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In a rural village in India, newborn deaths have been halved not by neonatologists or high-tech interventions but by local villagers trained in simple life-saving practices. Some experts, however, are sceptical about whether this strategy can work everywhere. [from author]

The objective of this research is to explore inequities in utilization of skilled attendance at birth, delivery by caesarean sections and use of postnatal care services, by key socioeconomic factors in two home-based SBA areas of Bangladesh to provide insights for future programming. [from introduction]

This paper presents field narratives selected as illustrations of mythologising and masking in popular responses to HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The stories appear in the context of traditional health practitioners and the testimony of the healers is used to demonstrate the ways in which they interpret these narratives, and seek to challenge them.2 The examination then re-assesses these accounts, and the healers’ responses to them, in relation to the antipathy that exists between western medicine and traditional healing in the context of HIV/AIDS. [introduction]

This paper documents the results of the second year of operation of the HOPE Cape Town (HIV Outreach Program and Education) Pilot Traditional Healer Project, an innovative HIV/AIDS collaboration between traditional health practitioners and western medicine in the Western Cape Province. The paper identifies the project’s achievements, and explores key problems in operation and management, including recommendations for the design and implementation of future initiatives. [from introduction]

This brief is a best practice model for improving the quality and accessibility of family planning and HIV services in rural communities in Zimbabwe. [from author]

During the 1990s in Kenya, nurse midwives, a new group of private-sector service providers, were licensed to operate private clinics close to communities. The private nurse midwives operate private clinics, nursing and maternity homes primarily in densely populated peri-urban areas, rural trading centers and towns. The networks described in this report emerged out of the need for a sustainable supervision system and a continuing education program for the private nurse midwives. [from introduction]

This presentation from the Scaling Up High-Impact FP/MNCH Best Practices in Asia and the Near East Technical Meeting covers the reasons to support integrated services and the challenges to this process.

This presentation discusses the midwifery gap in Pakistan and the strategies they are using to address it.

Despite ample evidence that HIV has entered the general population, most HIV awareness programs in India continue to neglect rural areas. Low HIV awareness and high stigma, fueled by low literacy, seasonal migration, gender inequity, spatial dispersion, and cultural taboos pose extra challenges to implement much-needed HIV education programs in rural areas. This paper describes a peer education model developed to educate and empower low-literacy communities in the rural district of Perambalur in India. [from abstract]

Infectious diseases kill more than 10 million people worldwide every year. It is therefore vital that doctors receive a good education in this field. Online learning is one way in which doctors can learn new knowledge and skills. We conducted this study to determine whether the infectious diseases interactive online learning packages enabled primary care professionals to increase their knowledge and skills in the area of infectious diseases. [from abstract]

Modernizing the way health care professionals are educated and engaged in their vital work requires a collaborative and coordinated approach among many players. The Health Council convened the summit on health human resources to focus on practical, short-term solutions. This report attempts to capture the lively discussion and encouraging examples of innovation brought forward at that forum, organized into four theme areas: education and training, scopes of practice, workplace practices and planning. [adapted from author]

This is a review of current multi-lateral agreements, codes of practice, bilateral agreements, regional agreements, and strategies and position statements that govern the migration of health workers from ESA (East and Southern African) countries. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current situation in ESA. [from executive summary]

This survey is the first attempt to examine the preparedness of the health
system to implement guidelines for HIV testing in clinical settings, and to provide comprehensive AIDS management. This includes availing HIV testing in clinical settings to both adult and pediatric patients, and providing treatment for HIV disease. The survey also examines the working environment in health care facilities, with an emphasis on HIV infection control and access to post-exposure prophylaxis for health workers themselves. [from foreword]

This paper examines the employment preferences of public sector registered nurses working in Malawi and identifies the range and relative importance of the factors that affect their motivation. The research was designed in the light of the Malawi government’s programme to address the shortage of health workers, which is based on salary top-ups as a means of increasing employee motivation and reducing high rates of attrition. This policy has been adopted despite relatively little quantitative exploration into the employment preferences of health workers in developing countries.

Knowing that quality is never an accident, always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution, and that it represents the wise choice of many alternatives, this abbreviated version of the Policy attempts to provide the strategic direction health facilities and officials need to follow to assure quality in health care and continuous improvement in the care that is being provided. Health care personnel are encouraged to use this copy of the Policy to focus their intentions and guide their efforts. [from foreword].

Given the limited availability of formal, inpatient programs, households rely upon informal caregivers (e.g. household or family members, friends, community members, or voluntary organizations) and homebased care (HBC) programs for assistance. This summary documents the roles played by household and HBC program caregivers in meeting the needs of the chronically ill.

This report summarizes the results of the first year of the two-year project entitled International Recruitment of Nurses to the United States: Toward a Consensus on Ethical Standards of Practice. It examines the structure and basic practices of the U.S. based international nurse recruitment industry. The purpose of the project is to facilitate consensus among stakeholders on how to reduce the harm and increase the benefits of international nurse recruitment for source countries and for migrant nurses themselves. [from author]

The Canadian health care system is one of the places where push comes to pull in terms of attracting health care professionals from sub-Saharan Africa. The authors call this the perverse subsidy: the costs of training these professionals are paid for by poorer people in poorer countries. The pull to Canada is equally a push from Africa. Reflections on a pilot study on a labour mobility issue that is equally a question of conscience. [from author]

This study evaluated biases in guideline untilization of evidence-based practice concerning contraception perscription. It was found that in India, Peru, and Rwanda, health care providers underutilize evidence-based practice guidelines as they prescribe contraceptives. This article ends with recommendations for providers to most effectively utilize evidence-based practice. [adapted from abstract]

This presentation describes the benefits and challenges of structured on-the-job training with evidence from a case study of Nepal.

Telemedicine is viewed as a new way of offering medical services. It is seen as a means of overcoming the growing shortage of health practitioners in developing countries. The aim of this paper is to highlight the need for the formulation of guidelines for the ethical practice of telemedicine in South Africa. [from abstract]

Within the Southern African prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) programmes, counsellors talk with pregnant mothers about a number of interrelated decisions and behaviour changes. Current counselling has been characterised as ineffective in eliciting behaviour change and as adopting a predominantly informational and directive approach. Motivational interviewing (MI) was chosen as a more appropriate approach to guide mothers in these difficult decisions, as it is designed for conversations about behaviour change. MI has not previously been attempted in this context. This paper reflects on how MI can be incorporated successfully into PMTCT counselling and what lessons can be learnt regarding how to conduct training with counsellors.

Clinical skills and the ability to perform procedures is a vital part of general medicine. Teaching these skills to aspiring doctors is a complex task and it starts with a good theoretical preparation and some practical experience at university. On graduating from university, each doctor is faced with the task of transforming theoretical knowledge into the practical, procedural skills of a competent professional. This study aims to assess the perceptions of intern doctors working in regional hospitals in the Western Cape of their skills training both at undergraduate level and during the intern year.

The purpose of this toolkit is to assist health professionals, health professional associations, and civil society organizations to develop advocacy strategies to address human resource and health financing issues in their countries. [from introduction]

These guidelines help answer what national health workforce plans should contain and how they should be developed to give them the best chance of significantly improving health outcomes and moving countries as rapidly as possible towards universal access to essential health interventions. The guidelines should serve as overarching principles that will promote the success of health workforce plans, while ensuring that they are consistent with human rights. [adapted from author]

In this policy brief, we review approaches to capacity planning, a crucial component of health care governance. By concentrating on a diverse selection of countries, we aim to show a range of approaches to health care financing and organization, since both of these factors have an impact on approaches to capacity planning. [adapted from introduction]

This study reviews the healthcare literature that examines the effect of financial incentives on the behaviour of healthcare organisations and individuals with respect to the quality of care they deliver to consumers. Its purpose is to provide guidance to policy-makers in government and decision-makers in the private sector in their efforts to improve quality of care through payment reforms. [adapted from summary]

This fact sheet highlights approaches to improving quality of care that can be rapidly implemented, over months rather than years, without great cost. The author writes that better quality can improve health much quicker than other drivers of health, such as economic growth, educational advancement, or new technology. [adapted from introduction]

The aim of this booklet is to give pharmacy students and practitioners information about patient counseling, guidance for organizing a patient counseling event, how to develop courses about counseling, the role of community pharmacists in promoting patient counseling, and guidelines for continuous professional development in patient counseling and communication skills. [adapted from author]

The first study of the Australian hospital pharmacy workforce (public and private hospitals) was undertaken in 2001. Data from this study provided a baseline and were used to estimate the future demand for hospital pharmacists. This article summarizes an update of this survey done in 2003. [adapted from author]