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As part of the United Republic of Tanzania, Zanzibar maintains its own government and an independent Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. To improve the quality of health care, the Ministry created a Human Resources for Health 5-Year Development Plan. A key strategy is the development of Mnazi Mmoja Hospital (MMH) into a semi-autonomous organization. [author’s description]

To help build the health workforce, the Capacity Project assisted Uganda’s Ministry of Health to craft and implement a comprehensive agenda for human resources for health… Improved human resources information systems (HRIS) will help the Ministry to plan for recruitment, training and retention of health professionals. [from author]

This report sets out many stories of individual and National Health Service partnerships working to improve health and share learning. Already the UK has an impressive record and reputation on international development, in health and in other areas. But to get the best out of all the enthusiasm and the work that is being done, the report identifies a need for better coordination and more strategic partnerships, and makes recommendations for improvement. [from foreword]

The purpose of this document is to provide Africa 2010’s strategy for strengthening regional and local capacity for adopting effective policies and innovations to improve the health status of Africans. [from introduction]

This document outlines the Programme for Development of Human Resources for Health (HRH) in the WHO South East Asia Region, whose overall aim is to collaborate with the Member Countries to correctly plan, effectively train, efficiently deploy and optimally utilize the types and numbers of health personnel that they require to meet the needs of their health systems. [from introduction]

TURP was commissioned to investigate the extent of nurse emigration and to suggest why this is happening. This report draws out the findings of the research conducted by TURP, and also uses information from newspaper reports. [introduction]

The effective provision of health services in poor countries is severely hampered by lack of staff. A frequently cited reason for staff shortages is brain drain or moving to greener pastures. Although international migration of health personnel has been occurring since before the 1970s, this has been further facilitated by the recent globalisatioIl of markets and the development offree trade agreements. A summary of an international review was done, to place the South African situation within the international context, and understand the various factors that influence migration. [from executiv

The report provides evidence of inadequate ratios of personnel to population for key skilled health personnel, and a maldistribution of personnel along three different axes, between: public and private heath sectors, urban and rural areas and tertiary and primary levels of the health system. It describes the exodus of healthcare workers from areas of poverty and low socio-economic development, to more highly developed areas. [from executive summary]

This guide will help frontline health workers use the data collected at health facilities to solve common problems in service delivery and improve their response to community needs. It is intended for doctors, nurses, and midwives in community-based health centers. The overall aim of the guide is to promote greater use of existing service data to improve health services. It does not require health workers to collect any additional data. [introduction]

Population-based healthcare has become the focus of healthcare services around the world so there is an ever-increasing need to train and support nurse managers who can led and nurture nurses as they work towards providing optimum levels of satisfaction and safety in the care they give to their patients. [abstract]

One of the challenges of continuing professional development (CPD) is to ensure that members of the medical profession maintain and improve the competencies in medical practice. CPD is an evolving system and different countries in Africa are at different levels of development. This article focuses on the developments and challenges of CPD among medical and dental practitioners in Africa. [abstract]

Contraceptive security requires comprehensive and integrated approaches that go beyond the public sector. Private sector involvement is critical not only in helping respond to growing market demand but also in ensuring equity in the contraceptive market. Redirecting well-off clients to the private sector will free up scarce donor and public resources for those most vulnerable and in need. Governments and donors cannot mandate private sector expansion and roles; however, they can create favorable conditions that induce private providers to enter the FP/RH market. [author’s description]

The manual is designed to help the ILO’s partners understand the issues and apply the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work. The Code is at the core of the ILO’s Programme on HIV/AIDS, providing guidance to governments, employers and workers, as well as other stakeholders, on national action plans and workplace policies and programmes to combat HIV/AIDS.

The objective of this code is to provide a set of guidelines to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world of work and within the framework of the promotion of decent work. The guidelines cover the following key areas of action: prevention of HIV/AIDS; management and mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS on the world of work; care and support of workers infected and affected by HIV/AIDS; elimination of stigma and discrimination on the basis of real or perceived HIV status. [from preface]

This is a summary report from the Africa Health Workforce Observatory meeting held September 26-29, 2006, at the ECSA headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The meeting focused on developing mechanisms to create up-to-date and reliable information that enables evidence-based decision making for HRH. [adapted from author’s description]

This study evaluates an intervention to raise healthcare provider morale and retention. Two different incentives-cash and a trophy, awarded to facilities rather than individuals-were tested in two districts. The program was implemented district-wide. Health centers and other small health facilities competed for the awards and were scored on the basis of management system indicators. Interviews with staff in both districts measured the effect of the awards on staff motivation and satisfaction. [publisher’s description]

This report examines the workforce issues surrounding HIV/AIDS service delivery. At the request of the Government of Rwanda, data were collected on current health sector staffing and from 20 public and private facilities of various sizes and characteristics on the time required to provide HIV/AIDS services and the quality of those services. The report presents data relative to the numbers of clients needing different types of HIV/AIDS services, providers’ degree of compliance with service delivery standards, and the time it takes to provide services.

There are few cost-minimisation studies in telemedicine. We have compared the actual costs of providing the telepaediatric service to the potential costs if patients had travelled to see the specialist in person. In November 2000, we established a novel telepaediatric service for selected regional hospitals in Queensland. Instead of transferring patients to Brisbane, the majority of referrals to specialists in Brisbane have been dealt with via videoconference.

Training managers within hospitals and health services do not just rely on transmitting packets of knowledge in a formal setting. This article argues that successful training should contain an emotional element to ensure engagement with the message. Immersion in real life circumstances is also important and leaders must develop training around shared objectives and team building. [abstract]

South African citizens have experienced many inequalities and these have extended to the health care setting. one of the major challenges that needs to be addressed is the accessibility and availability of health care and specialized medical services in rural areas in South Africa. Telemedicine is a potential solution to address some of the challenges within health care in a developing country like South Africa. This article looks at the experiences of developing and implementing a telemedicine solution. [abstract]

The international mobility of health workers is nothing new. In recent years, however, migration of health workers — from highly skilled physicians to those in lesser skilled positions, from the developing world to wealthier destinations — has increased. Moreover, the countries with the most alarming outflows include those sub-Saharan African nations suffering acutely from the HIV/AIDS epidemic and dwindling numbers of health workers. Controversy surrounds the proper role of policy interventions in the global labor market of health care professionals.

Addressing the current state of human resources in health, the paper highlights the critical situation of the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the most recent workforce statistics and trends, including geographical distribution. The factors that have and are influencing the availability of human resources are briefly reviewed, focusing on the workforce motivation, the serious brain drain of health professionals, and the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS.

Typically, provider–client interactions are brief, and providers often behave condescendingly toward clients. As a result, clients are unable to express their concerns or describe the limitations they face in trying to implement the providers’ suggested course of action. A training intervention was developed for providers that focused on addressing the problems inherent in this dynamic. This research was undertaken to assess whether providers in the experimental area delivered services in a different manner than they had prior to the training intervention. [adapted from author]

The objective of this article is to examine in Peru the nature of dual practice (doctors holding two jobs at once - usually public sector doctors with private practices), the factors that influence individuals decisions to undertake dual practice, the conditions faced when doing so and the potential role of regulatory intervention in this area. [from abstract]

As many as 30% of doctors working for the National Health System of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have obtained their primary qualifications from a country outside the European Union. Factors driving this migration of doctors to the UK is not fully understood and merit continuing exploration. Our objective was to obtain training and employment profile of UK doctors who obtained their primary medical qualification outside the European Union (non-European doctors) and to assess self-reported reasons for their migration. [from abstract]