Data Collector - Gombe at Malaria Consortium

About the Project

• The SARMAAN II Project, an acronym for Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin among Children 1-59 Months in Nigeria is a large-scale initiative aimed at evaluating the safety and impact of azithromycin mass drug administration (MDA) on antimicrobial resistance and child mortality.
• The project has both an intervention and a research component, which will be implemented across ten states in Nigeria: Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Jigawa, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa.
• The research component will be led by the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in collaboration with the Federal and State Ministries of Health, national agencies such as Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and international partners, including the University of Washington, University of California San Francisco, and the Institute for Disease Modeling. This research component will focus on monitoring drug safety (Adverse Drug Reactions), antimicrobial resistance, and mortality trends.
• The intervention component will however involve a bi-annual (every 6 months) mass administration of azithromycin to children aged 1–59 months and will be implemented by Malaria Consortium alongside other key partners, including Sightsavers, eHealth Africa, African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Mission to Save the Helpless (MiTOSATH), Solina Centre for International Development and Research, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and regulatory bodies such as NHREC and NAFDAC.Malaria Consortium will be implementing directly in Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa, Gombe and Adamawa states, while providing oversight to AFENET and MiTOSATH to implement in Katsina, Zamfara and Bauchi States.
• The primary goal of SARMAAN II is to explore the potential of azithromycin in reducing under-five mortality in Nigeria, where the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) currently stands at 105 deaths per 1,000 live births, and the infant mortality rate (IMR) at 60 deaths per 1,000 live births. By addressing the leading causes of child mortality including respiratory infections, diarrhoea diseases, pneumonia, and malaria, the project aims to contribute to significant reductions in morbidity and hospitalization rates. To achieve measurable impact, the consortium is committed to reaching at least 80% coverage of eligible children across all implementing states during the MDA rounds.
• After the delivery of AZM in each round, an End-of-round (EoR) evaluation exercise will be conducted to obtain timely information about the implementation phase. The EoR evaluation will be conducted using the Lots Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) methodology which is designed primarily to identify lots (designated supervision areas) that are falling short of agreed quality standards and will offer the opportunity to also measure coverage of delivery.

Purpose of the Assignment

• The purpose of this ToR is to engage research personnel that will carry out data collection, analysis and interpretation for EoR evaluation based on LQAS approach.
• The Consultant and the supervisor will train data collectors and oversee data collection processes while other personnel will carry out the actual data collection using an electronic platform.

Scope

• This ToR is to provide details for EoR evaluation that will be conducted in the states where Malaria Consortium is implementing MDA-AZM (Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa, Adamawa and Gombe). The process will involve identification, selection and training of supervisors at training of trainers (ToT) and subsequently, data collectors in the states. It will also involve data collection, analysis and report writing.

Methodology

• The aim of the EoR evaluation is to assess AZM coverage and adherence of community drug distributors (CDDs) to treatment protocol immediately and not more than 5 days after each round of treatment. The findings will be analyzed and any ward (lot) scoring less than 80% will be targeted for corrective measures around poor performance, for improvement in subsequent rounds.

Type of Personnel Required for the Evaluation

• Data Collectors/Research Assistants (1 per 4 Wards): The data collectors will be responsible for administering the questionnaire at household level according to the data collection protocol. They will undergo a 2-day physical training on MDA-AZM, data collection protocol/methodology, data collection instrument, art of data collection, inter-personal communication and the use of electronic platform. The training will be facilitated by the team of trained supervisors.

Specific Activities for the Personnel
Data Collector:

• Attend training on data collection and survey methods conducted by National Consultants.
• Conduct interviews in selected households using SurveyCTO.
• Upload data on the SurveyCTO platform to server.
• Address supervisor feedback promptly to correct errors or inconsistencies in data capture.

Specific Deliverables for the Personnel
Deliverables for data collectors:

• Submit:
• Complete, verified household interview datasets uploaded to the centralized server within stipulated timelines.

Profile Requirements of Data Collectors

• A minimum of Degree (BSc/HND) in Social Sciences and Health related discipline.
• Experience in conducting public health research, particularly data collection.
• Experience in the use of modern technology in research – use of phone for data collection.
• Previous experience doing LQAS survey is an added advantage.
• Ability to speak local language (e.g.Hausa, Fulfulde, Kanuri, etc.).
• Familiarity with and respect for the tradition and culture of the locality.
• Familiarity with terrain of the locality.
• Must be preferably female (more females than males) and resident in selected states of assignment.
• Ability to give attention to details.
• Must not be a staff of Government at any level
• Must not be part of MDA-AZM personnel in whatever capacity (national, state, LGA, HFW, CHW, TA).
• Must not be blacklisted during the previous activities.