Designing a global health partnership evaluation

ABSTRACT

BackgroundBirmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital (BWC)- Malawi Partnership is a global health partnership (GHP) established in 2004 as an educational link between paediatric departments at BWC and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Malawi. Regular monitoring and evaluation of GHPs is key for assessing relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.ObjectivesDesign a global health partnership evaluation in accordance with internationally accepted standards to accurately capture the impact of the BWC-Malawi Partnership.MethodsAn evaluation strategy was co-developed between BWC and QECH. The evaluation methodology was designed to assess contribution of the Partnership in accordance with its vision of improving child health sustainably through education and training. Domains for assessment were based on established determinants of effectiveness for GHPs1 2 and included shared vision and goals, commitment to joint learning, sustainable, accountable, respectful, reciprocal and responsible.A mixed-methods approach was adopted using quantitative questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and focus groups at both sites. Questions were written in consultation with the QECH team to ensure they were appropriate to the local context and to reduce communication barriers. Questions focused on specific Partnership education and training activities including bi-directional exchanges, specialty teaching visits and the Paediatric Assessment Skills (PAS) course.Operational planning involved input from both organisations, scheduling interviews to ensure representative numbers from all multi-professional staff groups, avoiding disruption to clinical care and ensuring interview techniques were empathetic and allowed equitable access to all voices. Practical measures included recruiting an evaluation team with previous knowledge of the artnership, timely advertising of the evaluation, organising rooms and timetabling staff for interviews, sourcing equipment, arranging travel itinerary and accommodation.ResultsA quantitative questionnaire consisting of nine closed-answer and Likert scale questions was devised, as well as thirteen questions for the semi-structured individual interviews, to complete in fifteen minutes. Mock interviews were conducted to test for understanding and time management.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a digital questionnaire method of evaluation was used for interviewing BWC.All aspects of the design and implementation was completed in time for the evaluation. Designing the evaluation and organising the strategic, operational and practical aspects of the evaluation took two months to complete.ConclusionsEvaluation is essential for effectiveness, credibility and accountability of GHP. Planning and perfecting the details of the evaluation to be context specific, capture key components of artnership interventions, address equity, collaboration and governance, requires considerable investment of time and manpower from both partners. Partnerships should take this into account while planning evaluations to ensure success of the process and sustainability of the artnership. Advance design of evaluation instruments and processes which are specific and relevant to the partnership circumstances is crucial for the collection of reliable information.ReferencesTHEThttps//www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/49756382.pdf