A tool for assessing changes in OVC wellbeing over time: Longitudinal data from a child's perspective

Background:One challenge facing orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) programs is assessing program impact on the child's overall wellbeing. An OVC Wellbeing Tool (OWT) developed by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) assesses child wellbeing measuring 10 domains (food/nutrition, education shelter/environment, economics, protection, mental health, family, health, spirituality, and community) using a self-report, three-point Likert scale. The research aims to understand the usefulness of the OWT in assessing longitudinal impact of OVC programming. Design:CRS trained social workers administered the OWT to all OVC entering the OVC program in Nyanza Province of Kenya in April, 2008. Data was entered into an Access database, and a mean score was calculated for the 10 domains. The OWT will be administered again in March 2009 to assess the impact of the project on child wellbeing. Results: The OWT was administered to 1003 OVC. The following are the average domain scores (out of 3): food/nutrition =1.8, education=2.34, shelter/environment 1.81, economics=1.68, protection=1.77, mental health=1.75, family=1.89, health=1.81, spirituality=2.28, and community=1.58. The overall wellbeing score was 18.7 out of 30. Preliminary results on the changes in wellbeing scores over time will be discussed during the presentation. Conclusions: The OWT is an easy tool to administer. It can be used as a repeated measure to assess the impact of OVC programming on child wellbeing. The results of the OWT assist the program to focus interventions in lowest scored domains. Future research in Kenya will also explore how the self-report OWT compares to the Child Status Index.