Measuring sustainability as a programming tool for health sector investments: report from a pilot sustainability assessment in five Nepalese health districts

The International Journal of Health Planning and Management
Eric SarriotSharon Arscott-Mills

Abstract

Sustainability is a critical determinant of scale and impact of health sector development assistance programs. Working with USAID/Nepal implementing partners, we adapted a sustainability assessment framework to help USAID test how an evaluation tool could inform its health portfolio management. The essential first process step was to define the boundaries of the local system being examined. This local system-the unit of analysis of the study-was defined as the health district.We developed a standardized set of assessment tools to measure 53 indicators. Data collection was carried out over 4 weeks by a Nepalese agency. Scaling and combining indicators into six component indices provided a map of progress toward sustainable maternal, child, health, and family planning results for the five districts included in this pilot study, ranked from "no sustainability" to "beginning of sustainability."We conclude that systematic application of the Sustainability Framework could improve the health sector investment decisions of development agencies. It could also give districts an information base on which to build autonomy and accountability. The ability to form and test hypotheses about the sustainability of outcomes under various funding...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 19, 2015·Global Health, Science and Practice·James BaoSara Bennett
Oct 11, 2012·The International Journal of Health Planning and Management·Annabelle Mark, Mike Jones
Apr 22, 2015·American Journal of Preventive Medicine·Ross C BrownsonPaul C Erwin
Jul 28, 2018·The International Journal of Health Planning and Management·Roberto IppolitiGiuliana Moda
Feb 25, 2014·Health Policy and Planning·Altynay Shigayeva, Richard J Coker
Sep 10, 2014·BMC Public Health·John Bosco AsiimweJames Patrick Manyenye Ntozi

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