Job Description

Project Background: AANAND - (Addressing ASHA well-beiNg And burnout for improviNg Depression care)

Burnout and poor wellbeing are prevalent among rural health workers in India. These health workers are responsible for providing last mile care in various areas such as pregnancy care, vaccinations, child care, as well as basic mental health services. There are more than 1 million female ‘ASHA’ workers at the village-level in India, one of the largest health worker programs in the world. We have been training ASHAs to deliver the ‘Healthy Activity Program (HAP)’, a brief psychological treatment for individuals with depression. This is critical, because depression is widespread in India but there are scarce numbers of psychiatrists and specialised mental health professionals. To provide effective care in mental health, an ASHA needs to empathize with the client’s beliefs, traditions and ethnicity, or what is called as ‘culturally competent care’. However, an ASHA, who is herself in distress or experiencing burnout and demotivation is less likely to engage with her clients, which can reduce their treatment satisfaction, and thus, the treatment outcomes (e.g., any

improvement in depression symptoms).

Objectives

Our proposed intervention is a coaching program for ASHAs based on the use of character strengths grounded in Indian spiritual values, to negotiate stressful work situations and relationships, and improve mental wellbeing. This intervention will be added on to the routine supervision that ASHAs already receive. We aim to deliver this coaching program to a randomly selected group of ASHAs (or ‘intervention arm’) from Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh, and measure its effectiveness on ASHA wellbeing, compared to another randomly selected group of ASHAs who will receive routine supervision only (or ‘control arm’).

Funder: Templeton World Charity Foundation, USA

Scope of Work

• Support the AANAND study co-investigators to design and develop the trial intervention, which will be a positive-psychology based coaching program for ASHA workers - including residential workshop and remote telephonic coaching

• Conducting literature reviews to support the intervention development processes

• Support the pilot testing, internal review and external/project collaborators’ reviews and finalization of the trial intervention

• Responsible for the documentation of all intervention development and pilot processes

• Coordination with all stakeholders for intervention development, including from the health system, and organizing key project meetings

• Report writing and documentation related to intervention design, pilot and finalization

• Supporting Research Assistants to conduct field visits for activities related to stakeholder meetings, orientation to participants and data collection for pilot of the trial intervention and related qualitative data collection (e.g., focus group discussions)

• Coordinate academic outputs from the project

Essential requirements

• A post graduate degree in Public Health, Social Work, or related Social Sciences

• Expertise in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

• Strong verbal and written communication skills including technical and scientific writing

• Prior experience in systematic and narrative literature reviews

• Prior experience in qualitative research methods and data analysis

• At least 4 years of relevant research experience

• Ability to liaise and coordinate with relevant health system stakeholders and project

collaborators for the purposes of intervention development, pilot and implementation.

• Willingness to travel to project sites in Madhya Pradesh based on requirements for project activities

• An independent, organized and proactive team player

Additional requirements

• Prior training in psychology or psychosocial interventions

• Expertise in NVivo or other similar qualitative analysis software for qualitative data analysis

• Academic publications in peer reviewed journals

Please apply with your detailed CV and cover letter stating your interest and fit for the position, to admin.bhopal@sangath.in by October 15th, 2021. Full applications must include a detailed CV and must complete the attached self-assessment form. Please also provide names and contact details of two professional referees.

Short-listed candidates will be invited for a telephone or in-person interview.

Women and those from a marginalized background are encouraged to apply. Sangath is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, colour, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or status as a qualified individual with disability, among other things.

Eligibility Criteria

Not SpecifiedEssential requirements

• A post graduate degree in Public Health, Social Work, or related Social Sciences

• Expertise in MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

• Strong verbal and written communication skills including technical and scientific writing

• Prior experience in systematic and narrative literature reviews

• Prior experience in qualitative research methods and data analysis

• At least 4 years of relevant research experience

• Ability to liaise and coordinate with relevant health system stakeholders and project

collaborators for the purposes of intervention development, pilot and implementation.

• Willingness to travel to project sites in Madhya Pradesh based on requirements for project activities

• An independent, organized and proactive team player

Additional requirements

• Prior training in psychology or psychosocial interventions

• Expertise in NVivo or other similar qualitative analysis software for qualitative data analysis

• Academic publications in peer reviewed journals

Desired Candidate Profile

Post Graduation - MPH

Organization Details

• Organization Name:Sangath Bhopal Hub
• About Organization:Improving community health across lifespan by facilitating healthy child development, adolescent health & promoting mental wellness.
  
  Know more