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Strengthening Capacity In Hiv Operations Research: Reflections On A Project Soar Workshop In Johannesburg, South Africa, Project Soar
Strengthening Capacity In Hiv Operations Research: Reflections On A Project Soar Workshop In Johannesburg, South Africa, Project Soar
HIV and AIDS
Capacity strengthening (CS) to support rigorous scientific research is a globally recognized need and central to Project SOAR. Over a four-day period, SOAR conducted a CS workshop to strengthen individual and institutional capacity in HIV operations research, with a particular emphasis on the research utilization process. This brief summarizes the CS activities conducted, insights from the workshop’s organization, and participants’ views of the workshop.
Providers' Views On Prep For Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Tanzania: Findings From Implementation Science Research, Population Council
Providers' Views On Prep For Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Tanzania: Findings From Implementation Science Research, Population Council
HIV and AIDS
In collaboration with the Tanzania National AIDS Control Programme and CSK Research Solutions Ltd., the Population Council conducted an implementation science research study to identify key considerations among healthcare providers for oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) introduction to adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in an urban and a rural setting in Dar Es Salaam and Mbeya districts, respectively. This brief presents results from a survey and in-depth interviews conducted with healthcare providers in each setting, assessing their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about PrEP; willingness to prescribe PrEP to AGYW; and perceived barriers and facilitators to providing PrEP to AGYW. The …
From Problem-Solving To Research Utilization: How Operations Research And Program Evaluation Can Make Programs Better, Karen Foreit
From Problem-Solving To Research Utilization: How Operations Research And Program Evaluation Can Make Programs Better, Karen Foreit
HIV and AIDS
HIV treatment, care, and support, and PMTCT programs are most effective when based on the best available research evidence. This is the fundamental premise of evidence-based medicine. Equally well known is the dilemma of transforming evidence into practice, which is the subject of knowledge translation and implementation science. Even when the findings of clinical trials make their way into international and national program guidelines, they run up against competing priorities within public health and community programs, resource constraints, and institutional and human inertia. Understanding how to effectively change the approach used in program operations requires understanding how programs work in …
Hivcore Operations Research Workshop Summary Report, Nrupa Jani
Hivcore Operations Research Workshop Summary Report, Nrupa Jani
HIV and AIDS
Over the past decade, unprecedented progress has been made in the scale-up of HIV treatment, care, and support, yet substantial coverage gaps remain. Targeted operations research and program evaluation can play a significant role in ensuring efficient and effective service delivery, scaling up to reach more clients and on a broader geographical scope, enhancing quality of care, and improving the health status and health systems in developing country settings. With funding from USAID, the Population Council and partners are responding to these critical service delivery issues through HIVCore. HIVCore improves the efficiency, effectiveness, scale, and quality of HIV and AIDS …
Positive Action For Hiv In Schools In Kenya, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Monica Wanjiru, Sheila Bayley, John Kiunjuri, Mary Omondi, Rob Burnet, Bridget Deacon
Positive Action For Hiv In Schools In Kenya, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Monica Wanjiru, Sheila Bayley, John Kiunjuri, Mary Omondi, Rob Burnet, Bridget Deacon
Reproductive Health
The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of using comic books, role models, and edutainment to communicate HIV and AIDS messages to in-school young people in Kenya, with a view to improving their knowledge about the epidemic, enhancing communication about it, and promoting positive attitudes and behavior among them. The study was implemented by the Population Council in eight secondary schools in Nairobi, as part of the APHIA II Operations Research Project in collaboration with the AIDS Control Unit in the Ministry of Education, Well Told Story, and the National AIDS/STI Control Programme. The study found that …
Community Health Workers Can Effectively Provide Information And Referrals To People Living With Hiv In Their Communities, Population Council
Community Health Workers Can Effectively Provide Information And Referrals To People Living With Hiv In Their Communities, Population Council
Reproductive Health
A number of studies reported high levels of sexually transmitted infections among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Unfortunately, prevention interventions targeting PLHIV in the community are not common in Kenya, and most PLHIV who are not on ART have limited access to prevention information and risk-reduction counseling. The Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project conducted a research project to address these gaps. This study was conducted in 2010 in collaboration with the International Center for Reproductive Health and the National AIDS and STI Control Programme. The findings show that the intervention had a number of positive outcomes and concludes …
Ten Years Of The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project: What Has Happened?, Humphres Evelia, Monica Wanjiru, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi
Ten Years Of The Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Project: What Has Happened?, Humphres Evelia, Monica Wanjiru, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi
Reproductive Health
This evaluation by the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project sought to find out whether the adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) and HIV/AIDS activities in Kenya had been sustained over a 10-year period when the project was replicated and scaled up to cover seven provinces in the country. The evaluation had three main objectives: 1) to determine the extent to which activities of the Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Program (KARHP) have continued at national, provincial, and district levels; 2) to determine whether desired sexual and reproductive health outcomes (knowledge, behavior, and practices) have been sustained among in- and …
Using Youth-Friendly Communication Approaches To Communicate Hiv/Aids With Young People Is Feasible And Acceptable, Population Council
Using Youth-Friendly Communication Approaches To Communicate Hiv/Aids With Young People Is Feasible And Acceptable, Population Council
Reproductive Health
HIV remains a major concern in Kenya among all segments of the population, including adolescents. New ways of delivering HIV information and services are therefore needed, especially to reach young people and encourage them to take up counselling and testing to know their sero-status. The APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Well Told Story, and the National AIDS and STD Control Programme to implement a project to enhance communication in schools about HIV and create demand for early counseling and testing. The project also sought to create a supportive environment in schools for young people …
Strengthening The Delivery Of Comprehensive Reproductive Health Services At The Community Level In Kenya, Population Council
Strengthening The Delivery Of Comprehensive Reproductive Health Services At The Community Level In Kenya, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The Population Council APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to improve the quality of services offered by community-based midwives in two districts in Western Kenya, to prepare them to offer more comprehensive maternal services through antenatal, obstetric, postpartum, and newborn care. The study found that community midwives can tremendously increase clients’ access to essential maternal health services and other reproductive health services. Therefore Ministry of Health and its partners should scale up community midwives’ activities to enable more women access these services. Furthermore, information campaigns are needed to promote the range of …
Making Hiv Services More Responsive To Young Children And Infants In Nyanza, Monica Wanjiru
Making Hiv Services More Responsive To Young Children And Infants In Nyanza, Monica Wanjiru
Reproductive Health
Health workers in Kenya often miss opportunities to discuss pediatric HIV with clients and to track exposed children in order to initiate treatment. To address this problem, the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Christian Health Association of Kenya, Catholic Relief Services, and the Kendu Adventist Hospital to improve HIV testing and treatment services for children at the hospital. The project recommended that pediatric HIV services be strengthened and included as an essential service at all levels of healthcare facilities in order to reach more children, including as one of the roles of the community health …
Service Improvements And Community Education Lead To Increase In Uptake Of Hiv Services For Infants And Young Children, Population Council
Service Improvements And Community Education Lead To Increase In Uptake Of Hiv Services For Infants And Young Children, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project in Kenya collaborated with Kendu Adventist Hospital and the Christian Health Association to launch a study to examine the effect of improved services and awareness-creation on the uptake of HIV testing and treatment services for children and infants exposed to HIV. The study showed that community education and improvements in individual case tracking can increase the proportion of infants exposed to HIV who are tested for HIV and put on appropriate treatment. The policy brief recommends that health facilities streamline services to ensure that as many exposed infants as possible are identified …
Maximizing Utilization Of Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Maximizing Utilization Of Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
Operations research (OR) can only be judged successful if results are utilized for making decisions to strengthen RH/FP policies and service delivery. How can this best be achieved? How can both process and impact of OR be measured? Drawing from ten years of FRONTIERS in Reproductive Health OR experience, a number of key principles for promoting research utilization, illustrated with documented examples, are presented here. One important first step is clarifying terms used, almost interchangeably, in research utilization, as it incorporates a range of ways in which research can be used for making decisions to strengthen RH/FP policies and programs. …
Capacity Building: Creating A Culture Of Evidence-Based Decisionmaking, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Capacity Building: Creating A Culture Of Evidence-Based Decisionmaking, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
For research to have significant impact, it is important to have not only trained individuals and institutions capable of conducting research, but also program managers and donors who believe in making decisions based on evidence. The focus on fostering research utilization through capacity building has been a major contribution of the FRONTIERS legacy. The FRONTIERS capacity-building initiative began in 1999 in response to the need for developing-country partners and institutions to conduct research, understand study findings, and develop policies and programs based on evidence. This is one of eight Legacy Papers synthesizing major lessons learned in research conducted under the …
Operational Research For The Introduction Of An Adolescent Health Package In The Context Of Cervical Cancer Prevention, Marieke G. Van Dijk, Katherine Wilson, Claudia Diaz, Sandra G. Garcia
Operational Research For The Introduction Of An Adolescent Health Package In The Context Of Cervical Cancer Prevention, Marieke G. Van Dijk, Katherine Wilson, Claudia Diaz, Sandra G. Garcia
Reproductive Health
This report provides findings from a WHO/PAHO/UNFPA meeting that took place in Mexico City in 2009. Participants discussed a proposed operational research study on adolescent health and cervical cancer prevention that would help support countries that have already made or will soon make a policy decision to introduce the HPV vaccine. Adolescents typically have little contact with health services, particularly for immunization programs. Since new HPV vaccines target adolescent girls, the introduction of HPV vaccines may provide an opportunity for adolescents to engage more with health services and this may create openings to offer packages of adolescent health services that …
Special Needs Of In-School Hiv Positive Young People In Uganda, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Anne Katahoire, Hannington Nkayivu, Aggrey David Kibenge
Special Needs Of In-School Hiv Positive Young People In Uganda, Francis Obare, Harriet Birungi, Anne Katahoire, Hannington Nkayivu, Aggrey David Kibenge
Reproductive Health
Since 2006, the Population Council has pioneered operations research in collaboration with local partners in Uganda to promote the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people aged 10–19 years infected with HIV. Key findings show that many young people perinatally infected with HIV want to be in school to avoid social isolation, and about 70 percent of them attend school. However, there has been limited understanding of how the education sector should support this vulnerable group of learners. The objective of this study was to explore the special needs of HIV-positive young people in primary and secondary schools …
Financial Sustainability Of Reproductive Health Services—Understanding Costs: An Essential Skill In Reproductive Health Programs, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Financial Sustainability Of Reproductive Health Services—Understanding Costs: An Essential Skill In Reproductive Health Programs, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
Reproductive health (RH) services remain a low priority for most developing country health programs and face continuing reductions in donor funding and competition from other priorities, such as HIV and malaria. Thus, it is important to understand the costs of interventions and to compare them with existing or alternative service-delivery strategies. FRONTIERS studies provide important lessons about measuring costs and effectiveness of public and nongovernmental programs, planning for costing during scale-up, and improving understanding of issues influencing financial sustainability. This is one of eight Legacy Papers synthesizing major lessons learned in research conducted under the FRONTIERS in Reproductive Health Program. …
Technical Assistance To The Uganda Aids Commission For Operationallisation Of The Performance Monitoring And Management Plan, Frederick Makumbi, Roy Mayega, David Kisitu, Juliet Sekandi, Denis A. Bwesigye, Robert Miller, Sam Kalibala
Technical Assistance To The Uganda Aids Commission For Operationallisation Of The Performance Monitoring And Management Plan, Frederick Makumbi, Roy Mayega, David Kisitu, Juliet Sekandi, Denis A. Bwesigye, Robert Miller, Sam Kalibala
HIV and AIDS
The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) has committed to rolling out and making operational a new National Performance Monitoring and Management Plan (PMMP) to monitor and evaluate the national response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The PMMP has at its core the collection and processing of 58 national indicators, 47 district output indicators, and 22 outcome indicators covering prevention, care, treatment, and social support. The rollout is challenging because at least seven organizations must collaborate at the national level, and appropriate staff at the district level need to be in place and trained in new procedures of data collection. In addition, these …
Africa Regional Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Network Consultation: Technical Exchange And Planning Meeting, Population Council
Africa Regional Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Network Consultation: Technical Exchange And Planning Meeting, Population Council
Reproductive Health
In March 2008, the Population Council brought together members of the Africa Regional Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Network for a South-South technical exchange meeting. The objectives were to identify best practices from existing programs, provide an evidence base for new programming, and develop mechanisms for South-South technical assistance. As detailed in this report, discussions covered the medical, legal, and psychosocial issues associated with SGBV prevention and response activities. Participants identified the following: Protocols and guidance documents are essential for ensuring comprehensive, quality response at all levels. Enabling access and utilization of the full range of medical services remains …
Operations Research For Managers Of Reproductive Health Programs, James R. Foreit, M.E. Khan
Operations Research For Managers Of Reproductive Health Programs, James R. Foreit, M.E. Khan
Reproductive Health
The course presented in this publication defines operations research (OR) as the study of factors under the control of health program managers and other decision-makers. The purpose of OR is to improve programs and provide information for management decision-making. Successful OR is characterized by a close collaboration between program managers and researchers throughout the study. The course focuses on OR as a branch of the behavioral sciences and deals with formative research and field experiments. It concentrates on improving the research knowledge of managers who have had little or no training in research. The focus of this interactive course is …
Assessment: Frontiers Small Grants Program, Koli Banik
Assessment: Frontiers Small Grants Program, Koli Banik
Reproductive Health
This report reviews the Small Grants Program (SGP) implemented by FRONTIERS. It assesses the SGP’s areas of achievements and challenges, and explores the feasibility of using this approach to build capacity in operations research. The report provides ideas for implementing a successful SGP that can deliver high-quality, relevant, and timely information for program design. Although capacity building was not an objective in the FRONTIERS SGP, it did produce some increased capacity after two years. As was found with other small grants programs, the FRONTIERS experience suggests that considerable resources are required to produce good quality research and final products. Program …
Developing Regional Operations Research Training Capacity In South Asia, M.E. Khan, James R. Foreit, Sohini Roychowdhury, F. Ram, Chander Shekhar
Developing Regional Operations Research Training Capacity In South Asia, M.E. Khan, James R. Foreit, Sohini Roychowdhury, F. Ram, Chander Shekhar
Reproductive Health
This project’s overall objective was to create a self-sustaining regional operations research (OR) training and research center for South Asia at the International Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), in Mumbai, India. The goal was to institutionalize operations research (OR) in IIPS by building the teaching and research capabilities of the faculty and research team. Capacity building was accomplished through a training of trainers that included an OR workshop in Nepal, two four-day OR workshops for program managers, one ten-day OR workshop for researchers, and a four-day scientific-writing course for researchers and program managers to provide guidelines for preparing research articles …
Bolivia: Marketing And Economic Analyses Help Ngos Develop Strategies For Sustainability, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Bolivia: Marketing And Economic Analyses Help Ngos Develop Strategies For Sustainability, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) face reduced funding for reproductive health services and are seeking ways to assess and enhance their ability to generate income to cover their service costs. In 2004, following a workshop on financial sustainability presented by the Population Council’s FRONTIERS Program, three Bolivian NGOs—Prosalud; the Center for Research, Education, and Services (CIES); and the Association of Rural Health Programs (APSAR)—developed operations research studies to improve their financial sustainability. The Prosalud and CIES studies included a cost-recovery study, a study measuring clients’ willingness to pay for services, and a market segmentation study to compare the NGOs’ services with …
Cómo Identificar Y Satisfacer La Necesidad De Servicios Adicionales: Manual Para Gerentes, Ricardo Vernon, James R. Foreit, Emma Ottolenghi
Cómo Identificar Y Satisfacer La Necesidad De Servicios Adicionales: Manual Para Gerentes, Ricardo Vernon, James R. Foreit, Emma Ottolenghi
Reproductive Health
Este manual está diseñado para ayudar a los encargados de tomar decisiones, los administradores, los supervisores y los proveedores de programas a introducir la detección sistemática en sus servicios de salud. La detección sistemática puede mejorar la salud de la mujer al abordar múltiples necesidades no satisfechas de servicios de salud reproductiva y otros. Este manual proporciona: actividades necesarias para implementar una detección sistemática; cómo seleccionar las instalaciones, los servicios que se examinarán y quién lo hará; desarrollo, adaptación y pruebas preliminares de listas de verificación de detección sistemática; asesoramiento para capacitar a los evaluadores/proveedores y supervisores; y un esquema …
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 2: The Interventions, Abdul Wajid, Zakir Hussain Shah, Ashfa Hashmi, Zeba Tasneem, Lubna Shireen
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 2: The Interventions, Abdul Wajid, Zakir Hussain Shah, Ashfa Hashmi, Zeba Tasneem, Lubna Shireen
Reproductive Health
The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project, an operations research project designed to develop and test interventions to reduce maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity in predominantly rural districts of Pakistan, was a three-year project (2003 to 2006) funded by the European Union. The study area was in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan; the control area was in the district of Layyah. The project focused on three areas to accomplish its goals: empowering women to seek appropriate and timely general, maternal, and newborn care; supporting methods that encourage men to play a positive and active role …
Make Better Use Of Provider Time In Public Health Clinics, Barbara Janowitz
Make Better Use Of Provider Time In Public Health Clinics, Barbara Janowitz
Reproductive Health
Funding for reproductive health services is stagnant or declining globally, yet population projections, particularly in Africa, indicate that demand for services will increase in the near term. Between 2002 and 2025, for example, the population of women of childbearing age (15–49) is expected to increase by 2 percent annually in sub-Saharan Africa. With this growth will come increased demand for contraception, and other reproductive health services such as antenatal care, safe birthing services, and postpartum care for mothers and children. Concern about increasing demand for services has led program managers to examine the productivity and costs of existing programs. While …
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 1: Project Overview, Gul Rashida, Peter C. Miller
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 1: Project Overview, Gul Rashida, Peter C. Miller
Reproductive Health
Maternal mortality in Pakistan is believed to be quite high, at about 350–500 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Reducing maternal mortality is one of the major objectives of the Government of Pakistan. Interventions required to address maternal mortality include safe motherhood, which means a woman’s ability to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and delivery. The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project was an operations research project designed to develop and test interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in a predominantly rural district of Pakistan. The vast majority of maternal deaths are attributed to delays in …
Building Capacity To Utilize Operations Research: Strategies And Lessons Learned, James R. Foreit
Building Capacity To Utilize Operations Research: Strategies And Lessons Learned, James R. Foreit
Reproductive Health
The effectiveness of development assistance depends on good decision-making. Many donors and international health agencies such as USAID, DFID, and WHO are placing more emphasis on the utilization of research results for policy and program development. Yet, while there is a long tradition of training researchers to produce research, there are few lessons on how to teach managers to request and use research results for making program decisions. Addressing this gap has been a major strategy of the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program (FRONTIERS). Since its inception in 1998, FRONTIERS has complemented its support for operations research (OR) …
Systematic Screening: A Strategy For Determining And Meeting Clients' Reproductive Health Needs, James R. Foreit
Systematic Screening: A Strategy For Determining And Meeting Clients' Reproductive Health Needs, James R. Foreit
Reproductive Health
Systematic screening is a strategy to integrate reproductive health services at the provider level. Integration is the proactive provision of multiple reproductive health services in the same facility at the same time. Systematic screening is a simple intervention to increase the number of services received at a single client visit. In this strategy, providers use a checklist or questionnaire to identify each client’s needs and desires for reproductive health services. They then provide these services during the same visit, through an appointment at the same clinic, or through referral to another facility. The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program …
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 3: Changes In Knowledge And Behavior Of Women And Families, Muhammad Shafique Arif, Peter C. Miller, Nayyer Munir, Irfan Masood
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 3: Changes In Knowledge And Behavior Of Women And Families, Muhammad Shafique Arif, Peter C. Miller, Nayyer Munir, Irfan Masood
Reproductive Health
The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project was conceived as an operations research project designed to test the effectiveness of two different strategies for improving maternal and neonatal health in Pakistan. To evaluate the results of this test, several types of evaluative research were conducted, including qualitative studies of various types, health systems assessments, evaluations of specific components, and household surveys. The household surveys are the subject of this report, which is Report 3 (Changes in knowledge and behavior of women and families) in a series of six. The surveys are two types: a large-scale, before-after household survey …
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 4: Knowledge And Behaviour Of Service Providers, Zakir Hussain Shah, Saima Pervaiz
Safe Motherhood Applied Research And Training (Smart) Report 4: Knowledge And Behaviour Of Service Providers, Zakir Hussain Shah, Saima Pervaiz
Reproductive Health
The Safe Motherhood Applied Research and Training (SMART) project was an operations research project designed to develop and test interventions to reduce maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality and morbidity in predominantly rural districts of Pakistan. The study area was in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan; the control area was in the district of Layyah. The project focused on three areas: empowering women to seek appropriate and timely general, maternal, and newborn care; supporting methods that encourage men to play a positive and active role in decision-making and seeking care for their families in matters relating to maternal and newborn …