2006 Working Group Highlights

Organized a series of six web-based Elluminate lectures (each 45 minutes to 1 hour) covering various aspects of the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) monitoring and evaluation technique. All of the lectures and discussions are available on the CORE Group Website and have been burned into a CD-ROM so that this series can be shared with field staff with limited computer access.

Trained faculty in the Knowledge, Practice, and Coverage (KPC) survey approach at Loma Linda University in California.

2005 Working Group Highlights:

• Finalized and disseminated a Knowledge, Practice, Coverage Training of Survey Trainers Curriculum, in collaboration with FANTA, Freedom from Hunger and CSTS+. The curriculum includes a set of participant manuals and workbooks, a set of trainers' guides, and a training of trainers supplement for both participants and trainers.

• Hosted a 10-day regional KPC Training of Survey Trainers workshop for PVO and MOH staff in Kampala, Uganda in August 2005 in collaboration with Makerere University and CSTS+.

• Hosted a 5-day regional training in Uganda on the fundamentals of the Epi Info software developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and adapted for child health projects, in collaboration with Makerere University. Provided hands-on experience in survey instrument design, data processing, analysis and reporting based on cross-sectional population-based surveys within the context of maternal and child health projects.

2004 Working Group Highlights:

Knowledge, Practice, Coverage (KPC) Survey
The KPC survey is a management tool composed of several maternal and child health modules used widely by the NGO community. It yields a concise and manageable set of indicators to monitor and estimate the results of NGO activities. Survey implementation helps local communities identify health priorities and monitor health status. An inter-agency taskforce composed of USAID, CSTS, the Environmental Health Project, FANTA, FHI/IMPACT and MEASURE met throughout the year to update survey questions and indicators to adjust global standards for practical measurement at the community level. This process ensures that district and national decision makers can use NGO data. The group updated survey modules for household water, hygiene and sanitation; breastfeeding and infant / child nutrition; and HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The group continues to update modules for malaria, the sick child, diarrhea and acute respiratory infections.

KPC Training of Survey Trainers Curriculum
To ensure that NGOs collect reliable and accurate date through KPC surveys at the community level, the Working Group developed a training of survey trainers curriculum in collaboration with FANTA, Freedom from Hunger, and CSTS. The curriculum will be made available to NGOs, U.S. and overseas universities, and training institutions with interest in providing a "CORE-approved/accredited" KPC Training of Survey Trainers course. Early drafts of the curriculum were field tested in Cambodia (2001) and North Carolina (2002). The final draft was field tested in August 2004 in Uganda, in collaboration with Makerere University. The curriculum includes a set of participant manuals and workbooks, a set of trainers' guides, and a training of trainers supplement for both participants and trainers. The curriculum will be available in 2005.

EPI Info Training for Child Survival
In October 2003, the Working Group, in partnership with NicaSalud (an Nicaraguan NGO network), offered a five-day intensive training workshop in Nicaragua on how to use Epi Info 2002 (Windows version). The program was modified for use with actual KPC child health data. The EPI Info program and related guidance are available in both English and Spanish.

Assessing Community Health Programs Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS)
Lot Quality Assurance Sampling is a simple and rapid method for assessing coverage of key health knowledge and practices in an NGO catchment area. In 2004, the Working Group distributed copies of trainer and participant guides for LQAS, written by CORE members and partners. (Guides are available through publisher TALC UK.)