IDEAS project - Professional advice network study in Ethiopia

The IDEAS project sought to improve the health and survival of mothers and babies through generating evidence to inform policy and practice.

This collection contains quantitative data, collection tools and documentation associated with a social network analysis study of the professional advice networks used by health care workers in Ethiopia. The cross-sectional, mixed-methods observational network study compared professional advice networks of 160 healthcare workers in 8 primary health care units (PHCUs) across four regions of Ethiopia; Amhara, Oromia, SNNP and Tigray. PHCUs include a health centre and typically 5 satellite health posts.

Data captured included health care worker advice seeking and giving for the provision of four areas along the continuum of maternal and newborn care: antenatal care, childbirth care, postnatal care and newborn care. Additional information captured regarded professional advice exchange beyond the roster of health care workers in the PHCU. Network metrics were qualitatively compared to continuum of care coverage data as a secondary analysis. Twenty semi-structured qualitative interviews of purposively selected subjects followed the collection of quantitative network data to interpret and explain network roles and patterns observed.