Consultant to Conduct Post Training Assessment

TERM OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT POST TRAINING ASSESSMENT

Overview

The International Center (formerly known as Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation -VVAF) is a humanitarian organization that has addressed the consequences of war through advocacy and service programs in Vietnam for the last three decades. As a cofounder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, IC-VVAF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Now The International Center (IC) focuses on disability support, landmine removal, and mental health programs.

The Moving Without Limits Project

Under the financial support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IC is implementing the Disability Support Project named “Moving without Limits” in the three provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh. The project aims to improve people with disability’s access to quality assistive technologies or devices (AD/AT) in the target provinces, thus enhancing their independence in activities of daily living and participation in social activities

Three specific objectives include:

Improved availability of quality assistive technologies/devices (AT/AD) for people with mobility impairments in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh;
Improved capacity for the health sector workforce at the national and sub-national levels,
Improved advocacy for policies/regulations and information sharing related to AT/AD.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, a wide range of activities are implemented in the three project provinces as well as at the central level. AT/AD service provision is implemented following the full range of provision including need assessment and proper prescription, AD procurement, fitting, user training and follow-up, maintenance and repair in order to ensure that people with mobility disabilities receive the appropriate and quality AD they need. The integration of health care for people with disabilities (PWDs), including AT/AD service delivery into the existing health care system, mobilizing the non-specialists at the community level to recognize, assess, manage and follow-up of care for PWDs will be promoted in this project.

Being aware of the big gap in human resource for rehabilitation services, especially for AT/AD related services for PWDs, taking into account the practical solution for filling the gap, the project applies mixed approaches: (i) build capacity for both high skilled health professionals at the national level for providing technical assistance towards complicated cases and support building capacity for lower-level service providers when needed; and (ii) task shifting, defined as the delegation of tasks to existing health staff and technicians to deliver AT/AD services. With this IC works to support developing and improving the capacity of rehabilitation and AT workforces for both national and provincial levels working particularly for with health and rehabilitation hospitals in three selected provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh, as well as at Bach Mai Hospital rehabilitation center. . .

With what have been done for AT/AD services delivery and capacity building on the ground, the project works closely with the line ministries, other involved partners to formalise the service model into the policy framework, such as National Rehabilitation Strategy 2021-2025 as well as advocacy to include more AT/AD covered by the health insurance scheme. In addition to that, IC support to improve information sharing, awareness raising on AT/AD related issues.

Context of Assignment

Capacity building for provincial and district service providers in rehabilitation and assistive devices/technologies related issues are the second objective of the project. From 2015, IC has conducted series training courses for provincial and district doctors and technicians working in rehabilitation services to enhance their competencies in ADAT provision services. To be specific:

47 doctors from three provinces were trained on specializing rehabilitation for medical doctors in Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy for 12 months.
46 technicians from three provinces were trained on physiotherapy/rehabilitation inDa Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy for 6 months.
69 doctors and technicians from three provinces were trained in in-service short course training, such as: Comprehensive Assessment and goal setting, Filling assessment form and counselling skills for PWDs.
41 of 69 doctors and technicians from three provinces participated in and passed Functional Independence Measurement (FIM)

It is recommended to assess the effectiveness and capacity of these doctors and technicians after the training and how the trained skills are applied in the existing health/rehabilitation system. The assessment will be carried out in three project sites Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh, and possibly Hanoi Findings of the assessment will be used for (i) development of competencies for Subject Matter Experts (SME) for AT/AD and rehabilitation at both national and provincial level, (ii) identification of the qualified experts for the localities as well as (iii) development of action plan for mentoring, supervision and coaching/practicing of the SME groups

Purpose of Assignments

The purpose of this assignment is to (i) getting an insight into impact of the training programs on rehab for provincial doctors and technicians (ii) evaluating their knowledge and skills gained application in daily work after receiving IC training programs, (iii) Based on the findings of the assessment, the project will modify and tailor future on-the-job training programs for capacity improvement of health staff including doctors and technicians in rehabilitation and AT/AD service delivery and (iv) developing the competencies for doctors and technicians as SME group at local level working on AD/AT service.

The main activities of the assignment will include:

Review training programs on rehab (ADAT, ICF, FIM and OT) which supported by IC since 2015 to date.
Develop a full assessment proposal including methods, tools, and implementation plan. Questions should focus on:
- For doctors and technicians: Do they apply the learned knowledge and skills from IC training courses in their daily work? What are differences between what they learned and what they have been applying in daily work? What skills/techniques (competencies) are needed to improve? Their recommendation/suggestion to training programs and to employers (hospital, healthcare center, commune health station).
- For health facilities: Their strategy/plan on human resource development and infrastructure/facility in rehabilitation field? Any obstacles/challenges in implementing strategy? Any recommendation regarding to local relevant authorities and IC?
Process and analyze data gathered from the various data collection activities. This includes the following:
Develop and submit the first draft of the report with key findings to IC for comments/inputs.
Submit the final report to IC. The final version of the evaluation report must be written both in Vietnamese and English.
Present the key findings of the assessment in a workshop attended by relevant stakeholders if needed.

1. DUTY STATION

Duty Station: Project sites
Duration of Assignment: March 2021 – April 2021

2. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLE

The selected consultant/team will be required to deliver the following outputs and progress reports to IC, as follows:

No	Activity	Deliverables	Timeline
1	Develop post-training assessment proposal and implementation plan	Assessment proposal including key questions, assessment design, tools, data collection plan, and reports plan including indicators for the design of the assessment.	March, 2021
2	Collect data in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Da Nang and Binh Dinh	- Raw data, in both hard and electronic versions. - Field trip report includings reflections and key findings	April, 2021
3	Data processing	Electronic database	April, 2021
4	Report writing	- The assessment report should reflect but not limited to: Overview of IC training courses content Effectiveness and application of IC training courses Application trained knowledge on their daily work (FIM, ADL, home /environmental modification) Challenges and best practice Further training recommendations for competencies of doctors/technician/SME group. - A PowerPoint presentation on the assessment findings with key impacts/ current situation/recommendation	April, 2021
5	Verify information with IC	- Final assessment report and PowerPoint presentation are approved by IC	April, 2021

Travel expenses with per diem (for airfares, taxi and accommodation) related to the assessment will be reimbursed in accordance with IC policies

3. SUPERVISION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:

The consultant will work under the direct supervision and evaluation of the Project Officer and Project Managers with support from other technical staff.

4. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications and Experience Required:

Hold a postgraduate degree in Medicine, Public Health or Social Science (preferred in rehabilitation education).
At least 5 years of experience in conducting studies in health projects (especially projects relating to rehabilitation projects)
Experience in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, data analysis software (SPSS, STATA, EPIDATA…).

Language requirements:

Excellent Vietnamese and English.

Competencies:

Teamwork, professionalism, flexibility and an understanding of working with people with disabilities, and with people from diverse backgrounds.
Having a vision, dedication and ability to learn, high sense of responsibility.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Individual/ group of individuals/ firms interested in this are invited to submit Technical proposal, your letter of expression of interest and CVs demonstrating relevant capacity and experience in English, including references, either by email (to icvietnam@theintlcenter.org ) or by post (to The International Center, R.103-203, B3 Building, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam).

Please state “Application for the _ position” in the subject line or on the envelope. The short-listed candidates will be contacted.