HIPNET - Health Information and Publications Network

September 2008 HIPNET Meeting minutes

HIPNet Meeting Notes - Sept. 10, 2008

Action Points:.

1.      List of Listservs. If you have additions to the dissemination list, please send them to Neha (neha_suchak@abtassoc.com)

2.     Consultants List. Please share your contacts on the consultant list – translators, graphic designers, or others. Please send your additions in track changes to Laura (lr286@georgetown). We’ll share the updated list with all HIPNet members.

3.    Balanced Counseling Strategy Toolkit.  E-mail frontiers@popcouncil.org if you are interested in obtaining a copy of either the BCS or BCS+ Toolkit.  You can also access the BCS Toolkit at http://www.popcouncil.org/frontiers/bestpractices/BCSpage_082007.html. The BCS+ Toolkit should be published in October.

4.    Access Database of M&E Indicators. E-mail Beth Robinson (brobinson@fhi.org) for copies of the Access database of M&E indicators.

Meeting Notes:

1. Welcome - Wayne Shields, President, American Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)

Wayne welcomed us to the new offices of the ARHP and their new meeting room, the Stewart Center.  ATHP offers the space free of charge for non-profit organizations for meetings as a public service.  Interested parties should contact Shana Brown at ARHP (sbrown@ARHP.org).  He also mentioned CORE  (the curriculum of reproductive health education) which is free to use anytime and can be accessed at: www.arhp.org/core

2. Update on Mini-University – Seth Rosenblatt

Mini University is September 13, 2008.  Interested parties can register on the MAQ web site for this exciting day of workshops.

3. Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus (BCS+) - Laura Raney and Linda Bruce

The Population Council spent several years developed a counseling tool for FP providers.  The second version is BCS +.  It is a tool for family planning providers working in high HIV/STI prevalence settings. The BCS+ toolkit includes a User’s Guide, a Trainer's Guide, and three job aids or memory tools for use by the provider and client:

• An algorithm that summarizes the steps needed to implement the strategy ;
• A set of counseling cards; and
• Brochures on each of the family planning methods for the client to take once a method is chosen.

How did it get started?
The government of Peru asked Pop Council to evaluate a tool for FP providers.   FP providers failed to discuss client wishes regarding family planning.   Providers gave too much information (all the methods – no RH needs of clients) and the information on chosen method was sparse. The Balanced Counseling Strategy:
A Toolkit for Family Planning Service Providers was developed. Available in English, French, and Spanish, the Balanced Counseling Strategy (BCS) is a practical, interactive, client-friendly counseling strategy that uses three key job aids (visual memory aids) for counseling clients about family planning.

The BCS toolkit incorporates the latest international family planning norms and guidance as recommended by the World Health Organization, including the 2004 Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use and the 2007 Family Planning Global Handbook. The process, tested and refined in several countries, involves a set of steps to determine the method that best suits the client according to her/his preferences and reproductive health intentions.

The BCS approach is easy to adapt to local contexts, and the toolkit includes instructions for adaptation as well as a CD-ROM with electronic copies of the materials. The BCS tookit is available in English, French, and Spanish upon request from frontiers@popcouncil.org

The Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus: A Toolkit for Family Planning Service Providers Working in High HIV/STI Prevalence Settings

The Balanced Counseling Strategy was revised and tested in Kenya and South Africa to facilitate integration of counseling and testing (C&T) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, in settings with high prevalence. The Balanced Counseling Strategy Plus (BCS+) is a tool to improve the quality of family planning services and to strengthen the integration HIV prevention, detection, and care into family planning, such as the risk assessment of STIs. The BCS+ toolkit will be available in English in October 2008 upon request from frontiers@popcouncil.org

The BCS and BCS+ are  similar to DMT and is another tool to improve quality of FP services. 

Laura and Linda performed a mock counseling sessions/demonstration of
BCS/BCS +.  The BCS+ can be requested by sending an e-mail to frontiers@popcouncil.org.

20,000 copies have been requested through word of mouth advertising through an IBP meeting held in Baltimore at the beginning of June.  In order to meet that demand the tool was placed on One Source.
 
Beth Robinson, FHI suggested it may be nice project for HIPNET to contact USAID missions and inform them of this new tool plus selected other materials on VCT that everyone else has been working on – “best of” materials.  FHI has recently done an analysis of top 108 HIV web sites – 91 percent of them have no materials on integration.

You can also download the Balanced Counseling Strategy from OneSource at http://www.infoforhealth.org/search/search_results_single.php?start_num=0&fullrecordID=433162&fullrecordtype=3&query=%22balanced+counseling%22&subquery=&sort=year&sort_order=desc&noloading=1

4. Update on HIPNET dissemination list and list of consultants – Neha Suchak

HIPNET has compiled dissemination lists which we will mail out via HIPNET. It includes  various list serves, newsletters, and web sites, to send materials to. If you have additions to the list, please send an e-mail to Neha.  

We also wanted to put together a list of consultants that we use for various purposes – Laura Raney put together a list which will be mailed out via  HIPNET. If you have anything to add, please send an e-mail to r Laura (see Action Points)

5. Compliance with ADA/508 – Katie Cook, AIM Activity (presentation posted online)

Basic idea: Have your Web site, document readable by special screen readers.  Anything that is image or in graphic form needs some sort of text element as well (alt. tags in images, PDFs put tags on documents, any figure needs alt tag, chart need a large alt tag on it)

See document: How to make a stand alone site – lists out all the 508 requirements that USAID requires.  As long as you meet basic requirements in document you should be good.  Any stand alone web site is supposed to go through USAID and all are supposed to go through LPA approval.

Types of programs you can download: JAWS is one of the readers can download free trials – the actual ADA site has this as well.

All pages need appropriate meta-data.  Title tag is a required tag.
Another resource that is not USAID is the WC3 list.

How are groups working to comply with 508 requirements:

• UNC – MEASURE has a new content management system which is source and customizable.  Users can put in fields that can generate meta-tags in the fields –can edit keywords, authors, copyright information
• IRH – is creating new site.  A consultant who is doing the site and the scope of work includes making it 508 compliant.
• EngenderHealth – all of USAID web sites are 508 compliant in terms of basic html – they use a program that checks html.  The EngenderHealth site is not entirely compliant yet.
• Manoff group – DELIVER Web site– every single document before its posted anywhere, including pdfs, go through 508 compliance.                                  

6.  Future of HIPNET

Peggy will be stepping down as HIPNET chair and will become KM Advisor for the Office of Population.  Beth Robinson has agreed to serve as a new co-chair and Neha and Laura will still continue.  The K4H project will continue to support HIPNET.

What has HIPNET done in the past?

• Manage a list serve of 600 people, providing a way for people to share information and ask questions
• Web site – provide a way to bring information together; make minutes accessible
• Organized three sets of mailings of materials – to libraries/resource centers in developing countries. The original list came from FHI and HIPNet built it over theyears, providing a low cost way to distribute materials.  Also conducted surveys after mailings.
• Developed the HIPNET Guide to M&E which includes 23 indicators contributed by HIPNET members. Goal is to get USAID to buy into these indicators. Have given copies to every CTO, project director and M&E person. Organized a GHC panel.  Still plan to gather examples of use of specific indicators and send out a series of emails to USAID/W and missions to demonstrate how groups are using the indicators
• FHI has created an Access database of indicators available on CD-ROM and an accompanying PowerPoint presentation designed to change culture for people to tell you they’ve had an impact. E-mail Beth Robinson (brobinson@fhi.org) - for database.
• Organized conferences on IT and a two-day series of meetings on FP/HIV integration; top level collaborative activities and formed many task forces – library mailing came about, negotiated mailing rates as a group.
• Continuous collaboration on identifying talent, planning meetings to explain guidelines, branding, sharing lists, online conference, presentation of different tools, how things are disseminated, about program work, have shared videos, Photoshare (proper permission of photos),

What else can we be doing/should we discuss?

• How to convert video footage to something useful on web site – how to use You Tube? Using other social networking options, social bookmarking options
• Document sharing platforms like Scribed
• How to use new technologies in the field 
• Print vs. web publications discussion? What sort of decision making approaches do people use?
• How to act as an advocacy group to influence thinking of funders when there are joint recommendations from group (i.e., how to advocate for funding for print)
• Partnerships with private organizations for printing
• How can we better evaluate our work, sessions to avoid duplication across organizations?
• Session where we do strategic plan for us as an organization with objectives we want to see addressed (i.e., getting funding for print, rational use of new technologies).  Plan with these objectives.  Pick 1-2 items a year and see who wants to push them.
• More reports/presentations on efforts like what Laura was doing (BCS+)
• How to make publication adaptable – are people trying to do this? How do they find out about people doing it?
• Rank/comment on publications – get higher rankings move to the top
• Cost share experiences – public/private distribution for distribution/health car providers
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - presentation/exchange of GIS info, sensitivity of GIS data
• eLearning technologies/cellular phones & Uptake of eLearning
• Bringing up the information from the field, providing a forum to share experiences from the field. What are information people doing in the field?
• Update and expand the reproductive health glossary
• Make a concerted effort to reach out to service delivery groups (CARE, SAVE, CRS)
• Develop better links between production/user in the country – to get products used and applied
• Organize joint exchanges with CORE group (service delivery), CSTS + project – FlexFund grantees. 
• How to collaboratively support each other by providing examples of use, downloads, etc. (from M&E indicators), approaches to evaluation
• Research how are our materials used on other Web sites?

 VI.       Materials sharing:

MEASURE DHS: HIV prevalence estimates and their latest catalogue

HORIZONS:  Final publication compilation; 10 reports/synthesis papers not on CD, operation research on HIV/AIDS research; trainer’s guide for safe and friendly health facility (Vietnam);  Involving young people in Zambia in taking care of PLWA/OVC;
Kenya/Zambia food security; ART study in Brazil with MSM; study in Zambia on hospital staff prepared to give information on ARV; India and gender equity: Kenya – VCT and alcohol

CRS – OVC; Reports: multi-country PEPFAR OVC evaluation

Jhpiego – Jhpiego learning package – preventing avian pandemic for people in healthcare settings – references manual; Packages in October: ACCESS - Comprehensive Postpartum Family Care; Best practices in maternal and newborn care

Engendehealth: ACQUIRE end of project conference; Facilitative supervision curriculum; Counseling for effective FP use; Programming for training;  Postpartum IUD curriculum; Digital archive on all 5 things produced in pdfs.  Non-ACQUIRE side – two tool books- HIV/Care treatments and HIV Counseling and Testing services

FHI - Global clearinghouse on male circumcision (trainings, publications); grant to create communication toolkit for researchers (9 organizations to share checklists, case studies, templates,. Guidance to field); Microbicides for HIV prevention

HPI: eLearning tool on DemProj  - planners, researchers, policy makers, training people in field how to use cool – three hour course – French/English closed captioning – healthpolicyititiave.org

INFO Project:  FP and Global handbook – several thousand of copies in Spanish; FP choices wall chart; Population Reports issues – English/Spanish French

PRB: Three new publications – Annual World Population Data sheet 2008; Policy brief on cross-generational sex; Female genital mutilation/cutting wall chart

DELIVER:  New SCM tool for HIV/AIDS commodities;  80 compliant documents; first interactive etools training CDs – 4 key lessons in SCM health commodities

IRH – Fertility Awareness-based Methods (FAM) Project announcement – partners/field contacts

What are website retirement plans?

Horizons/FRONTEIRS – 6 months keep as a section of Pop Council web site – will be integrated into the HIV/AIDS, RH components of site after that time

ACQUIRE Project  – acquireproject.org until September 30 – digital archive that we’re handing out in disc form – constantly revising and update.  EngenderHealth will support  the landing page indefinitely.

Meeting attendance

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