Training Competent and Effective Primary Health Care Workers to Fill a Void in the Outer Islands Health Service Delivery of the Marshall Islands of Micronesia

Human resources for health are non-existent in many parts of the world and the outer islands of Marshall Islands in Micronesia are prime examples. While the more populated islands with hospital facilities are often successful in recruiting qualified health professionals from overseas, the outer islands generally have very limited health resources, and are thus less successful. In an attempt to provide reasonable health services to these islands, indigenous people were trained as Health Assistants (HA) to service their local communities. In an effort to remedy the effectiveness of health care delivery to these islands, a program to train mid-level health care workers (Hospital Assistants) was developed and implemented by the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the hospital in Majuro, the capital city of the Marshall Islands. This paper discusses the details of the training, the modalities used to groom the candidates, and an assessment of the ultimate effectiveness of the program. [author’s description]