RAM-OP (rapid assessment method for older people)

This innovation was first supported by the HIF in 2015 to be developed and tested. Now, with a Diffusion grant, the HIF continues to support HelpAge scale up their rapid assessment method for older people.

WHAT IS THE HUMANITARIAN NEED?

In emergencies, older people are rarely identified as a vulnerable group by ministries’ officials, non-governmental organisations or donors. Surveys and assessments largely focus on children, pregnant and lactating women. As a consequence, little information is available about the nutritional status and the needs of older people in emergencies, and these needs are thus going unaddressed.

Humanitarian workers often argue that the methodology for assessing the nutritional status of older people is costly and complicated. There is a need for more cost effective methods than the traditional SMART surveys.

WHAT IS THE INNOVATIVE SOLUTION?

RAM as a product is innovative because of its rapidity in providing statistically robust and precise information for humanitarian programming compared to currently used assessment methods.

Innovation Phases Description:

• Performance of RAM will be tested alongside that of traditional survey methods, specifically that of the cluster method used in SMART. Performance of RAM and SMART will be assessed using criteria adopted from the framework for assessing the appropriateness of assessment methods proposed by Sacket and Holland (1975), Beaton and Bengoa (1976) and Jelliffe and Jelliffe (1969) and further developed by Myatt et al (2006).
• After the launch of the RAM-OP and its manual, HelpAge and its partners will monitor the use of this new method by carrying out electronic surveys targeting NGOs and ministries (done through Valid and HelpAge’s networks of local partners and through the Global Nutrition Cluster).

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED OUTCOMES?

Development & testing:

A rapid assessment method (RAM) to assess the needs of older people is needed in order to encourage and enable humanitarian organisations to identify the specific needs of this vulnerable group. This survey method would require less time, fewer staff, and would be less costly than the usual methods. RAM-OP can be used in both emergency situations and development contexts. It is hoped that by offering a simplified and cost-effective approach to nutritional surveys, humanitarian workers will be encouraged to consider older people and their needs, and, having a thorough knowledge of their nutritional needs, will implement appropriate feeding programmes targeting older people.

Scale:

This project aims to ensure that humanitarian and development projects are inclusive of older people through easily-collected, reliable evidence-based data. The project also aims to include RAM-OP in the list of assessment tools for older people used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and this incorporate it within a sector-wide global, best practice framework. This project will also expand the impact of the RAM-OP tool by translating it into Arabic and French and by developing a digital/mobile application.