Innovative Analytical Methods to Advance Global Health Solutions
Who We Are
Braintree Global Health’s mission is to generate innovative research and evaluation methodologies to create high performing policies and programs. It is a partnership between Dr. Jenny Ruducha and Professor Peter Berman, a married couple with an exceptionally strong academic background and over 30 years experience working in developing countries across many parts of the globe, including living in India for 8 years. Our base in Cambridge, one of the most vibrant academic and knowledge production hubs worldwide, enhances our ability to engage global and national networks of talented professionals to support our work.
Our Leadership Team
Dr. Jenny Ruducha (MPH, DrPH), Lead Partner, is an evaluation and applied research expert with over 25 years of experience in designing programs and evaluation methodologies with a focus on maternal, newborn, child and reproductive health and nutrition. Dr. Ruducha is also a Senior Research Scientist at Boston University School of Public Health, Center for Global Health and Development working on scaling-up Women’s Microfinance Groups in India as a platform for health interventions. She has worked in the US and globally with governments, international organizations, academic institutions as well as community based organizations to incorporate more rigorous scientific methods into challenging “real life” program implementation environments. Her most recent work expands into Social and Organizational Network Analysis, a quantitative and visual methodology for improving the understanding of communication networks and organizational relationships to enhance performance in programs and partnerships to foster collaboration and cross-sectoral coordination. Dr. Ruducha holds an MPH and DrPH from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Society and Health Program at Harvard School of Public Health and the Health Institute at Tufts Medical Center.
Prof. Peter Berman (MSc, PhD), Partner, is a world recognized authority on health system reform and health care financing with more than thirty years of experience in research, policy analysis, and training and education in global health. Dr. Berman is Professor of the Practice of Global Health Systems and Economics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and faculty director of HSPH’s Doctor of Public Health degree. Currently, Prof. Berman leads several innovative projects on developing primary care systems, strengthening service delivery, and improving health care financing mechanisms for better outcomes, with a focus on work in Ethiopia, India, and Malaysia. He is co-author of Getting Health Reform Right: A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity (Roberts, et al, Oxford University Press, 2003), co-editor of the Guide to the Production of National Health Accounts (World Bank, World Health Organization, and USAID, 2003), and co-editor of Berman and Khan, Paying for India’s Health Care (Sage, 1993). Dr. Berman is a graduate of Oberlin College and Cornell University.
What We Do
We utilize our complementary skills, extensive experience, and global networks of experts and researchers to apply state of the art analytic tools to tackle significant global health challenges that lead to more effective solutions.
Research & Evaluation
We design and implement mixed methods research and program evaluation approaches to inform program strategies, improve interventions and assess the effects of programs and policies on outcomes. We employ a wide range of qualitative and quantitative skills and analytic tools across the research continuum that include: developing proposals, specifying research and evaluation questions, selecting appropriate methods, designing surveys and implementation strategies, collecting and analyzing data, training researchers and data collectors, writing reports and articles and disseminating our work in different forums.
Health System Reform & Health Care Financing
We implement country-wide health systems assessment processes, gap analysis and utilize national data sources to develop a profile of major health systems constraints and opportunities for reform within established political, social and economic boundaries. Options for reform are further assessed including projections for effects on health infrastructure and human resources and financing that lead to access and service utilization. We also design and implement National Health Accounts and resource tracking studies and develop projection models for governments to improve planning for the shift from donor funding to self-financing in the future.
Social & Organizational Network Analysis
We develop and carry out sociometric and egocentric social network studies to assess health information dissemination channels and health systems linkages across different geographic levels of providers, community members and target populations, such as recently delivered women. We also design “network” interventions to identify and leverage the impact of networks to improve health care utilization and health outcomes. We also utilize organizational network methods to understand how organizations coordinate and collaborate on development of policy, joint capacity building efforts and program implementation, referrals and scale-up. SNA and ONA are powerful tools that can elucidate pathways towards more effective program or intervention design, constitute interventions in and of themselves and be used in evaluating what components of the program worked and contributed to changes in outcomes.
Training & Capacity Building
We develop a range of training courses to build capacity on research and evaluation, health systems performance improvement, health care financing, and network analysis for governments, health care organizations, UN bodies and non-governmental organizations.
Recent Work
Our Projects
※Nutrition Upstream Case Studies using ONA in Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines (2015)
We developed a qualitative and organizational network methodology, tools, surveys and conducted interviews based on 10 case studies in four countries in Asia. Our objective was to assess the positioning of different organizational players, including UNICEF and the role of networks in supporting the implementation of major nutrition upstream policies and programs.
※Development of a Network Analysis Intervention and Network Analysis Plan for Ethiopia (2015)
We designed and conducted a training session for John Snow International staff based in Ethiopia on Social Network Analysis. We then developed a methodology and plan to include social network interventions and their evaluation into JSI’s follow-on L10K project in Ethiopia.
※Evaluation of the Maternal, Youth and Child Nutrition Security in Asia (MYCNSIA) in Nepal, Laos PDR, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines (2014-2015)
We provided technical assistance to countries in developing their end-line evaluations and developed an implementation strength module to include in surveys to assess the relationship between intensity of interventions and outcomes.
※Countdown to 2015: Ethiopia Case Study (2013-2015)
We led the provision of technical support training to the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) to analyze the programs and policies, health care financing, coverage of major interventions and use the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to understand the pathways through which Ethiopia achieved MDG 4, a reduction in Under-5 child mortality. Supporting EPHI and the MOH, we produced a report and policy briefs used in launching the new child survival strategy.
※Evaluation of Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (2013)
We partnered with Encompass to evaluate MHTF. We focused on developing a methodology to assess their research portfolio. We also conducted an organizational network analysis at the global and national levels to understand the functioning of global maternal health networks and the role of MHTF in providing leadership to support cross-national and global collaboration.
※Technical Advice and Training for Novartis (2013-2014)
We developed a multi-day workshop in Basel, Switzerland on health systems and provided technical assistance on country-based case studies to develop innovative health system strengthening projects in different countries.
※Sure Start Evaluation in India (2012)
We were involved in the development of the Sure Start interventions, a large-scale community-based maternal and newborn project in rural Uttar Pradesh, India and urban centers of Maharashtra. We developed an impact evaluation design, survey tools and participated in analysis and co-authored an article.
※Research and Evaluation for Neonatal Asphyxia Study in Indonesia (2012)
We directed the analysis and report writing of a newborn asphyxia study in Indonesia assessing the effects of community interventions by midwives on birth outcomes and neurodevelopmental indicators at age 2.
※Evaluation of a 20 year USAID Innovations in Family Planning Project in Uttar Pradesh, India (2012)
We used DLHS and NFHS data sets to develop multivariate models to estimate program effectiveness of a state-wide program. We also constructed Organizational Network Analysis survey tools and conducted interviews to establish the legacy of State Innovations in Family Planning Services Agency (SIFSA) and the status of family planning and reproductive health networks in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, India.
※Malaysia: Senior Officials Training on Health Sector Reform (2011)
We developed and conducted a customized one-week course and one-day seminar on Health Sector Reform and Financial Sustainability for Malaysia.