SFH is a locally incorporated affiliate of Population Services International, a leading social marketing organisation which focuses on critical healthcare issues in the over 70 countries they operate in. Visit Now

Research and Metrics

About SFH Research and Metrics

SFH believes in research because it has faith that evidence-based decision making is the best way to improve the performance of its interventions. What matters is what works.

SFH works to improve its intervention performance in terms of:

• Influencing health-related behaviour of vulnerable populations
• Increasing socio-economic equity in the practice of risk reducing and treatment behaviours
• Increasing the health impact of interventions in terms of disability-adjusted life years averted
• Improving intervention cost-effectiveness and efficiency in terms of cost per product or service delivered

Research Tools

SFH uses a number of research tools that were developed by its partner organisation Population Services International (PSI) that are specifically suited for social marketing interventions. SFH employs both qualitative and quantitative research methods to inform its programmes. Two of its most valuable research tools are Measuring Access and Performance (MAP) and Tracking Results Continuously (TRaC) surveys.

Tracking Results Continuously (TRaC)

TRaC surveys provide actionable evidence for social marketing decision-making, as well as helping to measure the impact of project interventions and activities. They serve as a tool to inform programming by routinely collecting data from cross-sections of populations at risk for adverse health outcomes. TRaC surveys are conducted at least once a year, but can be implemented more frequently based on programmatic needs.

Find out more about TRaC

Measuring Access And Performance (MAP)

In order for behavior change to happen, the target population must have the opportunity to use the specific health product/service. This would require easy availability and access. SFH monitors availability and access of its products and service delivery systems by using the MAP survey. MAP is a population based survey that tells us what proportion of geographic areas, are meeting a minimum standard of product / service coverage.

Find out more about MAP

Additional Research Tools

SFH also uses standard research products that are provided free of charge. Nielsen provides ISITES and NITRO that helps to establish how the condom category is performing and how SFH brands are performing relative to the other players in the market. This data is broken into region, class of trade, customer and by line item.

Millward Brown provides advertising tracking studies that help to determine the impact of SFH commercials relative to others in the category and in the market in general. These studies also record how much exposure the commercial achieves among the target consumer consumers and how much they like the messaging.

Metrics

Daly Estimates And Use

SFH rigorously evaluates and measures the impact of its interventions using the Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY). A DALY is essentially a year of life lost due to a health problem. At PSI, we refer to DALYs gained due to our interventions. DALYs count the gains from both mortality (how many more years you would have lived if you hadn't been killed by that disease) and morbidity (how many years or parts of years were gained because you were not sick or disabled).

The DALY was developed in 1993 by the World Bank and is widely used today by organizations such as the WHO, the NIH, the Disease Control Priorities Project, The World Bank and others in the public health community.

Find out more about the DALY

Describing SFH's health impact in terms of DALY's averted enables the organisation to link its goals and achievements to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Find out more about PSI and SFH research methods and toolkits