The Rural Service Delivery Program (RSDP) delivers an essential service package (ESP) to a catchment population of over 2.2 million eligible families in rural Bangladesh. RSDP's 19 collaborating NGOs provide family planning (FP), reproductive health (RH), and maternal and child health (MCH) care through a three-tiered service delivery structure, including village depots and satellite and static clinics.
In order to effectively design program improvement strategies in FP/RH and MCH, appropriate and reliable information on key indicators is required for local-level managers. Such information, however, is not generally available in Bangladesh except for routine service statistics. In an attempt to find innovative approaches to program improvement, a rapid assessment tool was developed by RSDP.
National and local NGOs conduct rapid assessments of women’s knowledge and use of health services in selected Upazilas (sub-districts). Over a 5-day period, a team of four female interviewers and a supervisor surveys 600 married women under age 50 from 20 quasi-randomly selected clusters. The following week, NGOs enter and analyze the data with the help of a specially designed software program. The software analyzes relevant data automatically, such as the CPR, ANC use, and knowledge of available services at the RSDP. The NGO compares rapid assessment results with the baseline survey, and immediately uses this data for decision-making and program improvement. The entire rapid assessment procedure can be conducted and disseminated in 2 weeks and can be adapted in other settings to assist managers in decision making.
Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to: (1) describe how rapid assessment can be used as a tool for decision making at the local level; (2) describe the sampling, interview, data entry and data analysis methods for rapid assessment; (3) adapt and facilitate rapid assessment to their health program’s needs.
Keywords: Rural Health Care Delivery System, Assessments
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.