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Supportive Supervision
In order to support country in improving the quality and impact of reproductive health services Sustain project conducting Supportive Supervision for project sites. Guided by the vision that health care quality can be significantly improved by applying proven quality improvement methods, the Sustain Project assists local hospitals and Primary Health Care facilities to scale up evidence-based interventions and improve outcomes in Reproductive health, maternal and newborn care, and Family Planning. The project seeks to help country expand coverage of essential RH/FP/MCH services; make services better meet the needs of underserved populations, especially women of reproductive age and newborn; improve efficiency and increase health worker capacity and motivation.
The Project builds on JSI previous experience in different countries including the successes of the Healthy Women in Georgia Project (2003-2009) which adapted approaches such as continuous quality improvement, needs assessment and problem-solving in program-assisted facilities.
An experience showed that PHC involvement in provision of FP service has significantly increase accessibility to and use of FP services, while Supportive Supervision site-visits improve the quality of provided care and increase client satisfaction. To assure sustainability and continuity of quality - JSI, HWG and EERFPA programs jointly designed SS System strategy for Family Planning Service Provision. Under the JSI Sustain, SS strategy has been modified, adjusted for and along with existing MCH service quality evaluation tools is used to support quality assurance in hospitals (project sites), providing Effective Perinatal Care.
Under the Sustain project - partner organizations – local NGOs through small grants assist over 300 primary health care facilities, providing FP services. They conducted site visits, face-to face on-the-job trainings, and needs-based problem focused regional trainings. After SS intervention over one year period reported better client satisfaction, fewer medical complications, and lower family planning discontinuation. As a result of increased self confidence of Family Doctors, contraceptive method mix in pilot sites became more even. The most important achievement of the system is the incorporation of systematic data collection, analysis, and use into ongoing team-based performance improvement activities, by using various SS tools and job aids.
This approach has demonstrated that individual health facilities and networks, can proactively define, measure, and improve the quality of offered services. The next challenge in Georgia is to engage professional associations to scale-up the process, and to address the quality, through inclusion of supportive supervision concepts and tools in ongoing health reform structures.
Supportive Supervision Presentation |
