Service: Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods

Study of Food Provision on Garment Workers’ Health and Productivity: Impact Evaluation and Secondary Activities

Household Fuel Consumption Baseline Survey

Study on Youth Exclusion and Social Unrest in the Asia Pacific Region

Cambodian Consortium for Out-of-School Children: Baseline Survey

Health Equity Fund Utilisation Survey

Location

Cambodia. Location within country: 12 provinces (Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Thom, Koh Kong, Kratie, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Sihanouk, Pursat, Takeo, Tbong Khmum)

Project Description

Health Equity Funds (HEF) are grants managed by third party operators (NGOs or CBOs) that aim to increase access of the poor to health services in hospitals and generate additional revenue for referral hospitals. HEFs are now a key building block in the overall strategy being developed by the Government and its development partners for tackling inequities in the health sector. HEFs are being implemented in all of Cambodia’s 23 provinces and Phnom Penh municipality and are fully rolled out (by URC scheme) in 51 (out of 81) ODs (63%). The MoH aims to reach full national geographical coverage in 2014. However, a number of surveys including CDHS 2010 and CSES 2011 have suggested that HEFs may not always be used by their members to receive medical care free of charge. Overall, available data indicates that HEFs may be suffering from underutilization, although these estimates need refining with studies devised specifically to address this question.

The main purpose of this assignment is to measure – using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods – the level of utilization of Health Equity Funds (HEFs) among the poor and the various factors that explain the utilization pattern observed. This study is expected to help generate evidence that will improve access to health services by the poor in Cambodia as well as inform the policy dialogue with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) with the aim of strengthening RGC capacity to move towards universal health coverage (UHC).

After a public procurement and bidding process, Angkor Research was awarded the contract to conduct HEF Utilisation Survey from the World Bank (Cambodia office). The study combines both quantitative and qualitative components, and includes treatment (HEF members) and control (non-HEF members) groups to understand utilisation patterns of HEF members relative to the general population. The 2,000 household quantitative survey (1,000 treatment and 1,000 control) is also segregated by distance to the nearest public health facilities; and qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with nearly 300 key informants including HEF members, HEF operators, public hospital/health center directors and doctors, and village health support group volunteers. Angkor Research was responsible for all components of this mixed methods study, including: initial research design and literature review; sample selection methodology, framework and selection; instrument design, translation and pre-testing; national ethical approval (NECHR); field data collection; data entry and data management; transcription, translation and coding of all qualitative data; quantitative and qualitative data analysis; and report writing. The quantitative household survey was conducted among 2,003 households. The response rate was 98.5%, and individual interviewers completed an average of 5.8 interviews per day.

Least Cost Biodigester Scale-up Program Market Survey

Study on Commune/Sangkat Planning and Budgeting for Social Services

Location

Cambodia. Location within Cambodia: 21 provinces

Project Description

In partnership with NCDDS, UNICEF commissioned this comprehensive study to identify the gaps and challenges in commune/sangkat (CS) planning, budget allocation, and execution with particular focus on social services for poor and vulnerable groups (women and children, youth, disabled person including disabled children, and ethnic minorities). The study also maps the demand for social services among the poor and non-poor with particular focus on women and children, the space, the scope and the capacity of the community to influence the CS planning and budgeting, and the capacity (planning and budgeting) of communes in addressing social issues and implementing social service interventions, social protection, emergency preparedness, and response and community resilience especially in reaching the most deprived children and women.

This mixed methods survey combines both quantitative and qualitative data from households and CS budget planning and preparation at the community levels, including a desk review and analysis of the national CS planning and budgeting process and procedures. Angkor Research is responsible for all aspects of this mixed methods survey of 3,200 community-level household respondents in the quantitative survey, as well as key informant interviews with NCCD and other national and subnational stakeholders, 320 in-depth interviews with commune-level CS budget planning stakeholders, and 8 focus group discussions. Activities include the literature review, sample methodology and selection, instrument design and translation, field data collection, data management, data analysis and reporting. The response rate for the household survey was 96.2%.

Ending Violence Against Women Cambodia: Project Communication Consulting

Operational Research on Consumer Perceptions of Implants as Long-term Family Planning Methods

MALIS Project Endline Survey