s health. This ranges from sending health information about pregnancy via basic text messaging to more advanced tools that allow community health workers to collect data, diagnosis diseases, and refer patients. As the need and ability to extend health information to women in developing countries increases, here is a diverse set of examples that have been used or are in current use.

MOTECH

Launched in Ghana, the Grameen Foundation’s Mobile Technology for Community Health (MoTECH) initiative has a duel focus – providing health information to pregnant women and arming community health workers with applications to track the services provide to women and children. This project was funded by the Gates Foundation and has worked in partnership with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the Ghana Health Service. The “Mobile Midwife” application provides pregnant women with time-specific information about their pregnancy via text or voice messages. This includes reminders about seeking care, advice on how to deal with specific challenges during pregnancy, and knowledge about best practices and child development. The Nurses’ Application allows community health workers to register and track the care provided to patients in the region. By recording patient data in the MOTECH Java application and sending it to the MOTECH database, the system captures the data and can send automatic reminders to nurses for when and what type of follow up care to provide. For more information about the MOTECH as well as the lessons learned, read the report from March 2011, “Mobile Technology for Community Health in Ghana: What It Is and What Grameen Foundation Has Learned So Far.”

MAMA

Launch in May 2011, MAMA (Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action) is a public-private partnership focused leveraging mobile connectivity to improve information and access to health care for pregnant and new mothers in developing countries. USAID and Johnson & Johnson are the founding partners, and the United Nations Foundation, the mHealth Alliance, and BabyCenter are supporting partners. This initial 3-year, $10 million investment from USAID and J&J is being used to build and expand global capacity of new and current mHelath programs in three countries – Bangladesh, South Africa, and India. The beauty of the MAMA Partnership is the focus on country ownership through these partners. And each country has a separate focus based on the specific needs and problems of the maternal health. In Bangladesh, the focus is to decrease maternal morbidity and mortality through stage-based health messages via mobile phones to low-income and at-risk mothers. The public-private partnership network in Bangladesh has already been established. Lead by D.Net, it includes technology developers (InSTEDD, SSD-Tech), corporate sponsors (BEXIMCO), outreach NGOs (Save the Children, BRAC), mobile operators (Airtel, Grameenphone, Banglalink), content providers (MCC Ltd), media (Unitrend Limited, Brand Forum), researchers (ICDDR, B), and government agencies (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare). In India, MAMA is completing a landscape analysis to understand the complex cultural environment and see in what areas mobile phones can be utilized to improve maternal health throughout the country. Finally, in South Africa, MAMA has partnered with the Praekelt Foundation (lead partner), Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, and Cell-life to provide messages to pregnant and new mothers about receiving earlier antenatal care, prevention mother-to-child HIV transmission, and exclusively breastfeeding.

CycleTel

Developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University, CycleTel is an innovative solution, combining a previously used family planning technique with mobile phones. In 2001, IRH created the Standard Days Method (SDM) as a low-cost alternative to family planning based on a women’s menstrual cycle. By avoiding intercourse on a woman’s most fertile days during her menstrual cycle, days 8 to 19, there is only a 5% chance of becoming pregnant. Having developed the system, IRH saw a natural fit with mobile phones. In the original set up, women would use Cyclebeads (multiple colored beads used to represent specific days of a menstrual cycle) to keep track of when they are more likely to become pregnant. Using the same idea, the CycleTel replaced the beads with a mobile phone. Each month on the first day of menses, a women text messages the system. Utilizing FrontlineSMS, it then responds by sending a message showing which days she could get pregnant. In 2009, IRH conducted a research study in the region of Uttar Pradesh, India. The pilot showed the need to tweak the system to fit the region context including the local languages and women’s past experience using mobile phones. But it also showed the willingness of women and men to pay for the service in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies. This program is being operated under to the Fertility Awareness-Based Methods (FAM) Project which is funded by USAID.

Dunia Wanita

Dunia Wanita, which means World of Women, was launched in February 2010 by Telkomsel, a MNO in Indonesia. It is a part of the MNO’s value-added services applications and is specifically for women to receive information on a number of different topics, including health. The subscription costs $0.12 per day. By dialing *468#, women have access to a “one stop info service.” By selecting “Cantik Sehat” (Health and Beautiful), women can receive health information and advice from famous Indonesian doctors. The voice messages include information about sexual health, pregnancy, and healthy living.

These are just a few examples of mobile health applications that are available to women in the developing world. The applications vary in information provided, media used, and business models utilized. This is a great illustration of how diverse mobile health can be in order to reach a targeted group within a country, based on infrastructure, location, health knowledge, and mobile usage/connectivity.

March 8, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Family Planning, Health, Health, Maternal & Child Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Women in Development

50 Ideas and Solutions that Deliver for Girls and Women

As you may have heard Women Deliver is celebrating the progress made on behalf of girls and women worldwide. Building on its 2011 competition, which featured inspiring people who have delivered for girls and women, this year they have chosen to spotlight top ideas and solutions in the following five categories:

•   Technologies and Innovations
•   Educational Initiatives
•   Health Modernization
•   Advocacy and Awareness Campaigns
•   Leadership and Empowerment Programs

Out of hundreds of submissions, a selection committee has chosen 25 per category. The top 125 have been posted here, where viewers can choose and vote on ten favorites per category. Several of the chosen innovations and solutions incorporate the use of mobile technologies for health, showing the increasing inclusion of this type of innovation for the advancement of women’s health. Finalists include the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) by M-PESA, and many, many others.

In addition, the mHealth Alliance’s Catalytic Grant Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) and mHealth has been chosen as one of the top 25 ideas and solutions in the health intervention category. The Innovation Working Group, part of the Every Woman Every Child initiative, Norad, and the mHealth Alliance have partnered in the creation of a competitive and catalytic grant mechanism with a special focus on growing programs with sustainable financing models and early indications of impact. The projects supported through this grant mechanism harness the reach and popularity of mobile phones to help women, their families, and their health care providers in low-income settings combat inequitable access to quality health services. Funding is awarded through annual competitions managed by the mHealth Alliance and allows winners to take mHealth pilot programs to scale. You can find out information on this year’s grantees here.

Please show your support for mobile innovations and vote. The top 50 winners will be announced on March 8th, International Women’s Day. Vote now!

Initiative:

Maternal Newborn mHealth

February 27, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Health, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Mobile Africa Report 2011: Regional Hubs of Excellence and Innovation

This report draws on primary research (including questionnaires sent to key mobile stakeholders in Africa) as well as secondary research (reports and articles from AfricaNext, BizCommunity, Dataxis Intelligence, International Telecommunications Union, Africa Analysis, Voice of America, TMCNet, BizCommunity, Computerworld Zambia – see full list at end of report).

In 2008, imports of data enabled phones exceeded that of non-data enabled phones in many African markets. In 2009, the undersea cables hit East and Southern Africa in a big way. In 2010, mobile operators became serious about data availability and cost packaging for everyday Africans. 2011 is expected to bring a new type of data-enabled mobile user in Africa, and brings the mobile web to center stage.

McKinsey estimates Africa’s gross domestic product at about US $2.6 trillion, with US $1.4 in consumer spending. Africa’s population growth and urbanization rates are among the highest in the world.

Yunkap Kwankam and Ntomambang Ningo, authors of the paper titled “Information Technology in Africa: A Proactive Approach,” maintain that African countries can bypass several stages in the use of ICTs.

On the technology front, Africans can accelerate development by skipping less efficient technologies and moving directly to more advanced ones. The telecommunications sector continues to attract a flurry of public and private investment.

Alex Twinomugisha in Nairobi, manager at Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative, says telecom investment in sub-Saharan Africa is coming not only from foreign sources but also local banks. But the investment should be in software and services as well, not just cabling infrastructure.

To learn more about the state of mobile in Africa, download the entire report here.

February 16, 2012/by actualize

Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Made in Cameroon: Touch Screen for mHealth

Arthur Zang - Photo Credit: http://www.rnw.nl/africa

A 24 year-old Cameroonian has invented a touch screen medical tablet that enables heart examinations such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) to be performed at remote, rural locations while the results of the test are transferred remotely to specialists for interpretation.

The touch screen tablet – Cardiopad was invented by Arthur Zang, a young computer engineer born and trained in Cameroon at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique (ENSP) in Yaounde.

According to Zang, the Cardiopad is “the first fully touch screen medical tablet made in Cameroon and in Africa.” He believes it is an invention that could save numerous human lives, and says the reliability of the pad device is as high as 97.5%. Zang says he invented the device in order to facilitate the treatment of patients with heart disease across Cameroon and the rest of Africa. So far, several medical tests have been carried out with the Cardiopad which have been validated by the Cameroonian scientific community.

“The tablet is used as a classical electrocardiograph device: electrodes are placed on the patient and connected to a module that, in turn, connects to the tablet. When a medical examination is performed on a patient in a remote village, for example, the results are transmitted from the nurse’s tablet to that of the doctor who then interprets them, says Radio Netherlands.”

While doing his academic internship at the General Hospital of Yaounde, in 2010, Arthur Zang became aware of the difficulties faced by Cameroonians in accessing care related to the heart. The Central African country has an approximately 40 cardiologists for about 20 million population with almost all these cardiologists located in the two large cities of Yaounde and Douala.

Access to cardiologist by patients especially those living in remote cities is therefore a huge challenge. This severe deficit of medical personnel means that patients with heart ailments usually have to travel long distances to undergo heart examinations and consult with doctors. Even at that, it is still not easy. On some occasions, patients must make appointments months in advance, and some even die in the process of waiting for their appointment.

Photo Credit: Cardiopad

This is how the technology works. Both the cardiologist (in the city) and the nurse (in the remote community) need to have the Cardiopad. A patient in the remote community is connected to electrodes placed on his heart. These electrodes are connected to a module called Cardiopad Acquisition Mobile (CAM) via a Bluetooth interface, which transmits the heart signal to the Cardiopad after the signal has been digitized. The nurse can then read the heart beats, heart rate, and the intervals between each beat displayed on the Cardiopad, etc. All these data are then stored in a file and sent to the cardiologist’s Cardiopad via a mobile telecommunication network.

The Cardiopad is already generating a lot of interest in African tech and medical circles. Zang believes his invention will cut down the cost of heart examinations and he is currently looking for venture capital to commercially produce the device. Visit here for detailed information on the Cardiopad and its inventor.

February 14, 2012/by actualize

Health, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Utilizing Mobile Money in Healthcare

Photo Credit: OpenIDEO

According to article released this week by Uganda Online, hospitals in Uganda are now accepting mobile money to pay for health expenses. While there are eight mobile providers in Uganda, four are providing mobile money services to their customers – MTN’s MobileMoney, Airtel’s ZAP, UTL’s M-Sente and Warid Pesa – with Orange Uganda planning on releasing their version of the service soon. In the article, a picture clearly shows that the hospital (Case Clinic) allows for mobile payments from MTN and Airtel. Other companies in Uganda are allowing for mobile payments – DStv (satellite TV provider), NWSC (water and sewerage) and Umeme (energy provider).

Utilizing mobile money in the health sector is nothing new. M-PESA in Tanzania has been used by the CCBRT Hospital to pay for patients’ bus ticket from rural areas to the hospital’s location in Dar es Salaam (the capital city). In Kenya, Changamka allows individuals to save and pay for health services by combining a medial smart card with M-PESA. In the Philippines, Smart Communications has partner with PhilHealth, a national insurance provider, to allow customers to pay their premiums via mobile money. This list continues as money mobile is being further employed in the health sector which includes insurance, vouchers program, and conditional cash transfers. The ability to save and pay via mobile money for health issues creates insurance for individuals and families that do not have access to typical insurance products. Mobile money has also been leveraged to pay nurses and community health workers serving in rural areas which helps with worker retention and decreases tardiness.

In the mHealth sector, this is a clear sign that innovative solutions can be shaped around current mobile products and services. Once mobile money has been established in countries, this opens doors for new businesses to be developed around the mobile money platform. The examples above show the need and desire for products that create the ability to both save and pay for health service. While the Ugandan example is not a revolutionary app (or killer app), it provides a necessary product so individuals and families can receive curial medical services. In this case, the ‘killerness’ of the service to using mobile money in the health care system is that it fits both the needs and infrastructure of Uganda, include accepting payments from multiple mobile providers.

January 27, 2012/by actualize

Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Mobile Technology Improves Health Worker Knowledge Retention: Results from a Pilot Project in Uganda

Photo Credit: Abt Associates

SMS-based messages can improve training retention for health workers, according to the results of a mobile learning and performance support pilot in Uganda released in November. The goal of USAID’s pilot project, called Mobiles for Quality Improvement (m4QI), was to test the use of mHealth applications in the reinforcement of in-person training provided to health workers.

The outcome from the pilot showed that texts messages are a viable alternative for the continued education of health workers located in rural regions. This is a low-cost option that allows workers to learn in the field and does not interrupt their service to clients. By utilizing an open source product (FrontlineSMS:Learn), the platform can be used for free and is customizable specifically to needs and challenges in new regions. As a part of USAID’s SHOPS (Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector), the next steps of m4QI project are to seek out other markets to leverage the mobile learning platform in order to further develop the software as well increase scale. The goals of future projects include improving implementation and identifying best practices.

In using the FrontlineSMS: Learn software platform, Appfrica, a software developer company based in Uganda, created a replicable program that sent messages to health workers to support and test their knowledge retention. The platform allowed for the use of basic mobile phones in order to match the phones commonly owned by the health workers. It provided supervisors data to assess which areas of knowledge were not being properly retained by workers. The project ran from September 2010 through August 2011. The intervention was provided to 34 family planning workers on the Marie Stopes Uganda (MSU) staff in six different service delivery sites. The workers’ jobs ranged from receptionists, lab technicians, service providers, doctors, drivers, housekeepers, and managers. By reviewing the behavior of the staff, four indicators were identified as areas of improvement: hand-washing, sharps disposal, instrument decontamination, and pain management techniques. Four messages were created for each indicator in which two were reinforcing, tips, reminders, or encouragement and the other two were review questions in order to test staff knowledge of past training. In order for each of the four messages to be sent twice to the participants, each worker received one message a day, four days a week, for eight weeks.

While it was initially an eight week pilot, it was expanded until August as there were multiple technical problems which caused the delivery of messages to fail. In total, 3,449 messages were sent, and there was an 86.5% success rate of receipt. In response to the assessment questions, there was a 19% response rate. Participants indicated after the pilot that they were motivated by the reminders for hand-washing rules, utilized their training manuals when they received a question about treatment protocols, were able to re-learn steps to properly sterilize instruments, and applied the information they received about pain management during patient interaction. The interviews also revealed that the messages increased the interaction between co-workers about the topics of the messages.

The pilot also provided lessons for future projects. Those include the need for technical support in the field, a greater understanding by project stakeholders to the purpose and role of the mobile application, a more organized orientation and training for participants, and pre-paid airtime for participants to increase involvement.

The SHOPS project is funded by USAID and is led by Abt Associates and includes partnerships with Banyan Global, Jhpiego, Marie Stopes International, Monitor Group, and O’Hanlon Health Consulting. The focus of the project is to use private sector health in order to improve the quality and availability of family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and HIV/AIDS treatment. Within the mobile health arena, the partnership’s goal is to identify mHealth applications and their best practices in implementation and scale.

January 18, 2012/by actualize

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