Latest Resources

Understanding the Roles of Faith-Based Health-Care Providers in Africa: Review of the Evidence with a Focus on Magnitude, Reach, Cost, and Satisfaction

As the fi rst report in the Series on faith-based health care, we review a broad body of published
work and introduce some empirical evidence on the role of faith-based health-care providers, with a focus on Christian
faith-based health providers in sub-Saharan Africa (on which the most detailed documentation has been gathered). [from abstract]

Note: To access this article, users must register with the publication. Registration is free.

Research Utilization among Nurses at a Teaching Hospital in Kenya

In the era of evidence based practice ( EBP), health care delivery should be grounded on new or validated knowledge and evidence from research. The aim of the study was to assess research utilization by nurses and the influencing factors at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the largest teaching hospital in Kenya. [From abstract]

Lean Management in the South African Public Health Sector: A Case Study

This chapter gives an account of one relatively modest but effective intervention in an orthopaedic outpatient clinic at the New Somerset Hospital (NSH) in Cape Town in 2013. This project aimed to reduce patient waiting times in the clinic, and improve patient satisfaction.

Stressing the Need for Team Building Composition amongst Health Workers in Nigeria

This study examined the need for team building composition amongst health worker in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to measure the resemblance on knowledge and factors affecting team building composition in two health facilities in Nigeria. [from abstract]

Rapid Assessment of Health Services in Punjab using a Mixed Method Approach

The out-of-pocket expenditure is quite high in Punjab. Hence, a rapid review of health facilities was undertaken to suggest remedial measures.[from abstract]

Training and Deploying Human Resources for Health for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Rural Africa: An In-Depth Policy Analysis

The majority of African countries lack sufficient human resources for health (HRH) to deliver basic maternal, newborn, child health (MNCH) care, particularly in rural areas. To inform planning for the scarce HRH available, specifically as it pertains to the Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 agenda, a rapid systematic review of evidence on training and deployment policies for doctors, nurses and midwives for MNCH in rural Africa was undertaken. [from abstract]

Effectiveness of Community-Based Health Services by Nurse Practitioners: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

As non-communicable diseases become a major health burden requiring long-term healthcare in community settings, this systematic review aims to assess the equivalence of NP services to standard care provided by MDs, and to determine whether their practice is an effective alternative to that of MDs in community settings. [from abstract]

Use of Mobile Phone Consultations During Home Visits by Community Health Workers for Maternal and Newborn Care: Community Experiences from Masindi and Kiryandongo Districts, Uganda

Home visits by Community Health Workers [In Uganda Community Health Workers are given the collective term of Village Health Teams (VHIs). This is recommended to improve maternal and newborn care. We investigated perceived maternal and newborn benefits of home visits made by VHTs, combined with mobile phone consultations with professional health workers for advice. [adapted from abstract]

Educating the Health Librarians in Africa Today: Competencies, Skills and Attitudes Required in a Changing Health Environment

The objectives of this study were to establish the extent to which information science schools in Kenya offered courses that imparted competencies and skills required by health information professionals; and to establish a range of competencies, skills and attitudes required by health librarians in Kenya in order to be effective in the changing health environment. [from introduction]

Maximizing the Impact of Training Initiatives for Health Professionals in Low-Income Countries: Frameworks, Challenges, and Best Practices

The best practices adopted by these initiatives are: alignment to local priorities, country ownership, competency-based training, institutional capacity building, and the establishment of long-lasting partnerships with international stakeholders. Based on these best practices, we outline a framework for health professional training initiatives that can help better address the health workforce shortage in low-income countries.[from introduction]

Qualitative Assessment of Rural Health Workers’ Management of Malaria in Sick Children

This study explores the perceptions of health managers and health care providers on the case management of uncomplicated malaria among under-fives in selected primary health care (PHC) facilities of two Local Government Areas (LGAs), Katcha and Gbako, as part of baselines for capacity-building interventions planned in Niger State, Nigeria. [from abstract]

Progress for Children Beyond Averages: Learning from the MDGs (No. 11)

This eleventh edition of Progress for Children is UNICEF’s final report on the child-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It presents latest data that show while the MDGs helped drive tremendous advances in the lives of the world’s children, development efforts in the past 15 years failed to reach millions of the most disadvantaged. The report spotlights where the international community must now focus attention and action to reach the most vulnerable children and achieve sustainable growth. [from abstract]

A Multi-Country Assessment of Providers of Community Based Maternity Care in Resource Limited Countries

This review explored providers of community maternal and newborn care in resource poor countries. The objectives were to identify community based maternity carers, their roles and functions, how they can complement the current global focus on skilled birth attendance, and to identify the enablers and barriers to their involvement in the continuum of care. [from abstract]

Ensuring Human Rights in the Provision of Contraceptive Information and Services

These WHO guidelines provide recommendations for programmes as to how they can ensure that human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled, while services are scaled up to reduce unmet need for contraception. Both health data and international human rights laws and treaties were incorporated into the guidance. [from abstract]

Assessment of Provider Competence and Quality of Maternal/Newborn Care in Selected Latin American and Caribbean Countries

To obtain a snapshot of the maternal and newborn care provided by different types of maternal and child health providers in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to 1) better inform advocacy and programmatic strategies and interventions to improve the quality of those services in the region, and 2) determine the need for more rigorous study of the issues. [from abstract]

Soccer and Sexual Health Education: A Promising Approach for Reducing Adolescent Births in Haiti

This paper explores the effect of an innovative, integrative program in female sexual reproductive health (SRH) and soccer (or fútbol, in Haitian Creole) in rural Haiti by measuring the rate of births among program participants 15–19 years old and their nonparticipant peers. [from abstract]

Information Management for Essential Medicines Supplies in Public Primary Care Facilities in Nairobi County, Kenya

Available pharmaceutical information is often characterized by inadequacy, and inaccuracy, which
compromise its quality and usefulness. This study was carried out to examine staff characteristics,
organizational and technical aspects that affect the quality of pharmaceutical information. [from abstract]

The Health Workforce in Latin America and the Caribbean An Analysis of Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay

This study intends to provide an update of the status of the human resources for health (HRH) subsystem in six countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. The study’s discussion centers around five questions: how the health workforce is financed, how it is organized, how it is managed, how it is regulated, and how it performs. Further, the study strives to understand what role, if any, performance management policies and incentives play in these countries’ HRH subsystems.

Assessments of Health Services Availability in Humanitarian Emergencies: A Review of Assessments in Haiti and Sudan Using a Health Systems Approach

To improve the consistency of health facilities assessments, the World Health Organization has proposed the use of the Health Resources Availability Mapping System (HeRAMS) developed in Darfur, Sudan as a standardized assessment tool for use in future acute and protracted crises.This study provides an evaluation of HeRAMS’ comprehensiveness, and investigates the methods, quality and comprehensiveness of health facilities data and tools in Haiti, where HeRAMS was not used.

Effects of Peer Education on the Knowledge and Use of HIV Counselling and Testing Services Among Young Persons in Ibadan, Nigeria

A peer education intervention was implemented to promote use of HCT among secondary school
students and apprentices in Ibadan, Nigeria. Baseline data were collected from 1281 students from six schools and 100 apprentice workshops in four Local Government Areas of Ibadan. [from abstract]

African Female Physicians and Nurses in the Global Care Chain: Qualitative Explorations from Five Destination Countries

Migration of health professionals is an important policy issue for both source and destination countries around the world. The majority of migrant care workers in industrialized countries today are women. However, the dimension of mobility of highly skilled females from countries of the global south has been almost entirely neglected for many years. This paper explores the experiences of high-skilled female African migrant health-workers (MHW) utilising the framework of Global Care Chain (GCC) research. [from abstract]

What Do District Health Managers in Ghana Use Their Working Time for? A Case Study of Three Districts

Ineffective district health management potentially impacts on health system performance and service delivery. However, little is known about district health managing practices and time allocation in resource-constrained health systems. Therefore, a time use study was conducted in order to understand current time use practices of district health managers in Ghana. [from abstract]

Identifying Approaches and Tools for Evaluating Community-Based Medical Education Programmes in Africa

This article outlines the process of identifying tools that, with modification, could assist in the evaluation of Community-Based Education programmes in participating Medical Education Partnership Initiative schools, funded by PEPFAR.

Testing Health Microinsurance Through Savings Groups in Benin

In Benin, CRS has been piloting a health microinsurance (HMI) product since March 2012. We have been delivering it to members of Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) through NSIA (a local insurance company) and Caritas Natitingou in northern Benin. From March 2012 to December 2014, coverage has nearly doubled from 715 to more than 1,300 SILC members and their dependents. The project team recently conducted an evaluation of progress. The evaluation included 12 SILC focus groups to learn more from their experiences in using the health microinsurance product. [from introduction]

mHealth Field Guide for Newborn Health

This guide that explains how mHealth serves newborn health through referral and tracking of mothers and infants, decision support for CHWs, CHW supervision, scheduling and tracking postpartum and postnatal visits, and teaching and counseling for mothers and families. Case studies are provided from Afghanistan, India, Malawi and Indonesia. Links to resources for planning, implementation and evaluation are included along with lessons learned across the case studies. [from abstract]