Consultancy for Development of Respite Care Model

TERM OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF RESPITE CARE MODEL

Overview

The International Center (formerly known as Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation -VVAF) is an America non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. IC-VVAF established a representative office in Hanoi in 1994, and have been active in humanitarian assistance programs and development assistance continuously since that time. IC-VVAF has also addressed the consequences of war through advocacy and service programs in Vietnam for the last three decades. As a cofounder of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, IC-VVAF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. Now working under The International Center, IC, focuses on disability support, mine action, and mental health programs.

The Moving Without Limits Project

Under the financial support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IC is implementing the Disability Support Project named “Moving without Limits” in the three provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh from July 2015 until September 2022. This project aims to improve the accessibility of the people with mobility impairments in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh to quality and affordable assistive devices.

Three specific objectives of the project include:

• Improved availability of quality assistive technologies/ devices (AT/AD) for people with mobility impairments in Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh provinces;
• Improved capacity related to AT/AD for the health sector workforce at national and sub-national levels; and
• Improved advocacy for policies/regulations and information sharing related to AT/AD.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, a wide range of activities will be implemented in the three project provinces as well as at the central level.  AT/AD service provision is implemented following the relevant steps to service delivery, this includes need assessment and prescription, AD procurement, fitting, user training and follow-up, maintenance and repair. These steps in service delivery are required in order to ensure that people with mobility disabilities receive appropriate and quality AD.  The project also promotes the integration of health care for people with disabilities (PWDs), which includes AT/AD service delivery into the existing health care system, and mobilizing non-specialists at the community levels to recognize, assess, manage and follow-up of care for PWDs.

The project recognises the significant gap in human resource within rehabilitation services, especially in relation to assistive technology, and considers practical solutions for filling the gap.  In doing so, the project applies the following mixed approaches including (i) build capacity for both high skilled health professionals at the national level in technical assistance towards complicated cases, and support building capacity for lower level service providers when needed; (ii) task shifting, defined as the delegation of tasks to existing or new cadres with either less training or narrowly tailored training in order to deliver specific and basic rehabilitation/AT solutions. 

Thus, IC will support in improving the capacity of rehabilitation and AT workforces for both national and provincial levels, for both high and less skilled service providers.

Access to assistive technology cannot be improved without appropriate and available policy and governance, IC works closely with the line ministries and other involved partners to support the development of the AT/AD service delivery framework as a part of the National Rehabilitation Strategy 2021-2030, and engages in advocacy to encourage the inclusion of more assistive devices covered by the health insurance scheme. In addition, IC has continued to improve awareness and encourage information sharing of AT/AD related issues. 

Context of Assignment

One of the main target beneficiaries of the project is children with mobility impairments in which majority is children with cerebral palsy (CP) whose life remarkably depends on the caregivers. Their quality of life is much influenced by physical and mental health of the caregivers, and by the ways the caregivers treat their children in daily life. One of the objectives to support for children with CP is to support their care givers and their families with improved health and wellbeing.

1.         DUTY STATION

• Duty Station:                                      Hanoi and Hue
• Duration of Assignment:                       April 2021 – July 2021

2.         OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES

• To conduct an assessment on the current status of care for children with CPs, the needs, coping strategies of the caregivers of children with CP and its associated factors and develop an appropriate and feasible model of support for caregivers to be better resilience in caring for their children in Thua Thien Hue

3.         SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLE

The consultant(s) would be expected to carry out the following activities

• Identify the current status, the needs, and the coping strategies of the caregivers of children with CP and its associated factors through a cross-sectional survey
• Develop a model of respite service with technical approaches for enforcement of the model. To be specific, two key deliverables include (i) a respite care model is developed basing the findings from the assessment, and (ii) an action plan for enforcement of the model, outlining technical approaches for enforcement, to support for caregivers to be better resilience in caring for their children. 

Note: These deliverables should be in Vietnamese. The consultant would provide proof reading to make sure that the translated reports are consistent with the original Vietnamese version. Evidence of input can occur in the form of emails, track changes in documents and reports.  

4.         SUPERVISION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:

The consultant will work under the direct supervision and evaluation of the Project Officer and Project Managers with support from other technical staff.

5.          SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS:

Qualifications and Experience Required:

• Post Graduate Degree in social science, social work, public health or relevant areas.
• At least 5 years of experience in research/ survey and development of intervention model with comprehensive rehabilitation services using social work practices/approach.
• Experience in working with children with disabilities and respite care model is an asset.

Language requirements:

• Excellent Vietnamese writing skills
• Fluent in English.

Competencies:

• Teamwork, professionalism, flexibility and an understanding of working with people with disabilities, and with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Having a vision, dedication and ability to learn, high sense of responsibility. 
• Understanding the health care system

6.       APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Individual/ group of individuals/firm interested in this are invited to submit your technical proposal and CVs in English, including references, either by email (to [email protected] ) or by post (to The International Center, R.103-203, B3 Building, Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam).

Please state “Application for Consultancy for Development of Respite Care Model” in the subject line or on the envelope. The short-listed candidates/firms will be contacted.

Deadline for submission: by 10th March 2021.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Hua Thi Thu Len – Receptionist
Tel: (84-24) 3733 9444, ext: 9
Email: [email protected]