Adhoc Staff for Health Facility Assessment at Jhpiego – John Hopkins University

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Nigeria continues to bear one of the highest burdens of maternal, newborn and child mortality globally. Many of these deaths are preventable through the provision of high-quality, evidence-based reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health plus nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services, timely referral, and functional emergency obstetric and newborn care. To support the Government of Kebbi State in improving the quality of RMNCAH+N services, UNICEF, through Jhpiego, is implementing the project titled: "Strengthening Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) Quality of Care in Primary Health Care Facilities of Kebbi State." The project will strengthen the quality of maternal and newborn healthcare services across 10 MAMII-priority Local Government Areas (LGAs) through health system strengthening, quality improvement (QI), supportive supervision, mentorship, Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR), emergency referral systems, and capacity building of healthcare workers.

As part of the project inception activities, Jhpiego will conduct a comprehensive baseline Health Facility Assessment (HFA) to determine the readiness of participating facilities to deliver quality RMNCAH+N services.

The Assessment Will Cover:
 

108 Primary Health Care Centres (one PHC per ward)
10 General Hospitals (one per participating LGA)
Kalgo Medical Centre (KMC)
 

A total of 119 health facilities will therefore be assessed.

Purpose of the Health Facility Assessment

The Baseline Health Facility Assessment Seeks To Determine The Readiness Of Participating Health Facilities To Deliver High-quality RMNCAH+N Services And Identify Priority Gaps Requiring Intervention During Project Implementation. Specifically, The Assessment Will Provide Baseline Information On:
 

Infrastructure readiness
Human resources for health
Availability of essential medicines and commodities
Equipment functionality
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
Laboratory capacity
Blood transfusion services
Maternal and newborn emergency care
Referral systems
MPDSR implementation
Quality Improvement (QI) structures
Adolescent and Youth-Friendly Health Services
Nutrition services
Health Management Information Systems (HMIS)
Digital readiness for quality improvement interventions
 

Assessment Coverage

The Health Facility Assessment Will Be Conducted In:

Facility Type Number

Primary Health Care Centres 108

General Hospitals 10

Kalgo Medical Centre 1

Total 119

Assessment Team Composition

A total of 24 Health Facility Assessors will be recruited.

The assessors will work in 12 assessment teams, each comprising:
 

Two Assessors
 

Each team will assess approximately 10 health facilities during the field exercise.

Assessment teams will be supervised by Jhpiego Technical Staff and representatives from:
 

Kebbi State Ministry of Health
State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA)
UNICEF
 

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of Jhpiego, the Health Facility Assessors will conduct standardized assessments of assigned health facilities using the approved electronic Health Facility Assessment Tool.

The Consultants Shall:

Conduct comprehensive assessments of assigned health facilities.
Verify infrastructure, equipment, medicines and commodities.
Observe service delivery areas.
Review facility registers and records.
Interview facility managers and healthcare workers.
Verify implementation of RMNCAH+N Quality Improvement structures.
Assess emergency obstetric and newborn care readiness.
Assess referral systems and emergency transport arrangements.
Assess MPDSR committee functionality.
Assess infection prevention and control measures.
Assess availability of adolescent-friendly services.
Assess nutrition service readiness.
Upload complete and accurate electronic assessment data daily.
Participate in daily debriefing meetings.
Ensure confidentiality and integrity of all data collected.

Specific Responsibilities

The adhoc shall work closely with Jhpiego Technical Staff to:

Participate in Training
Attend a one-day Health Facility Assessment training.
Participate in field pre-testing of assessment tools.
Demonstrate competency before deployment.
Conduct Facility Assessments

Visit Assigned Facilities And Complete All Assessment Modules, Including:

Facility Profile

Ownership
Level of care
Catchment population
Staffing

Infrastructure

Buildings
Electricity
Water supply
WASH facilities

Human Resources

Skilled Birth Attendants
Medical Officers
Midwives
CHEWs
Laboratory personnel

RMNCAH+N Services Assess availability and quality of:

ANC
Labour and Delivery
EmONC
Postnatal Care
Family Planning
Child Health
Nutrition
Adolescent Health

Equipment Assessment
Verify Availability And Functionality Of:

Delivery beds
Oxygen
Suction machines
Sterilizers
Newborn resuscitation equipment
Blood pressure machines
Weighing scales
Ultrasound (where available)

Medicines and Commodities
Assess Availability Of:

Oxytocin
Magnesium Sulphate
Misoprostol
Antibiotics
IV fluids
Iron/Folic Acid
Family Planning commodities
Nutrition commodities

Laboratory
Assess Availability Of:

Hemoglobin testing
Urinalysis
Blood grouping
Cross-matching
Malaria testing

Quality Improvement Assess:

Facility Quality Improvement Teams
QI meetings
QI projects
Clinical audits

MPDSR Assess:

MPDSR Committee
Meeting frequency
Review documentation
Action tracking

Referral System Assess:

Ambulance availability
Referral protocols
Referral documentation
Emergency transport linkages
Communication systems

Digital Readiness Assess:

Computers
Internet access
Tablets
HMIS functionality
Electricity reliability
Data Quality Assurance

The Consultants Shall:

Complete all electronic forms.
Validate data before submission.
Resolve inconsistencies immediately.
Upload data daily.
Maintain confidentiality.
Daily Debriefings Participate in daily review meetings with Jhpiego Technical Team to:
Review progress.
Discuss challenges.
Resolve data quality issues.

Deliverables

Each Health Facility Assessor Shall Submit:

Completed electronic Health Facility Assessment forms for assigned facilities.
Daily progress reports.
Data quality reports.
Field observation notes.
Final field activity report.

Required Qualifications

The preferred adhoc staff should possess:

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, Public Health, Health Sciences, Health Information Management or related field.

Experience

Minimum three years' experience in health facility assessments, RMNCAH+N programmes, surveys, monitoring and evaluation, or quality improvement.
Experience using electronic data collection platforms (ODK, KoboCollect, SurveyCTO or REDCap).
Experience in maternal and newborn health programmes.

Preferred Qualifications
Skills

Excellent interviewing skills.
Knowledge of EmONC and RMNCAH+N.
Good analytical skills.
Ability to work in remote communities.
Strong report-writing skills.
Familiarity with Kebbi State health system is an advantage