A childbirth team in Uttar Pradesh, India uses the Safe Childibrth Checklist as part of the BetterBirth intervention.

SUPPORTING SCALE OF HIGH-IMPACT INTERVENTIONS

Evidence-based solutions to improve childbirth are transformative when implemented well. To support effective implementation, the BetterBirth Program has developed tools specifically for assessing context in childbirth facilities in low- and middle-income countries to complement context assessment tools from the Atlas Initiative. Through work with USAID MOMENTUM, the BetterBirth Program is working to build best practices for scaling effective interventions. 

Context Assessment Toolkit

The Ariadne Labs Context Assessment Toolkit helps health care facilities efficiently assess, document, and learn about how their strengths and challenges can affect the implementation of a practice change. The toolkit includes a series of short surveys developed by Ariadne Labs’ Atlas Initiative, as well as a conversation guide developed by the BetterBirth Program for use specifically in facilities in low- and middle-income countries.

Evidence-based solutions to improve childbirth care can be transformative when implemented well. But, the success or failure of an implementation effort depends on a number of factors that are unique to every facility. Factors like leadership commitment, staff motivation, and quality improvement experience can all affect success. By understanding their facility’s specific context before beginning a quality improvement project, implementers are able to customize their approach.

The toolkit is intended to help implementation teams:

  • Assess whether the identified solution is the right fit for the facility 
  • Identify their facility’s strengths and challenges to inform the implementation strategy
  • Provide rapid insight into issues that could delay or derail an on-going implementation.
  • Inform planning and introduction of changes in daily practice through a standardized approach

BetterBirth is currently working with field partners to implement the toolkit and learn alongside them about their experience.

MOMENTUM

MOMENTUM is a suite of USAID projects that build capacity in low- and middle-income countries to identify and scale up high-impact maternal, neonatal, and child health interventions. Ariadne Labs joins the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) and JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc., to support the full suite of MOMENTUM projects in building on existing evidence and best practices, introducing new ideas and approaches, and facilitating adaptive learning and management of interventions to improve the health of women and children.

Adaptive Learning Guide

In 2021 Ariadne Labs finalized an Adaptive Learning Guide that offers information and resources to integrate adaptive learning into the design, implementation, and improvements of global health programs and provides real-world examples of how adaptive learning can drive continuous learning and improvement in project work. 

Featured resource: Adaptive Learning Guide

Context Assessment

Under MOMENTUM, Ariadne Labs is testing its context assessment toolkit intended for use by a range of health care facilities looking to implement a change to a clinical practice or process. The toolkit is currently being tested with LifeBox’s Clean Cut surgical infection prevention program in Ethiopia, and with MOMENTUM Country & Global Leadership (MCGL) efforts in Indonesia to address preventable maternal deaths. 

MAKLab Technical Support

Ariadne Labs also leads MAKLab, a technical support service open to all MOMENTUM member organizations. Through the MAKLab, partners can seek expertise in measurement, adaptive learning, and designing, testing, and spreading solutions within and beyond MOMENTUM.