CHAPTER 2 Planning Checklist Reproductive Health Assessment Toolkit for Conflict- Affected Women well-devised plan is needed to ensure suc­ data collection, data cleaning, analysis, report Acessful implementation of the Toolkit. The writing, and dissemination of findings. planning process should be initiated prior to Secure funding. securing funding. The amount of time required for the planning process will vary based on your D. Prepare locator form and questionnaire. organization’s existing infrastructure and resources. Consider this checklist a model that can be Modify country-specific responses on ques­ adapted as necessary to meet your specific needs tionnaire. This may require technical assis­ and situation. You can also change the sequence tance from DRH. of activities as needed. For example, you could Modify country-specific fields on the locator conduct field-level planning before initiating form. national-level planning. Translate locator form and questionnaire into the local language, using translators who are Part I. National-level planning able to read and write both English and the local language. A. Select a site to conduct survey. Criteria for selection include: Back-translate forms into English to ensure they were translated correctly. Availability of a reasonable estimate of popu­ lation size Revise translated forms as needed. (This normally occurs during training and the pilot A stable, post-emergency population with no test, with input from the survey team.) major influx or outflow of people Finalize standard local-language version of Availability of basic reproductive health the locator form and questionnaire. services B. Engage national-level stakeholders. Part II. Field-level planning Engage potential stakeholders, such as: National government agencies responsible A. Meet with camp coordinators or local officials. for refugees Inform them of the purpose and scope of the Ministries of Health survey and obtain buy-in. United Nations High Commissioner for Obtain information regarding the camp or Refugees community, such as population size, organi­ Other non-governmental organizations zation, and other contextual issues that may working with the population of interest affect survey implementation. Establish how involved each of these organi­ Request to meet with community leadership zations will be. to identify potential survey team members. Inform them of the purpose and scope of the Identify potential training and interview sites assessment. and necessary materials, such as tables and chairs. C. Develop budget and timeline. Meet with key community stakeholders to Develop budget using the template in Appen­ learn about needs and services of the popula­ dix A. This will determine the financial scope tion. Examples of key stakeholders include of the survey. community leadership, health center direc­ tors, food distribution coordinators, reproduc­ Develop project timeline, which should tive health and HIV/AIDS project coordina­ include activities such as preparation of ques­ tors, and other NGO representatives. tionnaire, hiring and training survey team, Reproductive Health Assessment Toolkit for Conflict-Affected Women Establish a resource list of referral services project timeline (Table 2.1). _____ (number (e.g., social workers, health care services) that of interviewers needed) will be available to participants. Table 2.1: Advantages of having fewer or more If applicable, establish roles and responsibili­ interviewers. ties of stakeholders. You may also be able to recruit trainers and supervisors from among Fewer interviewers: More interviewers: the key stakeholders you have identified. It will be easier to find a sufficient More people will be trained in number of competent interviewers. survey methods. Determine availability of household lists from stakeholders that could be used in sampling. Fewer people will need to be More people will obtain field trained. experience. B. Determine which sampling method you will Better coordination between It will foster broad participa­ use. (See Chapter 3, Sampling Instructions, for interviewers can be achieved. tion and involvement of more more information on sampling.) organizations. Fewer vehicles and less equip­ Data collection will be com­ Define geographic bounds of area to be ment will be needed. pleted in less time. surveyed. Obtain or create a map of area to be surveyed. Determine number of locators needed. Previ­ ous surveys used a ratio of 1 locator per 2 to Determine what sampling method you will 3 interviewers. For example, if there are 10 use (random vs. cluster). interviewers, then 3 to 5 locators would be Use the selected sampling method to develop needed. ______ (number of locators needed) a list of households that will be surveyed. Determine number of supervisors needed, based on number of survey teams. Previous C. Determine staffing needs. surveys used a ratio of 1 supervisor per 5 to 8 Identify trainer(s). Having two trainers is interviewers. ______ (number of supervisors ideal, as the locators will be trained separately needed) from supervisors and interviewers. Trainers Determine number of data entry staff needed. can also serve as supervisors during data col­ Previous surveys required 1 to 2 data entry lection. staff. ______ (number of data entry staff Determine the number of interviewers need­ needed) ed using the following method: Determine how data analysis will be conduct­ What is your sample size (the number of ed. Options include pre-programmed analy­ people that will be interviewed)? Refer to the ses, site-specific programming, or submission sampling strategy to determine this number. of cleaned data to CDC for analysis. If you ________ (sample size) are going to perform your own data analysis, Divide the sample size by the number of then you will need staff with appropriate days you have allotted for data collection. skills. ______ (number of data analysis staff This will give you the number of interviews needed, optional) that need to be conducted in one day. _____ Determine additional staffing needs, such as (number of interviews collected per day) support staff listed in Table 2.2. ___________ Divide the number of interviews collected per day by the number of interviews that can ______________________________________ be completed by one interviewer in one day. In previous surveys, interviews averaged about 1 hour per interview, and 5 interviews were conducted per interviewer per day. Consider the advantages of fewer versus more interviewers to meet your desired Reproductive Health Assessment Toolkit for Conflict-Affected Women D. Plan and conduct interviews with potential survey team members. Obtain supplies for meeting, such as pens, pencils, and paper. Develop standard interview questions to test ability of survey team applicants. Questions could focus on the qualifications and responsibilities described in Table 2.2. Explain roles and responsibilities of team members (from Table 2.2) to applicants. Conduct interviews with survey team applicants. Select and hire team members. You may need to re-assign or release individuals during training. We recommend that you train a few more people than what you estimate you will need. Table 2.2: Titles, qualifications, and responsibilities of survey team members. Title Qualifications Responsibilities Trainers • Female or male (female preferred) • Modifying training manual as needed • Health knowledge or experience • Preparing location for training • Able to conduct interviewer and locator training • Obtaining training supplies and make photocopies of handouts and materials • Training experience (preferred) • May assist with report writing • May also serve as a supervisor during data collection Supervisors • Female or male (female preferred) • Reviewing completed questionnaires to ensure completeness, accuracy, • Able to read and write in local language and logic of survey responses • Able to gain strong familiarity with survey • Responding to difficult situations, filing Incident Reports, etc. • Previous survey experience (preferred) • May assist with report writing • Health knowledge or experience (preferred) • Could also serve as a trainer during training Interviewers • Female • Administering surveys and recording responses • Able to read and write in local language • Providing information on referral services, if needed • Age is within respondents’ age range • Protecting privacy and confidentiality of respondents • Representative of ethnic groups of respondents Locators • Male or female • Locating respondent households • Able to read and write in local language • Explaining general purpose of survey • Familiar with local area • Selecting one respondent from all eligible women in selected household • Respected community member • Obtaining verbal consent from respondents • Sending selected respondents to interview location Translators • Male or female • Translating interviewer and locator training materials • Able to read and write in local language and • Translating English language questionnaire to local language version language of survey team supervisor • Back-translating from local language version to English language to check accuracy (A different translator should perform the back-translation.) Interpreters • Male or female • Assisting in communication between supervisor and team members during • Able to speak both local language and language training and data collection of supervisor • Could also serve as a translator Data entry • Male or female • Entering the completed questionnaires