Research Assistant (Short-Term Consultancy)

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Title: Research Assistant – Hepatitis B Birth Dose Delivery Outside Healthcare Facilities in Uganda.

Location: Uganda

Duration: 37 days (August-September 2025)

Reporting to: PATH

Level of Effort (LoE): 37 days during the engagement period dependent on deliverable

Contract type: Short-term consultancy

1.1 Background

Chronic Hepatitis B (HBV) affects around 254 million people globally, with a high burden in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the WHO African Region, which has an estimated 65 million cases. Most chronic HBV infections are due to vertical transmission (from mother to child), which has a 90% risk of becoming chronic if infection occurs in infancy. The WHO recommends a Hepatitis B Birth Dose (HepB BD) vaccine within 24 hours of birth to prevent this, followed by additional doses.

However, in Africa, timely administration is difficult, especially with over 40% of births occurring outside health facilities. Only 18% of newborns in the region receive the timely birth dose, despite the region accounting for 63% of new infections. Currently, only 15 out of 47 African countries have integrated HepB BD into routine immunization.

To address this gap, PATH Uganda, in partnership with the Ministry of Health through GAVI funding, will conduct a study “Implementing a Learning Agenda on Hepatitis B Birth Dose Vaccine Delivery in Africa: Applying human-centered design to develop promising Hepatitis B Birth Dose vaccine delivery models for out-of facility and facility deliveries in Uganda” using KIIs for national and sub-National level actors. FDGS, KIIS and IDIs will be collected at District-level interviews in preparation of HCD co-creation workshop in two districts of Butaleja and Lira.

On conclusion of data collection, there will be HCD co-creation sprints for caregivers, health care providers, and community health workers per district in a centralized location that is private and accessible to participants.

1.2 Objectives of the Consultancy

The Research Assistant will support qualitative data collection for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Delivery Outside Healthcare Facilities in Uganda.

Specific objectives include:

• To evaluate the acceptability of Hepatitis B birth dose delivery outside healthcare facilities among various stakeholders, including care givers, Healthcare providers, community health workers, Community Leaders, Knowledge experts and policymakers.
• To determine the level of knowledge stakeholders, have regarding the benefits and procedures of Hepatitis B birth dose delivery in non-traditional settings.
• Investigate the attitudes of stakeholders towards implementation of Hepatitis B birth dose delivery outside healthcare facilities, particularly through the involvement of community health workers and other frontline health cadres working in community settings, such as nurses and midwives.
• To identify current practices and challenges faced by stakeholders in delivering Hepatitis B birth doses in out-of-facility settings.
• To utilize human-centered design principles to gather and synthesize insights from stakeholders to inform the design of strategies for improving Hepatitis B birth dose delivery outside healthcare facilities, particularly for home births.

1.3 Scope of Work

1.3.1 Training and Communication

• Attend training on the study protocol, qualitative data collection methods and tools and ethical practices.
• Participate in debrief meetings to provide updates, preliminary findings and lessons learned from the data collection process.

1.3.2. Data collection implementation

• Conduct FGDs at district facility level and community levels including note taking, appointment setting and any other required logistical arrangements.
• Obtain informed consent from participants for the KIIs ,IDIs and FDGs.
• Conduct KIIs at National levels using the provided Case Study Interview Guide. Accurately record data using audio recording equipment.
• Prepare contact summaries for each interview detailing key findings emerging.
• Transcribe audio recordings from FGDs IDIs and KIIs.

1.3.3. Data quality assurance and submission

• Ensure all qualitative study activities are carried out with high ethical standards, following standard operating procedures (SOPs) as well as principles of ethical practice when interacting with study participants and their data.
• Conduct thorough reviews of all the collected data (audio recordings, transcripts and summaries) for accuracy, completeness, and consistency.
• Work closely with the consultant to address any gaps or inconsistencies in the data collected.
• Submit completed IDIs, FGD and KII transcripts and contact summaries in a timely manner.

1.3.4. Data Synthesis

• Work with the research consultant on coding and organizing qualitative data for further analysis.

1.3.5 HCD training and Co creation workshops

• Attend and participate in HCD training
• Organize and support co-creation workshops for caregivers, health care providers, and community health workers in a centralized location that is private and accessible to participants.

1.4 Qualifications and experience

1.4.1 Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in humanities including social sciences, population studies, development studies or a related field.
• A certificate for Human Centered Design, Good Clinical Practice and Protecting Human Subjects will be an added advantage

1.4.2 Experience and competencies:

• A minimum of 3 years of experience in qualitative research
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative data collection and stakeholder engagement
• Demonstrable ability to work in research teams
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills in interacting with participants, stakeholders and diverse audiences.
• Ability to establish rapport and trust with participants, maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information.
• Excellent verbal and written English communication skills (knowledge of local languages of the study area is an advantage).
• Proficiency in using electronic data collection tools.

1.5 Skills and Competencies:

• Strong organizational and coordination skills with the ability to engage multiple stakeholders effectively.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English (knowledge of local languages is an advantage).
• Proficiency in using electronic data collection tools and online survey platforms.
• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail in data quality assurance.

1.6 Languages:

• Should demonstrate a high level of proficiency in reading, writing, listening, interpreting, and speaking Lunyole, the local language spoken by the people of Butaleja district. Uganda.

1.7 Deliverables:

• High-quality, accurate, and well-documented field data, with compiled audio recordings from FGDs,IDIS and KIIs – 19 days
• Completed transcripts of all FGDs IDIs and KIIs – 3 days
• Contact summaries detailing key findings – 3 days
• HCD training attended – 7 days
• Co creation workshop organized, supported and summarized reports for co-created ideas and prototypes generated – 5 days

1.7 Reporting Structure:

• The Research Assistant will report to the Uganda Site Principal Investigator and work along with the all the Co investigators and research lead.

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