Dissemination Plan

For this study, we have partnered with Dimagi, a privately held social enterprise based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and will use Dimagi’s CommCare open-source software suite to develop our electronic survey instruments, supervise survey enumerators and field staff activities, collect and manage respondent data, and monitor data quality. In addition to supporting our study from their Cambridge headquarters, a Dimagi field engineer will provide on-site technical support and train local field staff and survey enumerators to use the CommCare software for administering the baseline survey. We have also formed a partnership with IPA Malawi, a US-based nonprofit research organization with operations in 42 different countries. IPA Malawi has provided extensive technical and research assistance in health and development to many governmental and nongovernmental organizations in Malawi, including the MOH and the World Bank. We worked with the IPA Malawi management team and a hired team of surveyors, field managers, intervention staff (family planning counselors and driver), and other support staff to conduct the fieldwork. IPA Malawi’s primary role in the study was to conduct the local field research activities, including (1) hiring, training, and management of the local field staff; (2) data collection, monitoring, and evaluation; (3) implementation of the intervention; and (4) assisting the investigators with the dissemination of results in Malawi. Finally, we worked closely with the MOH and RHD on dissemination activities for this study and regularly met with representatives from the MOH and RHD to share results and to facilitate collaboration on the study.

Aggregate summary statistics and final peer-reviewed publications will be shared with participants, key partners (IPA Malawi, Dimagi, Good Health Kauma Clinic), the Malawi MOH, the Malawi RHD, and the Malawi NSO. Individual survey responses of other participants will not be shared among the participants verbally, by recording, or in writing. Each interviewee’s responses will remain confidential as per the terms of their consent to study participation.

We will produce the output in peer-reviewed journals, working papers, and policy briefs that are accessible to academics, policy makers, and practitioners and contribute to the policy change in this area. Aggregate results and final publications will be disseminated to the community and local institutions where the research is conducted. The research team will also present intervention findings at local and national venues, including annual meetings of professional organizations, community gatherings, and meetings with local service providers. Our work will also be effectively disseminated to practitioners through local partnerships as well as through the RHD and MOH. We have worked with these organizations during the study design phase to ensure that the interventions are appropriate for the country setting. Upon completion of the intervention, we will know the midterm and long-term effects of the interventions, and our local partners can use this information to expand or tailor their services to help women achieve their family planning goals within the specific country context. We will also share our descriptive and analytical findings with members of the community who are engaged in advocacy efforts.

Our dissemination efforts are engrained in our interventions from the outset. We tailored our information packs and counseling materials for women in Malawi based on knowledge gained from preliminary studies of the family planning environment. This dissemination of information as part of the intervention will help us learn how to disseminate the results of our research to the women in the communities we are working in.