SHOPS Plus: Engaging Kenya’s
Private Health Sector in DHIS2
Background: The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is USAID’s global flagship initiative in private sector health.
Background: The Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project is USAID’s global flagship initiative in private sector health.
The overall purpose of the
project is to improve health outcomes and increase the use of priority health
services through the strategic engagement of the private sector in health
systems.
SHOPS Plus currently is
seeking a consultant
to assist with an effort to pilot the use of DHIS2 as a platform to both
(1) increase private sector
data sharing with government health management information systems (HMIS),
and
(2) improve management and
use of routine data by private sector facilities.
The pilot will focus on
family planning services delivered through private drug shops and pharmacies in
Kenya.
SHOPS Plus will explore
opportunities to use existing IT solutions that are compatible with DHIS2 to
simplify and reduce burdensome reporting processes.
Such platforms provide an
opportunity to provide rapid feedback that can help strengthen providers’
business practices (e.g., data on usage rates and method mix), thereby
demonstrating the value of the system and increasing participating providers’
support for the system.
Analysis of DHS data shows that the private sector is an important source of family planning users around the world, especially for youth populations. ,
Analysis of DHS data shows that the private sector is an important source of family planning users around the world, especially for youth populations. ,
1. Ugaz,
JI, M Chatterjee, JN Gribble, S Mitchell. 2015. Regional trends in the use of
short-acting and long-acting contraception accessed through the private and
public sectors. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
2. SHOPS
Project. 2015. Reaching Youth with Modern Contraception. Bethesda, MD:
Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector, Abt Associates.
With its flexibility and
simplicity, DHIS2 presents an opportunity to implement an easy-to-use, simple
reporting system that providers can use to record their service delivery
statistics and share routine service delivery data with the national HMIS.
Many country governments and
larger private sector organizations have already started using DHIS2 to this
end, yet significant gaps remain in the private health sector.
Independent private health
care providers, especially at the drug shop and pharmacy level, have largely
not adopted any means of participating in government HMIS.
National governments, who
increasingly use routine data to monitor progress, therefore see an incomplete
picture.
Improving private sector
participation is therefore essential to gaining an accurate understanding of
family planning use in a country, monitoring progress toward global FP2020
goals, and developing health sector strategic plans.
In addition, improving data
management will also have a benefit to the private providers themselves, as
they will have better and more frequent data to help them better plan, budget,
and forecast needs for their facilities.
The pilot will have four phases:
The pilot will have four phases:
1. Pilot
design: Work with relevant stakeholders to develop a recruitment strategy identify
pharmacies to target for participation; agree to reporting requirements;
identify current barriers to reporting among pharmacies; and adapt systems to
connect with DHIS2 platform for pilot.
2. Recruitment
of drug shops and pharmacies: Develop and use a business case that outlines the
potential benefits for providers from improving their reporting of routine data
to recruit participants for pilot that vary in terms of size, type, location,
etc.
3. Pilot
implementation: During this period, SHOPS Plus will provide technical
assistance to the pilot facilities, public sector officials, and other
stakeholders to facilitate reporting of FP statistics. Activities will include
training participating providers on the reporting requirements and systems,
providing supervision and mentorship to pilot participants, review reports for
data quality issues, and troubleshoot any problems. The consultant will also
facilitate between SHOPS Plus project staff, Ministry of Health officials, and
pilot participants to ensure that all participating pharmacies and drug shops
have access to the necessary registers, as well as data collection and
reporting forms. The implementation will be broken up into two phases: a 1-2
month training period followed by a 6-month pilot period.
4. Pilot
learning: Over the course of the pilot period, SHOPS Plus will analyze
collected data to determine if there are changes in the amount, quality (e.g.,
accuracy, precision, completeness, timeliness, consistency, etc.), frequency,
and usability of data from participating facilities in the public sector HMIS.
SHOPS Plus seeks to recruit
an Operations Consultant to work with the project team to appropriately adapt DHIS2 for
use by the private drug stores and pharmacies for data entry, data analysis and
report generation.
The pilot project will work
with the key stakeholders and the enrolled drug stores and pharmacies to
identify the relevant data elements and indicators that need to be collected.
This will be reconciled
against the current data capture form in DHIS2 ‘Facility Contraceptive
Consumption and Request Form’ to isolate any gaps.
The LOE of 47 days is
estimated to complete the task with a period of performance start from October
30, 2016 to June 30, 2017.
The consultant will report to
SHOPS Plus project staff and will be responsible to work with MOH and UON to:
1. Coordinate
activities in and communication to participating pharmacies and chemist (12
days)
2. Schedule
and co-ordinate meetings (3 days)
3. Support
training activities related to the DHIS 2 Pilot (5 days)
4. Manage
database of support to pharmacies (5 days)
5. Manage
database of support to specific personnel in pharmacies (5 days)
6. Participate
in management meetings when required (3 days)
7. Establish
a liaison service for participating pharmacies (6 days)
8. Log
requests for support and schedule support to pharmacies (3 days)
9. Provide
logistics support across DHIS 2 activities as needed (5 days)
Deliverables
1. Record
of requests from pilot participants
2. Database
of support provided to pilot participants
3. Notes
and records from meetings as required
The successful candidate will
have the following qualifications:
- Experience
working on USAID-funded projects and knowledge of USAID procurement
regulations
- Superior
organizational and communication (written and oral) skills
- Experience
coordinating large numbers of stakeholders from multiple organizations
Send applications to:
Sean_Callahan@abtassoc.com
Applications due by October
21st, 2016