Consultants to Conduct the Study on Presbyopia to Collect the Project Indicators

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Helen Keller International (HKI) is an international non-governmental organization. Its mission is to save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged by combating the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition. We do this by establishing programs grounded in evidence-based research in eye health and nutrition.

Presbyopia (farsightedness) is a significant cause of avoidable visual impairment, blindness and disability, particularly among older adults. Vision impairment due to uncorrected presbyopia affects over one billion people worldwide, 98% of whom live in less developed countries. Poor access to eyeglasses and lack of health care professionals to perform eye examinations exacerbate to this issue.

With the generous support from Grand Challenges Canada, HKI implement the program called “Establishing Vision Entrepreneurs through Community Based Eye Care System in Rural Communities of Hanoi, Vietnam”.

Objectives of program:

1. To develop a replicable service delivery model that improves assess for correction of presbyopia in underserved communities.
2. Reduce the number of people with uncorrected presbyopia by screening, refracting and providing qualified eyeglasses; thereby contributing to improvement in their quality of life.
3. Improve the knowledge of adults and community members about the importance of maintaining good vision;
4. Improve the capacity of private optic shops in Quoc Oai to provide high quality eyeglasses for those who have refractive errors.

In this project, HKI and its project partners will train and monitor local optic shop technicians to ensure high quality services and will train local villagers as project collaborators to visit households to give simple eye health messages, do basic visual acuity screening, and refer those needing additional services in their catchment area.
The program will be conducted from September 2014 to August 2015. As part of the program activities, HKI will conduct baseline/endline surveys in order to measure prevalence of presbyopia, knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) on presbyopia, project participant’s quality of life before and after project implementing period.

OVERALL GOAL OF THE FINAL EVALUATION

The objectives of this assignment are to develop the study design, questionnaires, data entry form, collect data in the field, analyse data and prepare the report for both of baseline and endline surveys.

SCOPE OF WORK AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The consultant, with the assistances and input of HKI VN eye health program team, will be responsible for following activities:
- Develop the proposal, survey plan and questionnaires. Discuss and reach consensus about survey plan and questionnaire with HKI and local partners
- Design the questionnaires
- Develop data entry tools by using epidata software
- Monitor the data collection in the field
- Enter the data, check and clean data with the cooperation with HKI program team
- Review and analyze the overall data both baseline and end-line surveys
- Produce the report for baseline with findings and recommendations
- Present draft of final report (for both baseline and endline) for discussion and improvement
- Finalize the report (in Vietnamese and in English)

METHODOLOGY

The methodology will be defined by consultants, taking into account budget and time constraints.

DELIVERABLES

The selected consultant will provide the following deliverables after getting the confirmation from HKI in Vietnam:

- A detailed work plan
- Proposal and data collecting tools
- Data entry tool
- Data files
- 01 report for baseline
- 01 final report (including baselline and endline)

TIMEFRAME: The detailed time frame will be agreed, however the assignment is expected to take 18.5 days during the period from October 2014 to May 2015, which includes desk-review, preparation, implementation, field work (monitoring) and report writing.

REQUIREMENTS:

Academic qualification and required experience of the consultant are as follows:

• Vietnamese citizen;
• At least 7 years working experience in health area
• Relevant degree from a recognized tertiary medical, public health institution (degrees in ophthalmology would be advantage)
• Strong background knowledge of eye health in Vietnam is preferred
• Excellent command of the English language
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
• Proficiency in statistical software, especially epi-data and epi-info.
• Working experience in development sector, especially NGOs and community groups
• Have extensive knowledge and understanding of Vietnamese culture
• Has skills in project management, presentation and communication
• Knowledge in development and management of monitoring & evaluation
• Understanding of and sensitivity to poverty-related development and gender issues
• Agree with HKI’s mission and want to contribute to improving eye health in Vietnam

BUDGET

The fee for consultant will be negotiated and applied following HKI Vietnam regulations.

The consultant or consultancy companies who are interested in taking these consultancy works please submit:

(i) A letter of interest;
(ii) CV
(iii) Technical proposal indicating the understanding of the TOR, a detailed methodology
(iv) Financial Proposal (not including the budget for the data collection);
(v) Supporting documents (if any)

To:

Helen Keller International Vietnam
Room 103, B5 building, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound, 298 Kim Ma, Hanoi, Vietnam
Email: [email protected]; [email protected] and Cc: [email protected]

The deadline for submitting the application will be on 20 October 2014.

Only short-listed consultants will be contacted.