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The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) was established in 2000 as a network of technical institutions, research institutes, universities, international health organisations and technical networks willing to contribute and participate in internationally coordinated responses to infectious disease outbreaks. It reflected a recognition of the need to strengthen and coordinate rapid mobilisation of experts in responding to international outbreaks and to overcome the sometimes chaotic and fragmented operations characterising previous responses. [from abstract]

This research was aimed mainly at determining the significance of the primary health care learning programme in health care service delivery, focusing mainly in the Ehlanzeni Health district of Mpumalanga Province [South Africa]. The focus was on how professional nurses trained in the Primary Health Care programme confidently apply the skills and expertise to the benefit of clients in community health facilities. [from abstract]

Health professional schools are important in that they produce health workers, the major input in the health system. Not only are labor costs a central part of the health budget, but the majority of all health system costs are determined by health worker variables. The practice behaviors and personal preferences of health workers will determine the communities in which they work and whether they practice primary or specialty care. In some countries, the amount of study and the magnitude of educational debt with which health workers graduate also significantly affect their practice behavior.

In this article, we open the debate on whether or not South Africa’s Youth-friendly Services (YFS) programmes should be linked to community health worker (CHW) programmes. Both are important in South Africa’s efforts to re-engineer primary healthcare in the country. This article presents the pros and cons of linking the two programmes by incorporating YFS into the current list of CHW competencies. Also, we explore the alternative of training specialist CHWs to deliver YFS. [from abstract]

There is an evolving need for better utilization of ICT resources which are direct, cost effective, time-saving, and highly persuasive in pursuit of quality healthcare delivery. Therefore this research proposes a ten-layer ICT model converging advanced Mobile and Internet interventions, to disseminate health messages for patients suffering from fatal diseases. Using breast cancer as an instance, a communication strategy is exemplified using the ten-layer model.

Indonesia is one of the countries in the world which has a decentralized model of government. The decentralization in the form of regional autonomy aims to improve the public welfare through public services. The services, especially the health service depends much on the wide area and also the geographical condition of the regional. Thus, it is necessary to do an analysis of systems towards the health service from the catchment area perspectives to solve the present and future problems. [adapted from abstract]

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is one of the most vital health indicators. A number of factors impact and
influence IMR. One of the most important ones could be public health spending. Health spending however is not
uniform throughout Asia and varies from region to region. [from abstract]

This article presents results from a study that explored the association between community capacity for maternal health promotion and women’s use of preventive and curative maternal health services. Implemented in the Republic of Guinea, the intervention aimed to build the capacity of community-level committees to heighten awareness about maternal health risks and to promote use of professional maternal health services throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Data were collected through a population-based survey. [from abstract]

This paper assesses some analytical problems and approaches towards improving the utilization of primary health care services by the rural communities in Nigeria. This article examines some cross cutting issues in [Primary Health Care] PHC and outlines approaches to improve the use of health services by rural people. [adapted from abstract]

This document provides an overview of the HRH labour market in Sudan, highlighting the importance of a comprehensive approach to understanding the driving forces that affect the supply and demand for health workers, in order to provide a basis for developing effective HRH polices that can contribute to progress towards universal health coverage. [from abstract]

Health facilities in rural, resource limited settings face multiple challenges responding to a growing demand for HIV treatment, including lack of adequate numbers of trained health workers. Many programs have used community health support workers (CHSWs) to provide specific services related to HIV care, and to complement facility-based treatment. [from abstract]

Indonesia is striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 target of less than 23 infant deaths per 1000 live births by 2015. In order to reach this target, a community case management (CCM) model, was introduced by the American funded Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) and the Indonesian Ministry of Health (MoH) in 2011. Little is known about how CCM has been delivered and there is no research that examines the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of CCM in Indonesia.

The public health sector in South Africa faces a number of human resource–related inundations. Solving these challenges requires the provision of empirically derived information on these matters. This study investigated the relationship between three work-related factors, person-environment fit, work-family balance and perceived job security, and employee satisfaction and organisational commitment. A conceptual framework that links these factors is proposed and tested. [from abstract]

Medicines are a major driver of quality, safety, equity, and cost of care in low and middle-income country health systems. Universal health coverage implementers must explicitly address appropriate use of medicines to realize the health benefits of medicines, avoid wasting scarce resources, and sustain the financial viability of universal health coverage schemes. [from abstract]

This paper presents the results of two field experiments on local accountability in primary health care in Uganda. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control, coupled with the provision of report cards on staff performance, resulted in significant improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes in both the short and the longer run. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control without providing information on performance had no impact on quality of care or health outcomes.

Improving maternal and reproductive health still remains a major challenge in most low-income countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The growing inequality in access to maternal health interventions is an issue of great concern. In Ghana, inadequate attention has been given to the inequality gap that exists amongst women when accessing antenatal care during pregnancy and skilled attendance at birth.

The health systems of most countries in the region are characterized by the provision of services through both public and private providers, often in parallel or in competition with each other. This has raised the option for governments to purchase services from the private sector, to address gaps in services particularly for the poor and underserved. This policy brief reviews the evidence base of government purchasing primary care services from the private sector.

Health systems interventions, such as capacity-building of health workers, are implemented across districts in order to improve performance of healthcare organisations. However, such interventions often work in some settings and not in others. Local health systems could be visualised as complex adaptive systems that respond variously to inputs of capacity building interventions, depending on their local conditions and several individual, institutional, and environmental factors.

The study concludes that to address these gender gaps in ICTs in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to change women’s attitudes towards ICT use by overcoming technophobia;women should be provided with educational and economic empowerment; government ICT policies and programs must address the needs of women;and the civil society should be part and parcel of this crusade for the betterment of women and the society at large. [from abstract]

Behavior is crucial throughout global health interventions. The discipline of behavior change offers distinct expertise needed across 6 different domains of behavior. Such expertise is in short supply, however. We will not have effective and sustainable health systems, nor achieve our ambitious global health goals, without seriously addressing behavior change. [from abstract]

During national scale up of Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) in Rwanda, greater improvements in care-seeking were found in the districts where Kabeho Mwana implemented its model than in the rest of the country. Success was attributed to an emphasis on routine data review, intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and, in particular, CHW peer support groups. [from introduction]

Laboratory professionals are expected to maintain their knowledge on the most recent advances in
laboratory testing and continuing professional development (CPD) programs can address this expectation. In
developing countries, accessing CPD programs is a major challenge for laboratory personnel, partly due to their
limited availability. An assessment was conducted among clinical laboratory workforce in Botswana to identify and
prioritize CPD training needs as well as preferred modes of CPD delivery. [from abstract]

Lauded for getting specific health issues onto national and international agendas and for their potential to improve value for money and outcomes, public-private global health initiatives (GHIs) have come to dominate global health governance. Yet, they have also been criticised for their negative impact on country health systems. In response, disease-specific GHIs have, somewhat paradoxically, appropriated the aim of health system strengthening (HSS).

While concepts such as ‘partnership’ are central to the terminology of private–public mix (PPM), little attention has been paid to how social relations are negotiated among the diverse actors responsible for implementing these inter-sectoral arrangements. India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) has used intermediary agents to facilitate the involvement of private providers in the expansion of Directly Observed Therapy, Short-Course (DOTS).

This study used a mixed methods approach with data from the Regulatory Human Resources Information System (tracks initial student enrolment through registration) and the Kenya Health Workforce Information System (tracks deployment and demographic information on licensed nurses) for the quantitative analyses and qualitative data from key informant interviews with nurse training institution educators and/or administrators. [from abstract]

Patient’s satisfaction is one indicator of healthcare quality. Few studies have examined the inpatient experiences in resource-scarce environments in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines patient’s satisfaction on the public medical wards at a Kenyan referral hospital, we performed a cross-sectional survey focused on patient’s satisfaction with medical information and their relationship with staffing and hospital routine. Ratings of communication with providers, efforts to protect privacy, information about costs, food, and hospital environment were also elicited. [adapted from abstract]

This research aims to evaluate the potentialities, issues and challenges of developing mobile healthcare system in the developing world. We have proposed a potential mHealth model based on mobile telecommunication networks. This research offers a set of guidelines to aid the implementation of a successful mobile healthcare system. [from abstract]

The healthcare system of developing countries are immersed in the complex issues of governance and financing of health care, human resource inequity and lack of access to quality health services, which are significantly impacting on the delivery of health services to the consumers. This paper will highlight on of health care system of Pakistan and Cuba under the spheres of their health care delivery system, organizational structure, authority and power structure, decision making process, future challenges and their resolutions. [from abstract]

Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown.

In countries with high maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality, reliable access to quality healthcare in rural areas is essential to save lives. Health workers who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to remain in rural posts. Understanding what factors influence health workers’ satisfaction can help determine where resources should be focused. Although there is a growing body of research assessing health worker satisfaction in hospitals, less is known about health worker satisfaction in rural, primary health clinics.