Maverick Self Care Project Phase 2 – Research Consultancy

Description

• The Maverick Project is a three-year self-care research project funded by private philanthropists to better understand key evidence gaps and provide critical insights for self-care service delivery design, implementation, and scale-up in Mozambique. Led by PSI, the Maverick project concluded phase one of the project which explored the self-care enabling environment through desk reviews, market research, and surveys and interviews with stakeholders, providers, and end-users. Using the insights from phase one, the project plans to conduct phase two (consumer and provider research) research studies. It is in line with this background that the project would like to hire a Research Consultancy firm to lead the implementation of the studies
• The Maverick Self-Care Project will explore cervical cancer self-care service delivery using a mixed-methods approach. This will include an exploration of provider perceptions of self-care, knowledge, and confidence in delivering self-care services, service delivery barriers (including perceived threats and opinions of task-shifting), the time required for training users on self-care, and the potential value-add of cervical cancer screening self-care
• We will explore end-user preferences for product and service delivery design, barriers to uptake of cervical cancer self-care services, including awareness, acceptability, sufficiency of self-care support. We will also explore end-user priorities and preferences around aspects of their experience with self-care vs provider-led swabs to define key indicators for HPV self-sampling experience. To achieve this, the Maverick Project will conduct mixed-methods research with providers and end-users (including those with and without self-care experience)

End users

• Cervical cancer screening self-care end-users and non-users will be recruited from Maputo and Gaza, the same geographies where the provider research will be conducted. They will include a range of users including adolescents and youth, married/unmarried women/girls, and those in rural and urban areas. Data will be collected from end-users over two phases, beginning with a quantitative component (survey and DCE) and followed by a qualitative component (in-depth interviews). End-users for the qualitative component will be recruited from the pool of respondents participating in the quantitative survey/DCE
• Participants will be selected using a stratified sampling approach to include respondents who have experience with cervical cancer screening/HPV testing (and who have had an option for self-swabbing) and those who have not. Participants with HPV testing experience will be recruited from health service delivery databases managed by PSI that include contact information for patients who previously received cervical cancer screening under the PEER project (now closed) and who agreed to be recontacted by PSI. To supplement this database and to ensure we can recruit clients who received cervical cancer screening services within the last 18 months, we will also seek to recruit recently screened patients from partners currently implementing cervical cancer screening services in the study areas. Women without cervical cancer screening experience will be recruited from family planning service delivery points not currently offering cervical cancer screening in the study areas
• During the quantitative phase we will conduct a DCE exploring end-user preferences for cervical cancer screening self-care vs. provider-administered alternatives, including product design, training/support options, channel, price, etc. Attributes and levels will be chosen based on insights from Phase 1 and programmatic opportunities/constraints, the available literature, and expert input. DCE participants will be asked about their willingness to be recontacted by the study for an additional follow-up interview
• Qualitative phase participants will be selected from the list of quantitative survey respondents who agreed to be recontacted. Because this list will likely exceed the qualitative sample size needed, we will purposively select potential participants to maximize diversity in terms of education, age, socioeconomic status (SES), and experience with self-swabbing. Interviews will be 60 in length and include discussions about access, perceptions and use of HPV services, barriers and motivators to self-care, use of public and private sector services, willingness to pay, and their priorities making decisions around their care, etc.

Providers

• The qualitative research will include in-depth interviews with public and private sector providers (doctors including general practitioners, obstetrician and gynecologists, nurses, etc.) in facilities providing cervical cancer self-swabbing. Providers will be recruited to maximize diversity in terms of experience and training in self-swabbing service provision, facility type/size/location, and cadre of worker. Interviews will be conducted in two geographies (Gaza and Maputo) where service delivery is active. Providers will be recruited purposively by trained research staff at PSI/Mozambique, who will also obtain permission from facility management prior to approaching providers about the study. Provider interviews will be up to 60 minutes in length, and include a discussion about provider training on self-care product and service provision features, perceptions, preferences, availability, readiness, and experience with self-swabbing services in their facility, etc. Interviews will also explore service delivery design preferences, including approaches to client training and support, client self-administration vs. provider administration, task-shifting approaches, and data collection/monitoring options. Based on provider’s experience (or inexperience) with HPV self-sampling, interviews will also include questions related to provider experiences with HPV self-care, the products/services they provide, their training and supportive supervision experiences, their confidence and willingness to engage in cervical cancer screening self-sampling, etc.

Key Informants

• We will also conduct key informant interviews with priority government, donor, and implementing partner stakeholders engaged (or who may be engaged in the future) in cervical cancer screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment programs in Mozambique. The interview will be up to 60 minutes in length and will cover the wider enabling environment for HPV self-sampling (including public sector handover following pilot projects), supply-chain readiness (including commodities and equipment accessibility), health system readiness (to engage in self-swabbing through innovative service delivery models) and barriers/facilitators to further scale-up HPV self-sampling (including supply chain challenges)

Duties

• The Research Firm will be primarily responsible for:
• Recruitment of Research Assistants to help with data collection for mixed-methods research studies
• The research will include surveys and interviews with target end-users of human papillomavirus (HPV, the virus that can cause cervical cancer) self-sampling products. Data collection will include quantitative and qualitative research methods such as discrete choice experiments, key informant interviews, and in-depth interviews
• Training of the data collection team in line with the previously developed study protocols, with support from the study investigators at PSI
• Recruitment of study participants in line with the approved study protocols
• Conduct data collection (including distribution of research incentives) for research studies in line with the study protocol
• Secure submission of data collection reports and complete, quality-assured qualitative and quantitative datasets and transcripts (PSI/INS will be responsible for data analysis and dissemination of results)

Requisites

• The lead Consultant in the firm should have the following:
• Advanced degree from a recognized academic institution in public health, statistics, or related field
• More than 10 years’ hands on experience in conducting research in the sexual and reproductive health space in Mozambique
• Experience with collecting mixed methods data, including quantitative data collection, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews

Notes

• Indicate the source of this application: emprego.co.mz
• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
• The proposal must be submitted by e-mail, in English
• Questions must be placed by email to procurement@psi.org.mz and will be answered promptly
• The study protocol has been submitted for ethical review. A copy of the study protocol can be requested from the PSI team at procurement@psi.org.mz

Evaluation Criteria

• Technical and financial proposals - 100 points
• The first stage will evaluate the skill, experience and training of the specified persons who will be performing the services requested - 20 Points
• The second stage will evaluate the experience of doing similar fieldwork, analysis and reporting in the past - 50 Points
• The third stage will evaluate the cost proposal for proposals that pass the technical proposal evaluation - 30 Points

Additional information

• Research Aims:
• The goal of this research is to improve HPV self-screening product design and service delivery through the public and private sector in Mozambique. To do this, we will describe end-user and provider preferences for, and experiences with, HPV self-screening and barriers to uptake in the public and private sector. The specific aims are as follows:
• Aim 1) To identify end-user and provider preferences for HPV self-swabbing product, service delivery and experiential features
• Aim 1.1) To describe HPV self-swabbing barriers/motivators to uptake and willingness to pay among targets end-users
• Aim 1.2) To assess heterogeneity in preferences across different end-user segments, including differences by geography, age, marital status, and socio-economic status
• Aim 1.3) To establish client priorities in decision-making around self-swabbing and develop meaningful measures of these
• Aim 2) To describe the provider-level experiences in delivering facility-based HPV self-care, and quality of services provided in Mozambique
• Aim 3) To describe facility and community-based itineraries and readiness for innovative HPV service delivery models
• Aim 4) To describe end-user and provider experience, preferences, and barriers for self-injectable contraceptives

How to Apply

1. Documentation

• Submission of Proposal:
• Instructions to Bidders:
• Interested candidates should submit their application proposals, which should include the following documents:
• Technical proposal and financial proposal (Must not exceed 5 pages, excluding CV’s, profile, etc.)
• Profile of the consultant/Agency (the person who will carry out the work)
• Portfolio demonstrating experience with similar previous work
• 3 references for similar work

2. Application

• Send your Documentation to propostas@psi.org.mz with the Subject line “RFQ03/PSIMOZ/2023 – 03936 MAVERICK PHASE 2” and a hard copy in a sealed envelope to the following address Av. 25 de Setembro, nr 420 3rd floor Prédio JAT I Maputo