Pre-Service Education

This research sheds light on the nature, design and provision of institutional services for providing training to the premier community health service providers in the public sector in Bangladesh. Virtually no major study exists on the training of the FWVs in the country. The methodology of the research mainly consists of a personal interview and questionnaire survey, covering the concerned trainers and officials of the major public health administration and training institutions of the country, including the National Institute of Population Research and Training, the Family Planning Directorate and the Family Welfare Visitors’ Training Institute.

Four articles by separate authors on institutional responses and policies for managing HIV/AIDS in Africa, with specific emphasis on the role of tertiary institutions, such as schools and colleges. The articles are not specific to health training institutions, but are relevant to this context.

Academic medicine has the opportunity to improve the quantity and quality of the health workforce as a means of strengthening the broader health system. However, it must address the gender dimensions of enrollment, curriculum, and promotion to have a positive impact on human resources for health around the world. [author’s description]

Traditionally, training institutions have in the main adopted the training programmes of rich countries. Graduates from these programmes have not usually been suitably adapted to the needs of the communities where the vast majority of people live. As such, their practice has not been based on an appropriate consideration of the social determinants of health. Graduates have offered services which have neglected key aspects of people’s living and working circumstances and lifestyles as well as the health implications of economic policies. [from abstract]

This reference manual, part of a learning package developed through a collaboration between the World Health Organization and JHPIEGO, contains 12 modules on topics such as facilitating group learning, managing clinical practice, and preparing and using knowledge and skills assessments. The modules include examples related to maternal, reproductive and child health.

This study examines the attitudes of nursing students toward caring for HIV/AIDS patients and their knowledge and perceptions about the disease. Findings revealed a very positive outlook of the nursing students in regards to caring for HIV/AIDS patients. Although most of them expressed their willingness to take any job offer concerning caring for HIV/AIDS patients, 34.3% apprehended resistance from their family members in this regard. However, they also considered that it would be possible for them to overcome the resistance. Although 100% of the students had heard of HIV/AIDS, a number of them had misconceptions about various aspects of the disease.