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The aim of this document is to identify and document promising practices to plan, develop and support national human resources in HIV related strategic information/monitoring and evaluation (M&E). This document adds to recent global M&E system strengthening guidance by compiling examples of promising approaches from a wide range of countries, and is intended for use in the creation of country plans to strengthen the workforce to support a fully functional, national M&E system to ensure strategic information for HIV/AIDS programming. [adapted from summary]

With the overall aim of identifying community health worker (CHW) programs with positive impact on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to health or otherwise, this global systematic review was undertaken of such interventions, as well as eight in-depth country case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia Mozambique and Uganda), South East Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand) and Latin America (Brazil and Haiti).

Each chapter of this report presents a proposed tool that can be used by those involved in finding and using research evidence to support evidence-informed health policymaking. [from author]

Establishing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) requires a legal framework acceptable to all the partners, clarity on the commitment of resources, roles and responsibilities of each partner, as well as accountability to provide a given set of services at a desired level of quality and affordable user charges. This paper describes the design, development and implementation of a PPP for managing urban health services in Ahmedabad city, Gujarat. [adapted from abstract]

Pay-for-performance (P4P) is one of the primary tools used to support healthcare delivery reform. This paper summarizes evidence, obtained from studies published between January 1990 and July 2009, concerning P4P effects, as well as evidence on the impact of design choices, and contextual mediators on these effects. [from abstract]

This toolkit is your one-stop source for evidence-based knowledge and promising practices to support the successful integration of family planning (FP) and HIV services. It summarizes the latest evidence and provides links to guidelines and tools to help you plan, manage, deliver, evaluate, and support integrated services. [adapted from publisher]

Task shifting is one avenue for delivering needed health care in resource poor settings, and on-the-ground reports indicate that task shifting may be applicable in humanitarian responses to natural disasters and conflicts. This report evaluates the potential strengths and weaknesses of task shifting in humanitarian relief efforts, and proposes a range of strategies to constructively integrate task shifting into humanitarian response. [adapted from abstract]

Follow-up studies of former students are an efficient way to organize the entire process of professional training and curriculum evaluation. The aim of this study was to identify professional profile subgroups based on job-related variables in a sample of former students of a Brazilian public dental school. [from abstract]

Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this study explores the potential efficacy of non-financial incentives (NFI) proposed by the L10k project, an Ethiopian health extension project. The results of the study outline factors motivating voluntary community health workers, indicate other NFI mechanisms for consideration, and suggest programmatic recommendations. [adapated from publisher]

The objective of this research was to study prescribing practices of private practitioners in the treatment of tuberculosis, two decades after a similar study conducted in the same geographical area revealed dismal results. [from abstract]

The aim of the present study was to examine whether a 16-hour night-call schedule allowed for sufficient recovery in anaesthesiologists compared with other physician specialists handling less life-threatening conditions, when on call. [from abstract]

The objective of this literature review is to assess the effectiveness of community-based intervention packages of improved maternal care during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum, as well as care of the newborn, in preventing maternal morbidity and mortality and improving neonatal outcomes. [adapted from summary]

This research aimed at examining the effects of mentoring functions on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of new nurses in Taiwan’s hospitals.

This report summarizes a a rapid mapping of HRH resources in Pacific Island countries to generate baseline data on the current HRH situation in the region, information on in-country and external education institutions involved in HRH development, and data on external partners providing HRH-related assistance. [adapted from summary]

Hospital-based providers’ willingness to report to work during an influenza pandemic is a critical yet under-studied phenomenon. Witte’s Extended Parallel Process Model has been shown to be useful for understanding adaptive behavior of public health workers to an unknown risk, and thus offers a framework for examining scenario-specific willingness to respond among hospital staff. [from abstract]

The objective of this article is to compare the processes and outcomes of four pulic-private mix project on DOTS implementation for tuberculosis control in New Delhi, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Nairobi, Keny; and Pune, India. [from abstract]

The period of birth is critical in the life of the mother and the baby. Ideally, it needs to be assisted in a competent manner by a skilled birth attendant (SBA) supported by an enabling environment. This goal has yet to be achieved in all countries. It is essential to upgrade the skills of existing SBAs in managing both the mother and baby, and to supply the necessary resources. Another key strategy is to implement suitable community-based interventions to achieve the required behaviors in family members, health workers, and volunteers to improve newborn health. [abstract]

Shortages of health workers are obstacles to utilising global health initiative (GHI) funds effectively in Africa. This paper reports and analyses two countries’ health workforce responses during a period of large increases in GHI funds. [from abstract]

This report documents some of the processes undertaken to integrate gender and sexuality factors into a maternal health project in Uttar Pradesh, India from 2007-2009. [from foreword]

This document reviews the ISOFI program. The iterative steps of this system focus on building staff and organisational capacity to critically analyse the social construction of gender and explore how gender influences personal values and beliefs and programmatic designs and choices. In turn, through the analysis-reflection-action cycle of the ISOFI Innovation System, staff can help community health providers and other stakeholders to analyse gender issues, reflect on local barriers and opportunities, and make implementation plans to catalyze change. [from author]

This assessment evaluates a health service mangement systems project undertaken in the Aceh province after the 2004 earthquakea and tsunami. The project implemented information systems for hospitals and primary care, and this evaluation details the lessons learned and challenges from health workers as well as the short term impact the systems have had on health service delivery processes.

Antiretroviral treatment services delivered in hospital settings in Africa increasingly lack capacity to meet demand and are difficult to access by patients. This article evaluates the effectiveness of nurse-led primary care based antiretroviral treatment by comparison with usual hospital care in a typical rural sub Saharan African setting. [from abstract]

There is currently limited published evidence of health-related training programmes in Africa that have produced graduates, who remain and work in their countries after graduation. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of graduates of field epidemiology training programmes in Africa stay on to work in their home countries, many as valuable resources to overstretched health systems. [from abstract]

Telehealth is the delivery of health care at a distance, using information and communication technology. The major rationales for its introduction have been to decrease costs, improve efficiency and increase access in health care delivery. This systematic review assesses the economic value of one type of telehealth delivery - synchronous or real time video communication – rather than examining a heterogeneous range of delivery modes as has been the case with previous reviews in this area. [from abstract]

This document describes the key effective interventions organized in packages across the continuum of care through pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, newborn care and care of the child. The packages are defined for community and/or facility levels in developing countries and provide guidance on the essential components needed to assure adequacy and quality of care. [from publisher]

This factsheet discusses the roles, resposibilities and impact on maternal mortality of skilled birth attendants.

The objective of this paper is to take stock of the available methods and tools for health workforce planning and projections, and to describe the processes and resources needed to undertake such an exercise. [from introduction]

This paper reports on two separate experiences of human resources development plans costing in Mozambique and Guinea Bissau to provide insight into the practice of costing exercises in information-poor settings and contribute to the existing debate on HRH costing methodologies. [adapted from abstract]

This study was conducted to assess the impact of integrating and scaling-up PMTCT of HIV infection into routine reproductive and child health services on the magnitude of staff workload in clinics. [from summary]

The objective of this qualitative study was to understand how nursing professionals coped with job retraining in a public hospital after an illness. [adapted from abstract]