Research Assistant

Background:

inSupply Health is a Nairobi-based independent regional advisory firm pioneering new approaches to improving East Africa’s public health supply chains. Our dynamic team of local consultants works closely with public and private sector clients to design optimized, customized, and resilient supply chain systems, drawing on the experience of our John Snow Inc. (JSI) affiliation. In complex settings, inSupply deploys systems to deliver essential health products such as antimalarial and HIV medications, vaccines, and contraceptives. We take tried-and-true commercial methodologies and adapt them to local conditions. We work closely with our clients to shape their supply chains so that they can own, implement, and continuously improve their systems in the long run. We specialize in developing supply chain maturity strategies, increasing supply chain organizational capacity, designing and implementing data-driven, optimized supply chain systems, and quantifying health commodity needs. inSupply does more than assist our clients in selecting the best technology for improved supply chain management. We also invest in people and processes, assisting in the development of a data-driven culture of continuous improvement. For this specific assignment, inSupply Health is collaborating with JSI, to conduct post-intervention assessments with a view of evaluating the effectiveness of the RM-Lite (Remote Monitoring-Lite) system and the lessons from the ERMS project implementation in two Kenyan counties.

Overview of ERMS Project in Kenya:

The Ministry of Health and UNICEF Kenya Country Office launched the “Innovative Equipment Management and Maintenance System for Improved Availability and Functionality of Medical Equipment in Kenya” project in 2019. The primary goal of the project is to address key gaps and challenges identified in the baseline assessment and work toward improving medical equipment availability, functionality, and utilization. To that end, the project implemented an Equipment Remote Monitoring System (ERMS), a digital application created by Philips East Africa that enables centralized monitoring of assets, devices, and other resources in order to create visibility across multiple health facilities. The solution allows for monitoring equipment failures via a centralized dashboard, with automatically generated tickets assigned for repairs on the same platform. The ERMS system is designed to generate a ticket and escalate it to the responsible medical engineering technologist (Biomed) within the Medical Engineering Services Department once a medical equipment defect is identified or during preventive maintenance.

Assessment Rationale:

The project’s first phase was carried out between 2019 and 2021. It is now critical to collect evidence post-intervention to demonstrate whether the innovative approach used in this project is producing the desired results. A project post-intervention assessment will allow us to examine and document the project’s effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, impact, and sustainability, as well as explore challenges and lessons learned from Phase 1. The findings of this assessment are expected to inform Phase 2 of the project and support evidence-based policy advocacy aimed at strengthening Kenya’s medical equipment systems. The research assistant will be crucial in the data collection process.

Responsibilities:

• Meet with the evaluation team from inSupply Health to discuss and comprehend the assessment background, objectives, study guides, and fieldwork plan
• Participate in training to gain a better understanding of the project, data collection tools, and protocol instructions.
• Data collection through Focus Group Discussions, Key informant interviews (KIIs), and structured questionnaires of the target group in the respective sub-counties as assigned
• Be responsible for handling data quality aspects of the field data collection while working with an inSupply research assistant supervisor
• Perform any other data collection-related tasks as assigned

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

• Experience in data collection using qualitative methods, e.g. FGDs, KIIs, In-Depth interviews
• Experience in using mobile-based data collection methods e.g. ODK, SurveyCTO, Kobo Collect
• Experience working on maternal and child health-related issues/collecting and interacting with maternal and child health data is highly desirable
• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. Specifically, the ability to communicate clearly in English and Kiswahili.
• Prior training and experience in collecting research data.
• Experience working in public health/MOH programs in Kenya is preferred.
• Superior organizational skills and the ability to adhere to study procedures.
• Prior experience with both quantitative and qualitative data collection – particularly KIIs, FDGs, and mobile data collection
• Relevant university degree with 1 to 2 years of experience or a diploma with 3 to 5 years of experience
• Experience collecting field data in Kisumu and Kakamega counties is highly desired.
• Residents of Kisumu and Kakamega Counties are encouraged to apply