CONSULTANCY ON DIGITAL HEALTH IN EYE CARE PROGRAMS

CONSULTANCY ON DIGITAL HEALTH IN EYE CARE PROGRAMS

1.INTRODUCTION

The Fred Hollows Foundation (The Foundation) is a secular non-profit public health organisation based in Australia, which was founded in 1992 by eminent eye surgeon Professor Fred Hollows. The Foundation focuses on strengthening eye health systems and the treatment and prevention of avoidable blindness. The Foundation operates in more than 25 countries across Australia, The Pacific, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa. Over the past several years, The Foundation has begun to explore more intensely, how it can use, and support its partners to use digital health tools to increase access to high quality eye care.

The digital transformation of healthcare has been slower than that of other industries but is an inevitability. In recent years the pace of change has accelerated, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in part due to increased levels of access to digital tools and communications infrastructure. The adoption in 2020 by the World Health Assembly, of the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health cements the role of digital health technologies in advancing the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. The strategy stresses the critical roles that private sector, civil society and technical communities will play in widespread, effective, and equitable adoption of technology in health care.

To meet the growing need for eye care globally, widespread adoption of digital health tools will be required alongside systemic reforms. Such adoption of digital health tools holds potential to radically increase access to high quality eye care, but there will be associated costs and risks – and these will not be experienced equally. The Foundation is dedicated to taking a proactive but considered approach to piloting and leveraging opportunities to improve coverage, accessibility, quality, efficiency and affordability, and to ensure these benefits are equitably distributed.

The Foundation has identified a need to invest more strategically in digital health to amplify its impact and contribution to the health sectors efforts to provide quality, integrated eye care services to those most in need. A SWOT analysis of The Foundation’s current approach and investment in digital health revealed:

• The Foundation has some experience developing and implementing digital health solutions, but its engagement to date has been ad-hoc and responsive to contextualized demands and opportunities;
• There is opportunity to do more, but this would require clarifying The Foundation’s focus and role, the development of clear programming guidance, and dedicated resourcing (technical and financial); and
• The Foundation’s global footprint, operating model, and commitment to development

principles and reducing inequities suggest the need to take a partner-based approach.

2. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The Fred Hollows Foundation is commissioning a project to support it to undertake a scoping review focused on digital health solutions to enhance delivery of eye care.

Enhanced delivery of quality eye care through introduction of digital health and technology solutions, including AI (scoping)

Goal: Scope and identify digital health technologies and approaches (including AI tools) to address key eye care challenges – workforce shortages, service integration and coordination, and community engagement.

Approach:

• Facilitate a problem and opportunity analysis, The opportunity analysis should include assessment of competitor landscape, including digital health focus of sector, public and private sector to assess FHF’s value add
• The development and early testing of a set of investment options.
• Guidance on scalability of opportunity analysis

Out of scope is the testing of clinical efficacy of digital equipment and /or software

3. MILESTONES, DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINE

The project is expected to start in September 2024 for an estimated duration of 25 days. The proposed timeline and the review milestones and deliverables are listed below:

Deliverables and Milestones

Timing

Milestone 1: Initiation meeting to discuss and finalise project scope, objectives, inputs,

approach and deliverables

Milestone 2: Finalisation of contract

Following initial meeting, timing dependent on respective contracting timelines and process

Milestone 3: Establish a draft prioritisation/decision makingmatrix/ framework to scope possible options including considerations of relevant factors such as geographic, local vs global, resources, risk appetite etc.

Milestones 4: review of documents, problem statement (root cause) and opportunity analysis &interviews with stakeholders completed

Milestone 5: Check in meeting – Review consultation and adjustment

of prioritisation framework

Milestone 6:Desk based research to scope potential digital health and technology options including those that are attracting public and private funding

Milestone 6: report on findings and recommendations

Milestone 7: Check-in meeting / workshop

Discuss findings and possible recommendations for piloting/testing

Milestone 8 : Final report submitted

4. REVIEW TEAM & QUALIFICATIONS

The Foundation seeks to engage the services of an independent registered organisation or consultant, who have following experiences and expertise.

Qualifications

The consultant or team lead must:

• Be registered as a business

• Hold a university degree or equivalent in Public Health degree

  Experience

• Minimum 10 years of experience in public health and/or health services development and research/evaluation

• Extensive experience in supporting the use of digital tools in health care settings

• Demonstrated experience working in low and middle income country settings

• Demonstrated experienced working with NGOs

• Demonstrated experience planning and implementing research and evaluations

  Skills

• Research and evaluation design

• Qualitative analysis of documents

• Training program development

• Guidelines development

• Interviewing for research and evaluation projects

• Excellent written and English skills required or excellent analytical, writing and presentation skills.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

5. CONFIDENTIALITY

The consultant/s agree to not divulge confidential information to any person for any reason during or after completion of this contract with The Foundation. Upon completion or termination of this contract, the evaluator/s undertake to return to The Foundation any materials, files or property in their possession that relate to the business affairs of The Foundation.

6. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All intellectual property and/or copyright material produced by the evaluator/s whilst under contract to The Foundation remain the property of The Foundation and will not be shared with third parties without the express permission of The Foundation. The evaluator/s are required to surrender any copyright material created during the term of the contract to The Foundation upon completion or termination of the contract.

7. SAFEGUARDING PEOPLE

The Fred Hollows Foundation is committed to ensuring that its activities are implemented in a safe and productive environment which prevents harm and avoids negative impacts on the health and safety of all people, particularly children, vulnerable people, and disadvantaged groups. The Foundation has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment of any kind. All personnel including contractors/consultants are expected to uphold and promote high standards of professional conduct in line with The Foundation’s Safeguarding People Policy including Code of Conduct. The consultant will be expected to sign and adhere to The Foundation’s Safeguarding Code of Conduct and provide any background checks as required.

8. INSURANCE

Any consultants involved in this project will be required to have in place insurance arrangements appropriate to provision of the requirements in this Terms of Reference including travel insurance.

9. ETHICAL AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The consultant/s are expected to maintain high professional and ethical standards, and comply with

The Foundation’s Research Ethics and Data Management Policy.