Latest Resources

Much of current discussion of task shifting focuses on community health workers who are seen as relieving doctors, clinical officers, and especially nurses of some of the health promotion and direct care and support work that professional cadres are frequently unable to deliver because of personnel shortages and distance from communities they service. However, task-shifting cannot work unless close attention is paid both to the systems that support successful implementation and to needed expansion of human resources within overall health care system. [adapted from author]

This technical taskforce report focuses on providing broad cost guidance, deployment strategy and operational design considerations for community health worker subsystems as part of health system strengthening to achieve the Millenium Development Goals. [from author]

This toolkit was designed to help organizations assess community health worker (CHW) program functionality and improve program performance. Built around a core of 15 components deemed essential for effective programs, CHW the toolkit includes a guided self-assessment and performance improvement process to help organizations identify program strengths and address gaps. [adapted from introduction]

This paper focuses on the collection and use of strategic information on human resources for health for decision making and performance monitoring to achieve the MDGs for maternal and child health. It collected and analyzed cross-nationally comparable data on HRH availability, distribution, roles and functions from new and existing sources, and information from country reviews of HRH interventions that are associated with positive impacts on health services delivery and population health outcomes. [from author]

This profile summarises the available information on the cadres working at community level in Fiji – their diversity, distribution, supervisory structures, education and training, as well as the policy and regulations that govern their practice. [from summary]

This article reexamines a set of study findings that directly relate to the influence of gender on workplace violence, synthesizes these findings with other research from Rwanda, and examines the subsequent impact of the study on Rwanda’s policy environment. [from abstract]

This study sought evidence to inform whether skills in evidence based medicine should be taught to medical students during their preclinical years, or delivered during both the preclinical and clinical years of study as an important component of curriculum design.

This article reviews the benefits of knowledge of HIV serostatus and evidence from multiple countries surrounding the successes and pitfalls of provider-initiated testing in health care and home-based settings.

The report presents a body of knowledge to inform and accelerate the availability of quality midwifery services for women and newborns. It aims to make a valuable contribution both to strengthening the midwifery workforce around the world and to the critical planning that is needed to achieve the health Millennium Development Goals. [from summary]

This article and the accompanying video tell the story of a community health worker, Almaz Doiso, in Ethiopia who is responsible for the health needs of more than 500 families in one of the most remote regions of the world - South Omo Ethiopia. [adapted from author]

Task shifting and the integration of HIV care into primary care services have been identified as possible strategies for improving access to antiretroviral treatment. This paper describes the development and content of an intervention involving these two strategies. [from abstract]

Decision support technology purports to optimize the use of diagnostic tests in clinical practice. The objective of this review was to assess whether computerized clinical decision support systems (CCDSSs) are effective at improving ordering of tests for diagnosis, monitoring of disease, or monitoring of treatment. The outcome of interest was effect on the diagnostic test-ordering behavior of practitioners. [from abstract]

Computerized clinical decision support systems (CCDSSs) may help practitioners meet the requirements of chronic care. These systems analyze a patient’s characteristics to provide tailored recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, patient education, adequate follow-up, and timely monitoring of disease indicators. The objective of this review was to determine if CCDSSs improve the processes of chronic care and associated patient outcomes. [adapted from author]

This paper proposes a new approach to measure inefficiency and use it in benchmarking exercises to improve provider performance. [adapted from abstract]

This study empirically validated a model for integrated care in practice by assessing the relevance, implementation and plans of the elements in three integrated care service settings in The Netherlands. [from abstract]

This study aimed to examine the impact of mental illness related stigma training on third year medical students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour related to people with mental illness. [from abstract]

There is increasing global emphasis on mentorship of young scientists in order to train and develop the next leaders in global health. However, mentoring efforts are challenged by the high clinical, research and administrative demands. This study evaluated the status and nature of mentoring practices at Makerere College of Health Sciences. [from abstract]

This article proposes the idea of a new degree course in medicine of a shorter duration to encourage students from rural areas to take up medicine and then provide services in their local areas. [from author]

This article systematically reviewed the evidence on the impact of interventions for seeking, appraising, and applying evidence from systematic reviews in decision making by health policymakers or managers. [from abstract]

This paper assesses whether the process of decentralizing human resources for health management and organization to the level of the state and municipal health departments has involved investments in technical, political and financial resources at the national level. [from abstract]

A project supported the creation of a network of teaching and community hospitals to develop a . This paper provides an overview of the process used to develop a best practice toolkit in nursing human resource planning targeted at first line nursing managers, a description of the toolkit contents and a reflection on the outcomes of the project. [adapted from abstract]

This brief outlines the essential role that midwives play in healthcare and the issues behind the shortage of midwives. [adapted from author]

This study analyzed the effect of an educational intervention both on the attitudes and motivations of health professionals and on the degree of control over the diabetes for health workers and patients. [adapted from abstract]

This study examined ways to reduce the potential for violent occurrences in healthcare settings and minimize the impact of any violent situation that may arise. [adapted from author]

In 2008 the Capacity Project partnered with the Lesotho Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in a study of the gender dynamics of HIV/AIDS caregiving in three districts of Lesotho to account for men’s absence in HIV/AIDS caregiving and investigate ways in which they might be recruited into the community and home-based care workforce. [from abstract]