Applying Quality Improvement Tools to the Reaching Every District (RED) Strategy to Identify and Address Service Delivery Issues in Hard to Reach Communities in Ethiopia

Abstract for Preformed Panel Presentation from the 2022 International SBCC Summit in Morocco:

"To address low and inequitable immunization coverage in Ethiopia, JSI Research & Training Institute Inc. (JSI), applied concepts and tools from the field of quality improvement to develop an innovative approach to help immunization managers and service providers strengthen implementation of the national immunization strategy, Reaching Every District (RED). The approach focused on building the capability of immunization managers and health workers to plan, implement and monitor immunization services with improved quality and reach.In order to build a more equitable routine immunization program, immunization staff needed to address entrenched obstacles for service delivery. The RED-QI approach helped immunization managers identify and address barriers to implementation at the management level (i.e. address issues with cold chain or human resources) and encouraged health workers to actively engage with community members to address issues related to service delivery. JSI found that community involvement was fundamental to achieving improved immunization services and engaged communities in immunization microplanning, mapping of communities and supported integrated Quality Improvement Teams (QITs), where HWs and community members came together to identify and problem solve for issues with immunization service delivery.This presentation will demonstrate how the RED-QI approach improved the linkage between health workers and communities by integrating community members from hard-to-reach areas into activities that identify and address service delivery challenges."