Duration: 30 days
Reporting Line: Senior Technical Advisor/ Task Force Team
Scope: National
Scope of the Consultancy
Despite the gains being made in preventing and treating HIV infections, access to HIV services among children and adolescents remains a challenge. While 38% of eligible adults are on ART, only 24% of children have been initiated on this life saving medication. Adolescents are even more affected with an estimated 2.1 million adolescents living with HIV globally, 85% of these in sub-Saharan Africa. Access to HIV services among adolescents is even worse and in Africa, HIV is now the leading cause of death in this age group. It is only among the adolescent where the HIV deaths are not decreasing. While sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest brunt of pediatric HIV infections, access to HIV services here are hampered by several factors including late presentation to health facilities, limited access to pediatric HIV services, delayed diagnosis, limited and complex drug regimen, health care provider incompetence and lack of confidence to care for children among others.
In February 2015, NASCOP rolled out comprehensive job aids for ART providers comprising flow charts to support the service provider to provide HIV services. A gap still exists in tools that serve as prompts for health workers to integrate HIV into general pediatric services as well as in tools that promote treatment literacy for the child and adolescent infected with HIV as well as their caregivers. Tools for treatment literacy would potentially improve the patient engagement in their care, promote retention and improve outcomes.
In line with NASCOP’s priorities, University of Maryland will support NASCOP to develop standard operating procedures that are not already contained in the Job AIDS targeting the service provider; age-appropriate treatment literacy material for children and adolescents and educational material to support the caregiver.
Overview of the health application consultancy
The health application developer consultant is critical to provide input into age-appropriate platforms of communicating critical adherence and disclosure messages to children including digital forums for peer interaction among adolescents, in addition to educational material to support the healthcare worker. Additionally, s/he will provide a platform for the most effective age-appropriate treatment literacy material for children and adolescents. The person will work closely with the communication specialist.
Specific Project Objectives
- Build a hybrid Android phone and Windows phone Application. The Application will be used to communicate age appropriate content to adolescents living with HIV to support adherence, disclosure and stigma reduction; The application which will be used to pass HIV care and treatment information, schedule appointment and adherence reminders;
- Develop a usage statistics that help in tracking and reporting ;
- Develop a web portal to administer the Application ;
- Ensure the application is on Google play store and Microsoft Store;
- Advice on the platform to use for specific ages .
Methodology
The exercise will be conducted through a participatory approach in which all leads on the project are included in the process. It should consist of a thorough review of treatment literacy material and health care worker job aids content. In collaboration with the Communication Specialist the health application developer will translate this content into a mobile phone application for Android and Windows phone and a web portal to administer the application.
Final Product
- The consultant will present an interactive and comprehensive application on Google play store and Microsoft Store
- The Consultant will present a web portal to manage the application.
- Provide full documentation for the application and web portal
a. Provide a User manual regarding the operation, update and maintenance of the web portal
- The consultant should commit to 1 year warranty for application.
Time frame for consultancy
The consultancy should be conducted for 30 working days.
Profile of the consultancy
The Consultant/ Firm must have:
· University qualification in IT with specialization in software development
· Demonstrated experience developing mobile phone based public health applications – this includes proof of at least one application working in the field.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applying for the Consultancy
Consultant/ Firm must submit:
· A cover letter expressing their interest
· Detailed CVs of the personnel having previous experience of working in this area
· Samples of two communication consultancies previously carried out
· Short listed consultant/ firm will be asked to appear in an interview.
All proposals must be submitted by 24 July 2015 on following address:hr@mgickenya.org
