Project description:

 

The project involves an integrated social marketing program to provide a comprehensive range of essential health products and services to target populations in Bangladesh. The goal of MIH is to contribute to sustained improvements in the health status of women and children in Bangladesh by increasing access to and demand for essential health products and services, through the private sector. MIH will target low and middle-income women (aged 12-49) and men of reproductive age and mothers of newborns and under-five children in areas where health needs are the greatest for the target districts and Upazillas. The special interventions are comprised of the community mobilization activities and BCC campaigns organized by SMC, brac, CWFD, PSTC, and Shimantik in their designated districts and Upazillas. The districts where MIH worked are Barisal, Jhalokhati, Pirojpur, Faridpur, Kishorganj, Narsingdi, Munsiganj, Madaripur, Sylhet, Sunamganj, Hobiganj, Moulvibazar, Comilla, Chandpur, B.Baria, Noakhali, Lakshimipur, Feni, and Bandarban.

 

The purpose of the impact evaluation is to ascertain the contribution of the MIH project on the improvements in the health status of women and children in the priority districts of Bangladesh through increased access to and demand for essential health products and services, through the private sector.

 

Evaluation Questions: 1.Is knowledge of healthy behaviors increasing more in MIH areas than in comparable areas where the MIH project does not work? 2. Are harmful practices reducing more in MIH areas than in comparable areas where the MIH project does not work? 3. Has there been a larger increase of care-seeking behavior in MIH areas relative to comparable areas where the MIH project does not work?

 

Tasks carried out by Mitra and Associates:

 

Methodology (sample design & tools): The sample households was selected at two stages: First, 120 clusters each from BRAC intervention and comparison domains, and 112 and 117 clusters from CPS intervention and CPS comparison domains, respectively, was randomly selected. In the second stage, 30 households was randomly selected from each of the selected clusters from all the four domains. The sampling frame of the MIH baseline survey was the list of Mouzas in the intervention and comparison areas according to the 2011 Bangladesh Population Census, which was obtained from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

 

Translation of Questionnaires and Preparation of Other Survey Manuals/Forms: HH listing form developed. Two main questionnaires—household and women, a provider questionnaire are translated and modified in Bengali, along with the manuals, codebook on questionnaires and data processing. 

 

Pre-testing: Did a small scale pre-testing by using same questionnaires used in baseline was administered with the possibility of dropping some questions. 

 

Training:  12-day comprehensive training with two days field practice.

 

Data collection & quality control: 14 teams are deploying for data collection for a period of 3 months. Quality control was done on randomly selecting a certain number of sample points assign to each team and revisit selected households to verify whether have been interviewed and fill out properly. 

 

Data processing & reporting: Data entry, cleaning by Cs-pro and SPSS software. And basic analysis (frequency distribution) on all major variables. Provide IRB approval, report on training, Bi weekly report on data collection and managements, and data entry and management progress. Also report on supervisor observation.

 

The project was awarded by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) represented by Dr. James C. Thomas as Principal Investigator, MEASURE Evaluation UNC-Chapel Hill/Carolina Population Center 400 Meadowmont Village Circle, 3rd Floor, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, Tel: 919-445-9350 Fax: 919-445-9353 E-mail: measure_subs@unc.edu; jim_thomas@unc.edu www.cpc.unc.edu/measure and funded by the USAID.