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HBRWorkshop FINAL Report
HBRWorkshop FINAL Report
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….03
5. Opportunities identified……………………………………………………………………….……..…..29
7. Appendices guide………………………………………………………………………………….……...…48
1 | Introduction
Home-based records (HBRs)
are a vital tool that can
support countries in achieving
and sustaining high levels of
vaccination coverage.
1
in 2016, the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO),
UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
organized a cross-country workshop focused on the Africa
region. The goal of this Home-based Records The design of the record from
Revitalization Workshop was to improve the design and
functionality of countries’ home-based records, with a the immunization program
focus on both the design of the record and the system
that supports it. perspective.
The focus on immunization was chosen as an opportunity
2
to demonstrate a systemized approach that can be
applied to other elements of integrated health systems
and materials.
The workshop brought together health administrators The broader system that
from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and
Uganda with regional and global experts from
supports the HBR, from
organizations such as UNICEF, WHO, and JSI. This report is
based on the discussions, strategies and solutions that
approval and production to
came out of this workshop. distribution and use.
2 | Why home-based records?
What are home based records?
*WHO Practical Guide for the Design, Use, and Promotion of Home-based Records in Immunization Programs
3 | The challenge around home-based records
Challenges facing HBR use and adoption Current HBR ownership prevalence for the WHO
African Region
HBRs are unable to fulfill their critical functions when:
• They are not readily available in the right place, at
the right time, and in the right quantity
• The document is not adopted, valued, and retained
by caregivers, nor appropriately utilized by
healthcare workers
90%>, 13
<50%, 22
80%-89%,
22
50%-79%,
37
No DHS or MICS
<50%
50-79%
80-89%
90-99%
Source: Latest national estimated prevalence of home based vaccination cards based on MICS or DHS survey results
for the period 2000-2015, 21 December 2016 https://sites.google.com/site/vaccinationcardprevalence/
Low HBR retention is particularly worrying in countries with high birth cohort
Several countries
with low current HBR
ownership levels
have large birth
cohorts; thus, the
Half of the birth cohort in 32
burden of absent countries in the AFRO region
documented lack home based records
vaccination history is
of great concern.
Legend
EPI/MoH alone (20 countries)
Development partner alone (12 countries)
EPI/MoH + Development partners (31 countries)
EPI/MoH and partners exclusive of development partners (53 countries)
Other combinations of partners (19 countries)
HBR not used (2 countries)
No response to question (3 countries)
Non-respondent country (55 countries)
• Illiteracy makes it hard for some • Health workers struggle with the • Lack of resources makes it hard to
caregivers to understand the workload of filling out all the ensure the availability of stocks at
HBR. sections in the HBR. all times.
• Caregivers may have trouble • Quality and availability of HBRs • Low HBR retention can
preserving the HBR due to rough is often an issue that health negatively impact coverage
environmental conditions (see workers try to resolve with their estimates due to lack of
page 18). own work arounds. verifiable data for surveys.
This requires:
2
Identify and prioritize challenges, and design
improvement strategies for parts of the
broader system that supports the HBR,
including printing, supply, and distribution of
the document, as well as the training of health
workers in the appropriate use of the record.
We can learn from the
experiences of countries
(e.g. Rwanda) with high HBR
ownership and low drop-out 5%
improvement.
Graphic courtesy of David Brown, Brown Consulting Group Int’l, LLC
Data source: Re-analysis of DHS and MICS
The workshop objectives included:
1. 2. 3.
Knowledge Cross-country Implementation
Gathering Workshop
1. Knowledge gathering
Throughout four full days in the workshop, participants worked in their country teams to move through a
stepwise process from identifying user needs to creating a practical and actionable implementation plan.
Frame the challenge Empathize with users Generate a concept Create a prototype Plan and pitch
1 2 3
Offer information hierarchy Make the ‘date of next Provide space for notes
that accounts for needs of vaccination’ highly visible & additional vaccinations
multiple users
4 5 6
Consider color, contrast, and Make the record recognizable Use illustration and imagery
format for reproduction as an official health document to support text descriptions
For more detail on design guidelines see Practical Guide for the Design, Use and Promotion of Home-based Records in Immunization Programmes,
available at http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/175905/2/WHO_IVB_15.05_eng.pdf
Following these principles, and based on their learnings from interacting with users on the
ground, country teams reviewed the design of their HBRs and identified opportunities for
improvement.
In the following pages we present example cases and potential solutions for each.
1 How can we use design features to increase the
perceived value of the HBR for caregivers?
In the following pages we present example cases and potential solutions for each.
Awareness and advocacy building CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION ARCHITECUTRE
KEY SUCCESS FACTOR: Identify key stakeholders and a tailored Primary focus on the base is critical
communication strategy for each.
Summary of Uganda’s discussion on system improvements.
For more details on the strategy developed by Uganda, see appendix 6
Building a business case for HBRs
↑ maximize human
economic potential
CASE: One root challenge identified in Nigeria was that HBRs had
not been sufficiently prioritized by senior decision makers.
Because of the variety of competing priorities for resource
allocation, they knew it would be useful to present data behind
the potential value of an improved HBR. ↓ associated outbreaks
↓ campaigns
PROPOSED SOLUTION: The team outlined a business case that
described the efficiencies that could be gained by reducing over-
vaccination and missed opportunities for vaccination, as well as
the downstream positive impact of increasing coverage (e.g.
↓ over-vaccination
fewer outbreaks, reduced necessity for campaigns). This is
especially relevant given withdrawing GAVI support. This data ↓resource allocation
inefficiency
was presented to key decision-makers in the week following the
workshop, and their buy-in has already led to action. ↓ facility workload
KEY SUCCESS FACTOR: Use clear and actionable data that Follow-on effects of
reveals the human and fiscal benefits of improving HBR improved HBR system
availability and utilization.
Summary of Nigeria’s discussion on system improvements.
For more details on the strategy developed by Nigeria, see appendix 6
Obtaining sustainable funding
3
DESIRED STATE
DESIRED STATE
Developing country capabilities to sustain long- Country’s self-sufficient funding and
term funding for HBR distribution of HBRs
PROPOSED SOLUTION: After considering the costs and benefits Ministry level
of the integrated booklet, the team decided to pursue a more coordination
holistic and inclusive approach to the HBR, one where they build and buy-in
relationships with the nutrition and maternal health
departments at the MoH in order to improve stakeholder AGREED UPON NEXT STEPS
coordination, buy-in, and capacity building efforts at the district • Update inventory templates and supervision tools to
and health facility levels to use all parts of the record. include HBR and other child maternal health
information
KEY SUCCESS FACTOR: Understand which parts of the HBR is • Develop holistic training packages for Community
being utilized/not utilized by its users, and coordinate with Health Assistants
MoH departments to prioritize minimum necessary fields in the • Reinforce HBR messaging during SIA trainings
HBR.
Summary of Liberia’s discussion on system improvements.
For more details on the strategy developed by Liberia, see appendix 6
6 | Key lessons for HBR revitalization
Any efforts to revitalize the HBR should:
To better • Evaluate the HBR for changes that could positively impact its use and effectiveness.
understand the • Seek to understand if the design of your HBR is effective in meeting user needs:
Engage users on the ground; observe how they’re using the record and what they’re
status of HBRs in struggling with; identify the main challenges and why they occur.
See appendix 5: “Immersion pack” for a guide on how to engage users
your country’s • Explore ways to improve funding, printing, distribution systems, and how the
context and caregivers and health workers are trained to use the HBR
See appendix 3: “Workshop exercise templates” for structured exercises on systems thinking
improve it, there • Build a business case for HBR funding in your country.
are some • Identify and work with other stakeholders in your country (e.g. nutrition, primary
immediate actions care).
1. Read me:
Provides detail about the content and use of appendices 2-7
2. Workshop presentation:
Full set of slides presented in the four-day workshop in Uganda
3. Workshop exercise templates:
Printable templates used to structure workshop activities
4. Facilitator’s guide:
Explanations on how to effectively conduct each activity and use the templates
5. Immersion pack:
Suggested activities for engaging users with observation and conversation guides for each
6. Country final presentations:
Each country’s pitch of their new record concept, with prototypes, system improvements and
implementation plan
7. Country prototypes:
Digital versions of each country’s refined home-based record
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