African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP). Nairobi, KE.
Reach, Cape Town, ZA.
Glob Heart. 2021 Apr 27;16(1):28. doi: 10.5334/gh.996.
Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) remains endemic in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) despite its virtual elimination in high-income countries. RHD Action was launched to amplify global efforts to control RHD in 2015 by World Heart Federation and Reach, with demonstration projects in Uganda and Tanzania, and support from Medtronic Foundation. The Small Grants Programme focuses on three domains: People and Communities, Medicines and Technologies, and Systems and Services. It is designed to support patient and community groups in promoting awareness, advocacy, and to build health workers' capacity to prevent and treat RHD in LMICs. Our study evaluates the impact and effectiveness of the RHD Action Small Grants Programme. We conducted a mixed method study that involved both quantitative and qualitative surveys, through phone interviews and online surveys amongst the grant beneficiaries, to assess the impact and effectiveness of the small grant programme. An invitation to complete an online survey, using a Google Forms format, was issued to Small Grant Project Directors and Co-Directors that received funding for projects between 2017 and 2019. The online survey requested basic project information using tick boxes, Likert scales, and short answer open-ended questions about successes and challenges faced by recipients. The questionnaire also addressed recipients' experience with the RHD Action Small Grants process - applying for the grant, nature and quality of support received to carry out project, the reporting process, and any media coverage provided. For the phone interviews, responses to the short-answer questions were used as the basis for follow up phone interviews. The discussions were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed for new and recurring themes emerging from the in-depth discussions. Initiated in 2017, RHD Action has funded 21 proposals from a pool of 60 submissions. Recipient countries include Zambia, Uganda (2), Namibia, Kenya, Malawi (2), Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria (3), Rwanda (2), Mozambique, and Cameroon (2) as well as Fiji (2), the Philippines and Nepal. Five recipients were funded in 2017, eight in 2018 and eight in 2019. Project directors are primarily junior doctors and project managers supervised by senior mentors. In most cases, this is their first funding award. These projects have demonstrated tangible impact and have provided content for first manuscript and abstract submissions and presentations at professional conferences. Grant reports are presented as website stories showcasing the achievements of small local efforts with meaningful impact. For RHD Action, there is large return on a modest monetary investment resulting in a very visible, viable global RHD networking platform for enthusiastic community and provider activists.
风湿性心脏病（RHD）在低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）仍然流行，尽管在高收入国家已基本消除。世界心脏联合会和 Reach 于 2015 年发起了 RHD 行动，旨在加强全球控制 RHD 的努力，在乌干达和坦桑尼亚开展了示范项目，并得到了美敦力基金会的支持。小额赠款计划侧重于三个领域：人员和社区、药品和技术以及系统和服务。该计划旨在支持患者和社区团体提高认识、宣传，并增强卫生工作者在 LMICs 预防和治疗 RHD 的能力。我们的研究评估了 RHD 行动小额赠款计划的影响和有效性。我们进行了一项混合方法研究，包括定量和定性调查，通过电话访谈和在线调查，对 2017 年至 2019 年期间获得赠款的赠款受益人进行评估，以评估小额赠款计划的影响和有效性。向 2017 年至 2019 年期间获得项目资金的小额赠款项目主任和联合主任发出了一份在线调查邀请，使用 Google Forms 格式完成。在线调查使用勾选框、李克特量表和简短的开放式问题，询问了项目的基本信息、受益人面临的成功和挑战。问卷还涉及受益人对 RHD 行动小额赠款流程的经验——申请赠款、获得的支持的性质和质量以开展项目、报告流程以及提供的任何媒体报道。对于电话访谈，根据简短回答问题的回复，进行了后续电话访谈。记录了讨论内容，并进行了转录和主题分析，以从深入讨论中提取新的和反复出现的主题。RHD 行动于 2017 年启动，从 60 份申请中资助了 21 份提案。受益国家包括赞比亚、乌干达（2 个）、纳米比亚、肯尼亚、马拉维（2 个）、埃及、埃塞俄比亚、尼日利亚（3 个）、卢旺达（2 个）、莫桑比克和喀麦隆（2 个）以及斐济（2 个）、菲律宾和尼泊尔。2017 年有 5 个受益人获得资助，2018 年有 8 个，2019 年有 8 个。项目主任主要是初级医生和由高级导师监督的项目经理。在大多数情况下，这是他们的第一次资助。这些项目已经产生了切实的影响，并提供了第一份手稿和摘要提交和专业会议演示的内容。赠款报告作为网站故事展示，展示了具有重要意义的小规模本地努力的成就。对于 RHD 行动来说，适度的货币投资带来了巨大的回报，为热情的社区和提供者活动家建立了一个可见、可行的全球 RHD 网络平台。
