Dr. Kiwanuka Noah, an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, the Head of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department tipping researchers on COVID-19 safety tips during a training of Resident Enumerators and supervisors at Grand Global Hotel in Kampala.
By Melody Kukundakwe
Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) has commenced phase 1 of the Family Planning Round 7 (FPR7) data collection. This follows a three-week intense training for Resident Enumerators (REs) and Supervisors in preparation for the PMA.
The trainings commenced on 24th August 2020 with 12 new Resident Enumerators being introduced to the PMA platform, the Resident Enumerator manual and using JHU Collect application - Open Data Kit (ODK).
The new REs then joined a two phased new content and refresher training for 120 PMA REs at Grand Global Hotel, Kampala from 24th to 30th August, 2020 for the first wave and 31st to 6th September 2020 for the 2nd wave.
The Resident Enumerators were trained on the PMA survey content and tools (Household Questionnaire (HQ), Female Questionnaire (FQ), Client Exit Interview (CQ) and the Service Delivery Point (SDP) tool), field work protocols, policies and procedures. They also had interview practice with field work activities and using ODK.
The two week training objectives were to ensure REs are able to conduct high-quality, high-data-accuracy interviews with members of the community, map and list households and service delivery points with accuracy, read all questions with ease, understand and employ the necessary vocabulary around family planning, reproductive health and COVID-19 in order to categorize responses on these subjects.
Study supervisors and Quality control (QC) teams were also equipped with project technical understanding so as to enable them render adequate and timely support to REs during training and data collection.
Data Collection
Data collection for FPR7 survey commenced on 31st August 2020 with REs deployed in 122 enumeration areas in different regions of the country.
The data collected will measure demand and use of family planning, measure supply, access of family planning and also gather information on women’s contraceptive use and services received from health care providers through client exit interviews.
In this survey round, questions on COVID-19 have been incorporated in the questionnaire to find out the effect of COVID-19 on women’s economic status and on their access and use of family planning.
The resident enumerators are being supported by field supervisors and central staff. 11 Data Quality Control supervisors have also been deployed in different regions to ensure quality assurance and quality control in order to minimize any errors in following the study protocol.
Dr. Fredrick Makumbi, PMA’s Principle Investigator encouraged the REs to maintain their previous quality of work while in the field.
“Right from our funders PMA Uganda has been marked as a star for providing leadership in terms of generating quality data that has been used both in Uganda and globally. In Uganda when you see data on family planning or sexual reproductive health, you will notice that the data has been obtained from the UDHS and PMA. Let us continue to shine our light,” he said.
COVID-19 Precautions
Over the past two months there has been an increased rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Uganda. The PMA Uganda Team developed a COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Plan and has continued to adhere to the Ministry of Health guidelines/ protocols throughout training and data collection. Before training started, participants were screened for COVID 19 using an electronic self-assessment form on the Open Data Kit. The main objective was to identify any COVID-19 high-risk REs on the team and take immediate action where necessary, so as to avoid the spread of the virus. None of the REs were found to be at risk.
Resident Enumerators (REs) were also trained in waves to reduce crowding and adhere to the social distancing guidelines. All teams in the field have been provided with 3 reusable face masks, 2 200ml bottles of hand sanitizers and a pack of alcohol wipes to sanitize their equipment and materials while engaged in PMA work. Health insurance has also been provided to cater for all 2health complications while in the field, COVID 19 inclusive.
Dr. Noah Kiwanuka, the Head of Department Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University School of Public Health and a member of the National Task force Committee on COVID-19 urged participants to remain cautious of the pandemic during data collection as the disease is spreading widely.
Over the past two months there has been an increased rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Uganda. The PMA Uganda Team developed a COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Plan and has continued to adhere to the Ministry of Health guidelines/ protocols throughout training and data collection. Before training started, participants were screened for COVID 19 using an electronic self-assessment form on the Open Data Kit. The main objective was to identify any COVID-19 high-risk REs on the team and take immediate action where necessary, so as to avoid the spread of the virus. None of the REs were found to be at risk.
Resident Enumerators (REs) were also trained in waves to reduce crowding and adhere to the social distancing guidelines. All teams in the field have been provided with 3 reusable face masks, 2 200ml bottles of hand sanitizers and a pack of alcohol wipes to sanitize their equipment and materials while engaged in PMA work. Health insurance has also been provided to cater for all 2health complications while in the field, COVID 19 inclusive.
Dr. Noah Kiwanuka, the Head of Department Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Makerere University School of Public Health and a member of the National Task force Committee on COVID-19 urged participants to remain cautious of the pandemic during data collection as the disease is spreading widely.
About PMA
Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) is a project fueling a data revolution to guide family planning programs. PMA surveys collect actionable data on a variety of Family Planning topics through a sustainable, innovation-driven data collection platform to inform governments, donors, program managers and advocates in order to drive policy and program changes.
To read more on PMA visit:
https://www.pmadata.org/countries/uganda
https://sph.mak.ac.ug/research-innovations/projects/performance-monitoring-action-pma-project
