Researcher Consultancy: Literature review – Maternal and Newborn Health service disruption during COVID 19

In 2018, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) funded Save the Children (SC) to lead a three-year initiative to augment global capacity for major disease outbreak response. Through a consortium of partners, the READY initiative supplements existing efforts to strengthen coordination between global humanitarian outbreak structures and operational response organizations. In this next phase of the program, READY is refining its focus on strengthening capacity for national and local NGOs, engaging those stakeholders in the design and roll-out of resources. READY’s primary purposes center around holistic capacity strengthening and capturing and applying learning.

Current evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) shows that maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity is unacceptably high Women and newborns suffer from preventable causes and are unable to consistently access appropriate healthcare services. In many settings, the COVID 19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic acutely overwhelmed health services, impacting the ability to provide routine maternal-newborn care. Additionally, restrictions such as lockdowns altered the utilisation of healthcare services. Building on an initial literature review supported by READY, “Maternal and Newborn Health service disruption during COVID 19: literature review”, Save the Children US now seeks a consultant to conduct an updated review of the literature, to develop further the understanding of the impact of COVID on maternal and newborn health services in low and middle income countries. This consultant will be expected to undertake a literature review of peer-reviewed and grey literature. The consultant will work alongside a project team, made up of READY and Save the Children staff, to conduct the literature review and to produce a report for publication.

Consultancy Objectives

• Conduct a systematic review of the existing literature focusing on the disruption in provision and utilization of maternal and neonatal services during COVID-19 in LMICs
• Collate and summarize the results of all relevant peer-reviewed studies
• Prepare and submit a manuscript summarizing the literature review to peer-reviewed journal for publication

Key Deliverables

1. Manage the review process including defining clear expectations, timelines, and deliverables.
2. Create the search method (for peer-reviewed and grey literature) and carry out the searches
3. Create inclusion/exclusion criteria and work with the review team to review sources for inclusion
4. Lead the extraction of data and analysis of the findings
5. Draft a manuscript reporting on the systematic review
6. Submit the manuscript for donor and internal review and incorporate feedback
7. Submit final paper to an academic peer-reviewed journal for publication

Skills and experience required

• Preferably hold a postgraduate degree (PHD or Masters) in a field of research
• Public health background with considerable experience of health systems, maternal and newborn health
• Academic with extensive publication experience
• Demonstrated skills and experience for conducting systematic reviews of the literature
• Understanding of Save the Children and familiarity of global architecture of outbreak response

Timeline & payment schedule

The final report is expected for submission to a peer-reviewed journal by March 2023. Payment will be provided based on the completion of pre-defined deliverables to be decided with the consultant. READY will have 30 days to issue full payment upon receipt of the invoices from the Provider.