ICT Assessment of health facilities

Hello, my name is Taysir Shaqalaih and I work for Mercy Corps. We have been working in Gaza to Support the Palestinian people through increasing resilience, providing opportunities for peaceful engagement in support of self-determination and achieving economic self-sufficiency. Currently, we are conducting a comprehensive assessment in terms use of ICT in: health messaging; communication, facility operations, and use of ICT during emergencies to plan for a project that we will be starting soon, Gaza 20/20 Health Matters, led by International Medical Corps (IMC) and funded by USAID for five years.

The project will work with CBO/NGOs and private sector only, and aims to increase Gazans’ access and availability to primary and secondary services, as well as to help the non-MoH health system to prepare for and respond to emergencies. Through this assessment our aim is to learn about (1) Role currently played by health facilities in ICT based health communication with communities, facility staff and other health facilities and (2) Current status, needs, gaps of ICT adoption inside health facilities during normal; emergency situations and ways to improve .

Interviewers Names:

	Name
Interviewer 1

Interviewer 2

Interviewer 3

Date of interview:

Month	Day	Year

Section 1 : General Information

Participants Information

	Name	Title	Mobile Number	E-mail
Participant 1

Participant 2

Participant 3

Participant 4

Organization of Participants

Landline numbers of the facility?

	Number
Line 1

Line 2

Line 3

Website (if available)

Facebook Page (if available)

What geographic areas/neighborhoods does the facility(s) serve?

	Description
Geographic area/neighborhood 1

Geographic area/neighborhood 2

Geographic area/neighborhood 3

Geographic area/neighborhood 4

Geographic area/neighborhood 5

Geographic area/neighborhood 6

Type of Facility?

Primary Health Care

Secondary attached to hospital

Secondary not attached to hospital

Complimentary health service provider

Other, Specify

Managing Authority

On average, how many hours per day is this facility open?

On Average ! How many patients visit the facility monthly ?

Urban/Rural

Urban.

Rural.

Outpatient Only

Yes

Number of facility full-time staff:-

	No.
Health Specialists (doctors, nurses, etc)

Non-health staff (admin, finance, etc) excluding ICT staff

ICT staff

Do you have volunteers supporting your health staff?

Yes

Other, Specify

If yes, how many ? (Estimation OK)

Specific Health related Services offered by the facility?

	Description
Service 1

Service 2

Service 3

Service 4

Service 5

Service 6

Section 2: Communication with facility workers, Communities & other health facilities during normal situations.

A) Communities

In your opinion, what are the community health awareness needs? (e.g. Maternal & child health, nutrition, NCDs, vaccinations, pharmaceutical)

	Details
Health Awareness Need 1

Health Awareness Need 2

Health Awareness Need 3

Health Awareness Need 4

Health Awareness Need 5

Do communities around you know what type of health services do you provide?

Yes

I do not know

Do you feel that you need to promote health services that you provide for communities around you?

Yes

I do not know

Do you have Outreach strategies targeting communities around your facility?

Yes

Sometimes/spontaneous

Is strategy/activities documented?

Yes

Other Specify

What is the purpose of this communication?

Improving health behaviors (smoking, etc).

Preventing harmful diseases within the community (heart diseases, negative maternal health behaviors, etc).

Data collection/Surveys

Reminders system (appointments, etc)

Other Specify

Do you currently use ICT for such communication activities? this includes traditional community-based awareness campaigns as well as any form of digital data collection for client intake or registration, electronic medical records,etc

Yes

Sometimes

What communication Systems/tools do you usually use when communicating with community?

Landline

Mobile (Voice)

Mobile SMS notifications

specific software/mobile applications

Social media

Radio

Offline tools (such as posters, brochures, billboards, etc.)

Other Specify

Currently what are the main gaps & challenges you can see when communicating with communities & how can they be improved?

	Description	Improvement
Gap & Challenge 1

Gap & Challenge 2

Gap & Challenge 3

Gap & Challenge 4

Gap & Challenge 5

What specific roles you see that ICT can play to contribute in improving health behaviors (health communication) and How? Probe: disseminate health related messages (nutrition, disaster preparedness, etc.), targeted health campaigns, two-way communication between health facility & community, etc.

	Description	How
Role 1

Role 2

Role 3

Role 4

Role 5

what other services/benefits (other than health communication) you see that ICT can provide during normal situations within health sector (with the community or within health facilities) ?

	Description
Service/Benefit 1

Service/Benefit 2

Service/Benefit 3

Service/Benefit 4

Service/Benefit 5

Are able and willing to participate in developing health messages for the community within health matters project?

Yes

I do not know

B) Health Facility Workers

What are the main systems/tools used to share information & communicate among workers of your facility during normal situations? (Select all applicable)

What are some of the specific challenges/Gaps that you can see regarding staff communication during normal situations What do you see as some of the possible solutions?

	Challenge/Gap Description	Possible Solution
Challenge/Gap 1

Challenge/Gap 2

Challenge/Gap 3

Challenge/Gap 4

Challenge/Gap 5

C) Other Health Facilities

Do you coordinate & communicate with other health facilities?

Yes

Sometimes

When do communicate with other health facilities?

During normal Situations only

During emergencies only

Both (During Emergency & Normal Situation)

Other

What is the main purpose(s) of Coordination/Communication? (i.e. coordination of referrals). And how this is done?

	Description	How ?
Purpose 1

Purpose 2

Purpose 3

Purpose 4

Purpose 5

What are some of the specific challenges/Gaps that you can see regarding communication with other facilities during normal situations What do you see as some of the possible solutions?

	Challenge/Gap Description	Possible Solution
Challenge/Gap 1

Challenge/Gap 2

Challenge/Gap 3

Challenge/Gap 4

Challenge/Gap 5

	How ?	Ways of ICT Facilitating
How ICT is currently used in coordination/communications with other facilities? Are there any ways that you can see ICT facilitating this process?

Section 3: Communication during Emergency situations (with facility workers, Communities & other health facilities)

Does your facility work during major emergency Situations?

Yes

Yes but with low capacity

No but we work during small scale emergencies

Not at all

How did your facility receive information about the emergency? How did you share information with your staff, other facilities or support services for early warning and for emergency management purposes?

	Description
receive emergency information

sharing inf with staff

sharing inf with other health facilities/support services

During past emergencies, what type of information was lacking?

	Description
Information 1

Information 2

Information 3

Information 4

Information 5

How do you communicate with field staff during emergency?

	Description	Notes
Method 1

Method 2

Method 3

Method 4

Method 5

How do you communicate with volunteer health workers during emergency?

	Description	Notes
Method 1

Method 2

Method 3

Method 4

Method 5

What systems, technologies/tools used for internal communication/information exchange during emergencies? (Select All applicable)

	What	How (Email, Landline, Mobile (Voice), SMS, Specific software/Mobile Apps, social media, radio, TV, offline tools (posters, brochures, billboards,etc))
Do you communicate with community during emergencies? if yes, what content do you communicate, and how?

How was your internet accessibility is like during previous emergencies? (War 2014 for example)

If you lacked internet, was it an issue of not having electricity or the provider itself was down?

What type of information/data should be collected from the field during emergencies?

	Description
Information 1

Information 2

Information 3

Information 4

Information 5

In your opinion, what are the most effective and reliable communication tools you have found during emergencies? (Email, Landline, Mobile (voice), SMS, Specific software/mobile App., social media, radio, TV, offline tools (posters, brochures, billboards))

	Description
Communication Tool 1

Communication Tool 2

Communication Tool 3

Communication Tool 4

Communication Tool 5

What are key challenges/gaps of communication during emergencies and how it can be improved? Please elaborate as much as possible.

	Challenge/Gap Description	How
Challenge/Gap 1

Challenge/Gap 2

Challenge/Gap 3

Challenge/Gap 4

Challenge/Gap 5

If not at all, then Why?

Are your staff attended in other facilities?

Yes

Other, Specify

How do they get that information?

Now, we will discuss workforce management within your facility pre and post-crisis

Who is in charge of community outreach communications and data collection in your facility?

	During normal situations	During emergencies
With facility staff (Internal)

with community (Outreach)

with other facilities/parties (Referral/Emergency)

Do you support the idea of having a Toll free hotline to be used during normal and emergency situations across Gaza?

Yes for normal situations only

Yes for emergency situations only

Yes during normal & emergency situations

I do not know

Not at all

Other, Specify

Section 4: Current ICT Infrastructure - Gaps & Needs.

Does the current ICT infrastructure meet the facility needs? Why not?

	Sufficient	Insufficient, Why?	Does not exist
PCs/Laptops

Tablets/Smart Phones

Local Area Network (LAN)

Servers

Cloud Services

Inter-facility Connection (VPN)

Internet Connection (from ISP)

Wi-Fi (internal)

Video/Web Conferencing

Telehealth

Maintenance of ICT equipment

Firewall/UTM

What would you prioritize as the main ICT infrastructure needs for the facility? Why?

	Priority (High, Intermediate, Low)	Justification	N/A
PCs/Laptops

Tablets/Smart Phones

Local Area Network

Servers

Cloud Services

Inter-facility Connection (VPN)

Internet Connection (from ISP)

Wifi (internal)

Video/Web Conferencing

Telehealth

Maintenance of ICT equipment

Firewall/UTM

Do you support the idea of connecting all health facilities benefiting from the health matters project in a one Computer Network?

Yes

I do not know

If yes, why?

Current Back-up Power generation capacity & Future needs

What is the facility’s main source of electricity?

National Grid.

Fuel generator.

Solar system.

Other, Specify

What is the total capacity in KWatt ?

Do you have a back-up power generation?

Yes

What is the total capacity in KWatt ?

What are back-up power generation options do you currently have? Are they Satisfactory? If not Why?

	Yes/No	Satisfactory	Not satisfactory, Why?	N/A
A second national Grid line

Back-up Power Fuel Generator.

UPS

Batteries Bank

Solar Energy

Ideally, what type of backup power systems would you need to maintain ICT Systems functionality during normal situations? what about during an emergency?

	Normal	Emergency	N/A
A second national Grid line

Back-up Power Generator.

UPS

Batteries Bank

Solar Energy

Section 5: Existing ICT capacity & needs of facility staff

What is the percentage of facility staff who have access to smart phones? and what is the percentage of facility staff who have Minimum ICT knowledge?

	% of accessing to smart phones	% of ICT Knowledge (emails, Ms-office, internet browsing, social media,...etc )	Notes
Health Specialists

Health Workers

Non-health staff (Admin, finance, etc.)

ICT

Do you have a Wi-fi in your facility(s)

Yes

Are staff able to connect Smartphones to the internet within your facility through facility Wi-Fi ?

Yes

Other, Specify

Do staff keep their phones on person while they are movng around the facility ?

Yes

Other, Specify

In your opinion what are the top ICT capacity building needs for existing facility staff?

	CB topics	Justification?	Notes
Health Specialists

Health Workers

Non-health staff (Admin, finance, etc.)

ICT

Do you have ICT department?

Yes

Other Specify

ICT Staff Description

	Title	No.
ICT Staff 1

ICT Staff 2

ICT Staff 3

ICT Staff 4

ICT Staff 5

ICT Staff 6

Why ?

Do you need new ICT Staff members ?

Yes

New ICT Staff Description

	Title	No.	Justification
ICT Staff 1

ICT Staff 2

ICT Staff 3

ICT Staff 4

ICT Staff 5

ICT Staff 6

Do you have training hall(s)?

Yes

If yes, can you provide specifications for training halls?

	Description and Status
# of rooms/halls

Total area/training hall

Size (# of trainees per training hall)

# and status of Chairs/tables per training hall

LCD projector(s)/training hall

PCs/Laptops/training hall

Internet (available, speed)

For what purposes Internet is used by your facility's staff? (Select all applicable)

Do you use recent mobile messaging technologies like WhatsApp, Viber, etc. for sharing information among facility staff (during normal situation and emergency)?

Yes

If used, what are your preferred applications and for what purposes? (Prob: Disease outbreaks, security awareness, drug needs, etc.)

	Name of App	Purpose	Notes (Normal/Emergency)
Preferred Application 1

Preferred Application 2

Preferred Application 3

Preferred Application 4

Preferred Application 5

Section 6: Current IT systems in use & Future Needs

Can you tell me what IT systems you currently use in the facility? Are they used? do they meet your needs?

If you have any other systems used in your organization/facility but not listed above please specify:

	System 1	System 2	System 3	System 4
Name of the System

System Description

What are the top three IT systems needed in the facility? Why do you need these Systems?

	Name/Description	Justification
System 1

System 2

System 3

Which of the following IT systems would you give a higher priority? And Why?

Intra-facility communication system? (IE. primarily to facilitate staff-to-staff communication)

Emergency System? (IE. primarily focused on community-level reporting and information sharing directly with clients)

Why ?

What is the preferred user environment? Why?

Why ?

Now, we have some questions on how ICT is used to communicate with different groups. We are interested in how your facility is using ICT to facilitate communication in both non-emergency and emergency situations between facility workers, with the community, and between health facilities.

Basic communications tools of the facility

	Functioning	Not Functioning	How Many?	Reliability during normal (High-Medium-Low)	Reliability during emergency (High-Medium-Low)	Notes
Does the facility have Landline Telephone(s)?

Does the facility have its own cellular Telephone?

Does the facility have short-wave radio for radio calls?

Do you have internet subscriptions ?

Yes

Other, Specify

What type of internet connections do you have ? (ADSL, VDSL, Wireless, Fiber)

How many internet subscriptions do you have?

Internet Subscription details

	Vendor Name	Internet Speed	Notes
Subscription 1

Subscription 2

Subscription 3

Subscription 4

Subscription 5

If no, why ?

Does Internet is available 24/7?

Yes

If No why?

Do you have wireless access points ?

Yes

If no, please detail approximately how many computers/devices are connected to the internet and which staff members have access to them ? (e.g. Doctor's desktop, general user staff computer, etc)

Do you have Inter-Network communication between your facility branches/departments ?

Yes

What type of connection used?

Wireless

Wired VPN

How much bandwidth do you have between your branches/departments?

Do you know if there are programs/initiatives (By WHO/MOH or others) to facilitate communications within or among health facilities?

Yes

Other

If yes could you please provide some details: (What, who, how, when , where):-

	Details
What (General community-awareness type communication, digital, radio, or all above ?)

Who

How

When

Where

Would you like to add any other information?

Interview End Time:

Hrs.	Mins.	AM/PM

Section 7: Interviewer Observations/Comments

Comments about the respondents:

Comments on specific questions

Any other comments

Observations (facility ICT equipment, training halls, people, environment, etc.)

Result of the interview (last)