This presentation was given at the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in 2016 and summarises learning from our Bangladesh team

1. Reaching out and linking in:
Health systems and close-to-community services
REACHOUT Bangladesh Team
The REACHOUT project is funded
by the European Union
1

2. Objective of
REACHOUT Bangladesh
• To conduct implementation
research and strengthen the
role of close-to-community
(CTC) health workers, focusing
menstrual regulation (MR)
Reproductive Health Services
Training and Education Program

3. Formal
Providers
Informal
providers
(Independent)
Informal Providers
(supervised by
organization)
CTC providers in
Bangladesh

4. Embedment
Component Reproductive Health Services
Training and Education Program
Referral card Use of Referral Card Use of Referral Card
Cost sharing Referral card printing
Workshop (jointly with JPG)
Referral card printing by the organization
Ownership Engaged own trainers Engaged own trainers
Training
Manual
Submitted a training manual to Govt. for
approval which includes REACHOUT
facilitative referral training manual

5. Formal
provider Engagement process
Formal relation
(i.e. using referral fee)
Informal relation
(i.e. rapport, trust)
Informal providers
(Independent)
Informal Providers
(supervised by
organization)
Engaging informal CTC
providers

6. Intervention: referral
card

7. Challenges

8. Future Plans
Continuous communication with implementing
partners & adapt implementing strategy
Bi-monthly meeting with partners
Strengthening monitoring process by organizing
joint workshop with CTC supervisors
Increasing referral competency of CTC providers by
arranging join workshop
Monthly meeting between CTC providers & their
supervisor and will be documented
Engaging multi-layer of supervisors for smoothing &
sustainability of the embedding process