Mid-Term Data Collector for The Young Health Program in Thailand. At Plan International

Introduction

Plan International is an independent global child rights organisation committed to supporting vulnerable and marginalised children and their communities to be free from poverty. By actively connecting committed people with powerful ideas, we work together to make positive, deep rooted and lasting changes in children and young people’s lives. We place specific focus on girls and young people’s lives. For over 80 years, we have supported girls and boys and their communities around the world to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights, free themselves from poverty and live positive fulfilling lives. Plan International has been operating in Thailand since 1981 and continues to work in the greater Bangkok and municipal areas, the northern provinces such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Sot, and the south eastern part of Thailand.

Background

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 71% of all deaths, including 15 million premature deaths (between 30-70 years old)^[1]. In Thailand, NCDs are estimated to account for 74% of all deaths[2]. The five most common NCDs are cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental and neurological conditions. The five main contributing risk factors are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and air pollution.

Young people aged 10-24 make up 24% of the world’s population^[3]. In Thailand, young people (10 – 24) represent 18.7% of the population[4]. NCDs are especially important for young people. The World Health Organisation estimates that two thirds of premature deaths in adults are associated with childhood conditions and behaviours, and behaviour associated with NCD risk factors is common in young people: over 150 million young people smoke; 81% adolescents don’t get enough physical activity; 11.7% of adolescents engage in heavy episodic drinking, and 41 million children under 5 are overweight or obese[5]. An estimated 35% of the global burden of disease has its origin in adolescence, and more than 3,000 adolescents die every day, mostly from NCDs, intentional and unintentional injuries and other preventable causes[6]. An investment in adolescent health and well-being brings benefits today, for decades to come, and for the next generation[7].

The WHO estimates that by 2025 almost 10 million premature deaths from NCDs can be prevented through decisive government action^[8]. During the third High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on NCDs in September 2018, leaders acknowledged the scale of the challenge and their responsibility – committing to provide strategic leadership from the top of government.

Emphasizing the role of young people, the WHO notes that young people can also advocate for policies and practices that aim to improve NCD prevention and care[9]. Young people have the capacity to add value to solutions for NCDs; they are more empowered and enthused to participate in shaping their everyday lives, including health, than generations before. The voices of young people may offer new perspectives, media channels and solutions to NCDs. Young people have a right to the highest attainable standard of health and wellbeing. However, too few have access to relevant and reliable health information and to high-quality and youth-friendly health services without facing discrimination or other obstacles, with many governments still not keen to meaningfully engage young people when making policy decisions.

Overview of the Young Health Programme (YHP)

The Young Health Programme (YHP) is AstraZeneca’s global community investment initiative. It has a unique focus on young people and primary prevention of the most common non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart and respiratory disease, and mental and neurological health conditions.

Working with other expert organisations and combining on-the-ground programmes, research and advocacy, the YHP works with young people (10-24) to target risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and air pollution that can lead to these diseases in adulthood. Since 2010 Plan International has implemented the YHP in Zambia, Brazil, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Egypt, Colombia and in the United Kingdom.

In Thailand, the YHP is implemented by Plan International Thailand in partnership with The Education for Development Foundation (EDF). The programme has been running for a period of 5 years from 2019 to 2024. The overall goal of the YHP in Thailand is to contribute to improved health and well-being of young people between 10-24 years old in Thailand. Specifically, it aims to ensure that young people in Thailand have increased knowledge about NCD prevention and NCD risk factors and increased greater capacity to make informed decisions about their health.

The programme has the following four objectives:

1. Young people have increased knowledge and capacity to protect and promote their long-term health, including NCD prevention, SRHR, gender equality and mental health
2. Communities (teachers, families, local leaders) are informed and mobilised to provide a safe and supportive environment that facilitates healthy behaviour among young people
3. Health services have the capacity to support the health of young people, including accessible and quality youth friendly services
4. Laws and policies support NCD prevention and promote the broader health of young people

The YHP takes a holistic approach to address NCD prevention and promote long-term health for young people. This means that in addition to targeting NCD risk factors, the programme addresses the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the emotional well-being of young people, and it uses a gendered approach to NCD prevention. In this way, the programme addresses the impact of underlying social, economic, cultural and psychological factors which influences health choices, and creates an environment in which young people have access to the support, information and services they need.

A detailed YHP proposal and M&E framework, among other relevant programme documents, will be shared with the selected consultant(s) for their review prior to starting the mid-term study.

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to collect data for a mid-term study of the YHP in Thailand. The mid-term data from this study and the recommendations will inform the outcome targets and strategies of the YHP in Thailand at the middle of implementation. The mid-term data will be compared with the baseline data collected at the beginning of the YHP to assess whether the YHP indicators are on track. The mid-term data will also provide the YHP team with benchmarks against which the YHP objectives and outcomes will be measured during final evaluation.

Scope of Work

The scope of work of this consultancy is to collect mid-term data (using the same quantitative and qualitative tools used during baseline), to insert the quantitative data into an agreed software programme and to transcribe the qualitative data. Plan International will then send the collected raw mid-term data to a consultant in the UK, who will analyse the data and write the mid-term report. So, data analysis and report writing is not part of this consultancy.

The mid-term study findings and recommendations will inform the YHP strategies and outcome targets at the middle of implementation compared to the baseline findings and recommendations. The mid-term data will also form the basis for measuring the extent to which the YHP objectives and outcomes are achieved during final evaluation.

Methodology

The consultant will be responsible for using the YHP global methodology and data collection tools; country-specific contextualisation on the tools is possible but always in agreement with Plan International UK. The consultant will propose the country-specific sampling strategy, and with the Plan International country office agree on a list of key informants (from government, civil society organisations and health facilities) to be interviewed.

There are 4 YHP data collection tools that the consultant will administer for this mid-term data collection per the global YHP methodology:

1. Survey assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices, and other elements relating to NCD risk factors among young people (quantitative)
2. Sample: 400 young people (aged 10-24) randomly selected with some stratification of the sample (for gender, age group)
3. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) involving young people and other YHP cohorts (qualitative)
4. Sample: 8 FGDs minimum in total; 2 FGDs each with a) young people (peer educators); b) parents/caregivers; c) teachers; d) community stakeholders/leaders
5. Key Informant Interviews with health professionals, government policymakers, civil society organisations, alliances, networks and other non-governmental stakeholders (qualitative)
6. Sample: 10 KIIs minimum in total with a selection of 1) health professionals; 2) government stakeholders; 3) civil society stakeholders; 4) other stakeholders or beneficiaries of particular interest
7. Process Assessment Tool assessing how the programme was implemented (qualitative). The same tool will be used during final evaluation.
8. Sample: Plan International Country Office programme implementation team and potential implementation partners

Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following:

1. Inception report which should include a detailed sampling and data collection methodology, proposed key informants, proposed data collection software, timeline and execution plan
2. Data collected and inserted/transcribed

· Qualitative: Full transcripts of the qualitative data should be submitted in Word format both in the original language and translated into English. Specific guidance on how the Word documents should be labelled and formatted will be provided.

· Quantitative: Consultants will use electronic data collection software of their choice (recommended: KoboCollect / KoboToolbox) to enter the data that is collected in such a way that it can be submitted in as an Excel *.csv file where rows correspond to observations; columns correspond to survey items), cleaned, and with the specific column headers and coding requested by the UK Consultant.

1. Remain available for questions on data after initial submission

Qualification of the consultant

The required skills and competences for the consultant are:

· Advanced degree in Public Health, Population Research, Development Studies, Gender, Population Studies, Monitoring and Evaluation or any other relevant degrees

· Knowledge and expertise in young people’s health or NCD risk factors is an advantage

· At least 3 years’ experience with baseline, midline and final evaluations

· In-depth knowledge and understanding of Thailand’s health system and policy environment

· Does not affiliate with any government bodies

· Research experience in the health sector and preferably proven experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection

· Experience in researches involving marginalized or vulnerable children, young people and communities (desirable)

· Demonstrated understanding of and commitment to children’s rights, gender equality and development issues

· Experience in working across multiple sectors including with INGOs. Knowledge of Plan International and its work locally (desirable)

· Fluent in local language and proficient in the use of English

Management of the Consultancy

Plan International Thailand, in collaboration with Plan International UK, is the lead partner in the Young Health Programme and is responsible for the overall management of the consultancy. The consultant will be reporting to the YHP Programme Manager in country and will receive necessary support from the YHP team and partners (where applicable). The YHP team will avail to the consultant any relevant YHP documents or resources, if needed.

Plan’s Child and Youth Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct

The consultant undertaking this assignment must demonstrate commitment to strictly adhere to Plan’s Child and Youth Safeguarding Policy and Plan’s Code of Conduct. It is the responsibility of Plan International Thailand to ensure that all persons hired, used or otherwise consulted for this exercise, are made familiar with the policies and are in agreement to also abide by them before their services are agreed to.

Timeframe

The consultant is expected to submit a detailed execution plan with reasonable and realistic number of days which will not be more than 15 working days.

Respondents are asked to provide

Interested consultant(s) and/or agencies should provide the following information:

1. A letter of intent expressing the consultant’s or firm’s capabilities and qualifications
2. Consultant or agency profile outlining areas of expertise with samples of select works
3. Current list of recent and relevant clients
4. Any direct or relevant past experience of undertaking similar assignments
5. Names and CVs of the professionals who will be the lead and associated with the assignment and how the assignment will be managed
6. Detailed technical proposal on the understanding of the TOR and the scope of the work, outlining the approach and plan to accomplish the assignment
7. A proposed timeline indicating activities/sub-activities to be undertaken and the corresponding outputs, including gender and safeguarding considerations
8. A financial proposal containing itemized all-inclusive budget. Plan International will not meet any other costs related to the assignment
9. Evidence of acceptance to payment schedule of 30% being payment upon signing the contract 40% being payment upon submission of acceptable draft inception report and 30% upon submission of acceptable complete final report

   All applications received by the submission date will be reviewed by a selection committee, in consultation with Plan International UK, based on predetermined objective criteria. Upon selection, the consultant/agency will be invited for a discussion and requested to submit a detailed inception report (described in section 7 of this TOR) prior to start of the assignment