Kenya Terms of Reference (ToR) for Social Research Lead on Positive Deviance Study – Jobs in Kenya

1. Background

The project Protecting the Well-being and Strengthening Resilience of Frontline Health Workers is a collaborative effort of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and Johnson and Johnson Foundation (JJF). It aims to generate evidence base on the current psychosocial well-being and resiliency of FHWs working in resource-limited settings, with a geographical focus on East Africa.

The immediate actions undertaken as part of this short-term response will help lay the ground for a follow-up phase where we will explore a longer-term human-centered design approach to identifying solutions to build resilience, reduce burnout and improve the psychosocial wellbeing and productivity of the frontline health workforce.

Resilience Project – Positive Deviance “spin off” study – Three Page Overview

• What

The Resilience Project is an approach by the AKDN to better understand psychosocial needs, levels of psychosocial distress and coping tactics, and resiliency-building measures experienced by the frontline health workforce (FHW), including community health workers (CHW). It includes the generation of both practical and rigorous knowledge about ‘what works’ in strengthening the resilience of the FHW in poorly resourced settings. A rigorous baseline study led by AKU is already ongoing. The Positive Deviance “spin off” (PDso) study will allow us to better understand how some specific healthcare facilities and their working environment (Positive Deviants) are able to create positive outcomes with respect to well-being and resilience among FHW.

• Where:

The Resilience project has a specific focus on Kenya but aims to reach the whole East Africa region. Kenya will be the country of interest for the PDso study as the AKU baseline study has only involved Kenyan FHW.

• Who:

The Resilience project involves nurses, midwives, community health workers, policymakers, trainers, managers, administrators, and other stakeholders. The PDso study will allow us to better understand how some specific healthcare facilities and their working environment have used innovative alternatives/interventions to support well-being & resilience among FHW.

• How:

The PDso study will identify key factors/ practices/ behaviors used in healthcare facilities to put in place the well-being/ wellness interventions FHWs that may be contributing factors to better outcomes for FHWs in terms of resilience and wellbeing. As no FHW mental health metric is already available in Kenya, the PDso will utilize the AKU baseline study to identify sites by investigating if specific health facilities are linked with FHW presenting very low levels of stress/ anxiety/ depression/ burnout & very high level of resilience.

A match-control design is considered. Specific health facilities linked with FHW presenting very high levels of stress/ anxiety/ depression/ burnout & very low level of resilience will be considered as Non-PD sites.

2. Scope of work

The Social Research Lead will be responsible for collaborative research design and delivery, data collection, data management, documentation, assessment, and reporting for this research exercise. They will also line manage applicable field researchers and data analyzers.

3. Programme Deliverables

• Design the protocol, research methodology, and tools.
• Lead the ethical approval process
• Ensure quality control of research conducted by researchers and enumerators
• Oversight of data capture and data analysis
• Written study report
• Presentation of the research findings to relevant stakeholders

4. Person specification

Essential

1. At least 8 years experience in social research in a health field
2. Experience in mixed-methodology research projects, including Positive Deviance studies
3. Experience of participatory research methods
4. Experience of, or openness to, innovative approaches to social research
5. Experience in training enumerators and working with local teams in a culturally appropriate manner
6. Experience leading and training social research teams
7. Strong written and verbal communication skills
8. Professional working proficiency in English (written and verbal)
9. Excellent research, reporting, and analytical skills
10. Relevant IT skills including SPSS, MS Office, etc.

Desired

1. Experience in conducting Positive Deviance studies in the health sector
2. Experience in the mental health field
3. Experience in conducting quantitative social research in East Africa
4. PhD in a relevant discipline, or equivalent in professional experience