Research tools

SFH Rwanda will use qualitative, quantitative, and mapping methods developed by PSI to measure health impact across health programs. The PSI Research & Metrics Toolkits will be used to guide the design and analysis of research and evaluation studies across the PSI world. These Toolkits are designed to assure the quality and comparability of studies, communicate best practices, and form the basis of capacity building efforts aimed at PSI research managers in nearly 70 countries. While striving for further innovations in social marketing and behavior change, SFH Rwanda will continue using these established tools, developed by scholars across disciplines based on sound empirical and theoretical underpinnings geared towards behavior change and healthier lives as evidenced through the measurable results and health impact. PSI now measures social marketing and behavior change communications performance at two levels: among populations or customers and among markets or the delivery system.

As is the case within PSI platforms, the mandate assigned to research, monitoring, and evaluation staff at SFH Rwanda will be to improve the performance of social marketing and behavior communications interventions by giving program staff the information they need for evidence-based decision making. Performance will be measured by the effectiveness of interventions in changing behaviors, equity in the practice of those behaviors, and the cost-effectiveness of interventions in terms of the unit cost of delivering outputs per disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. (DALY being a measure of health impact developed by WHO and adopted by PSI and its affiliates). To achieve this, SFH will use proven social marketing methodologies which are used the world-over in PSI platforms.

1. TRaC (Tracking Results Continuously): A TRaC is a multi-round population-based (representative of the target population) quantitative survey with a probability sample that is used for decision making. There are four important things TRaC studies can tell us. First, it is the level of logframe indicators and their trends over time (i.e. MONITORING). Second, it flags the differences in behavioral factors between those who perform the desired behavior and those who do not (i.e. SEGMENTATION). Third, it indicates the effectiveness of our programs by examining whether changes in behavior and behavioral factors are associated with exposure to SFH’s intervention (i.e. EVALUATION). Lastly, TRaC studies can tell us about the changes in health status/mortality, which can be measured over time and correlated with program exposure (i.e. IMPACT).

 2.MAP (Measuring Access and Performance): Using GPS/GIS, MAP studies help to collect data on the proximity of a population to the product and service delivery and reports by mapping measures of coverage, quality of coverage, access and equity of access that are known to be correlated with use of a product or service. There are four phases to MAP, and each phase has a specific focus areas. Phase one aims to define and measure coverage and quality of coverage indicators based on publicly available geographic maps, the population census, and lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS). Phase two aims to define and measure coverage, quality of coverage, access, and equity of access indicators using existing geographic information system (GIS) population layers and specially created maps of geographical areas. Phase three is intended to define and measure access subjectively. This is accomplished by using information on purchase, use, and behavior determinants from population-based TRaC surveys to define catchment areas and triangulate with MAP data. Phase four is intended to increase the efficiency of SFH field activities through development of applications of GIS to reduce the cost of decision-making, distribution, and field force management. It is also intended to increase the quality and utility of management information systems that monitor activities and inform stakeholders. It is not directly linked to the previous phases.

3.FoQuS (Framework for Qualitative Research in Social Marketing): FoQuS emphasizes audience-centered qualitative methods to provide insight into how target audience members make health decisions and to identify which messages will resonate. Flash FoQus is a suite of three quick and inexpensive tools to address marketers’ needs when planning interventions. Each of the tools is designed to take two weeks or less and produce evidence to answer narrowly defined questions at the intervention design stage of the project cycle. FoQuS for Marketing Planning and Segmentation captures the character of a target audience in a personalized way and output insights in a user-friendly format. It helps deliver vivid portraits and emotional hooks that marketers need to design effective interventions. FoQuS studies are used to know your target audience: understand their identities and aspirations, avoid the “do it because it’s good for you” approach, and generate marketing and programs that appeal to the emotional hooks of the target audience.

1. Pretesting Initiative: Message approach and execution determine a campaign’s success or failure. The Pretesting initiative provides a consistent, standardized tool to test message approach and execution. Pretesting is a tool that allows to compare message executions. The standardized tool can be adapted and applied to various channel types (e.g. television, radio, IPC) and formats (e.g. posters, leaflets, serial dramas). Pretesting builds upon constructs identified by commercial research as empirically linked to message effectiveness
   

These are:

1. 1) Comprehension.
2. 2) Likeability.
   
3. 3) Persuasion and
   
4. 4) Brand linkage.
   

Comprehension assesses whether the intended message was received or not. Likeabitity is the greatest predictor of a message is. Persuasion measures whether the message increases intention to adopt a desired behaviour. Brand linkage tests whether the message clearly makes a link to the underlying brand.

4.HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing (HCT) Client Intake Form: This is a home-grown one-page tool that was developed by PSI Rwanda and partners. Developed in accordance with national VCT guidelines, the tool has been approved for HCT data collection and it yields rich data worth using for evidence-based decision making. Based on this experience, SFH Rwanda will develop similar tools to capture programmatic data for monitoring and evaluation purposes.