Accreditation

This directive outlines the systematic organization of the fragmented continuing professional development (CPD) activities of health professionals in Ethiopia and describes the CPD requirements and roles for health workers and the government offices responsible for standardizing and accrediting CPD and health worker licensing. [adapted from author]

With the ultimate aim of improving the health status of Ethiopians through the delivery of quality health services by competent health professionals, this guideline helps to establish a CPD system in the country through outlining the process of accreditation of CPD courses and CPD providers and linking CPD with re-licensure. [from author]

This brief discusses accreditation of health worker education programs, evidence on accreditation models, the importance of accreditation in the Pacific and the policy implications. [adapted from author]

This review of accreditation for healthcare professionals training and education describes international trends and approaches to the
accreditation of education programs or pathways that prepare graduates for entry to a professional register or to extend scopes of practice. [from author]

This review describes international trends and approaches to regulatory and licensing systems and the integration of overseas trained healthcare professionals, including international medical graduates. [from summary]

This analysis paper highlights the process of standard defining for Medical Education in a typically low resourced sub Saharan medial school environment. [from abstract]

This document argues that the gap left by the public health system combined with a government policy of proactively promoting the private sector has led to the proliferation of private health providers which are unregulated, unaccountable and untrained, causing a serious threat to women’s health. [adapted from author]

Within this document is a set of competencies for Europe, a set of professional standards and a proposal for an accreditation system that will work to ensure greater quality, consistency and effectiveness of the health promotion workforce on this continent. The document contains three handbooks: core competencies framework, professional standards and accreditation framework. [adapted from author]

Assessment of fitness-to-practice of health professionals trained overseas and who wish to practice in Australia is undertaken by a range of organisations. The purpose of the current paper is to investigate the methods of assessment used by these organisations and the issues associated with conducting these assessments. [from abstract]

Continuing education is necessary for all health care providers to remain up-to-date with the rapid technological advances and accumulation of new knowledge resulting from constant research. This booklet is intended to provide guidelines for planning, accrediting and implementing continuing professional development in Uganda. [adapted from foreword]

The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean held a regional consultation on the accreditation of health professions education. The objectives of the meeting were to enable countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region to exchange experience in establishing national systems of accreditation, identifying strengths and constraints, and to formulate region- and country-specific plans of action for establishing accreditation of health professions education. [from author]

This presentation discusses quality issues in private practice in developing countries, how the government can make licensing and regulation more effective, shifting the quality distribution and the use of accreditation. [adapted from author]

This article provides an historical overview of the three major ways that nursing regulates the profession, its members, and their performance, i.e., licensure, certification, and accreditation. Each type of regulation mechanism is described and differences between them are explained. Current issues related to accreditation of schools of nursing are outlined. [abstract]

The value of accreditation remains uncertain, and this persists as a central legitimacy problem for accreditation providers, policymakers and researchers. The question arises as to how best to research the validity, impact and value of accreditation processes in health care. [from abstract]

This review of experience in accreditation and external quality assessment systems was produced at the request of the UK Department for International Development in India. The purpose of this review is to describe where External Quality Assessment fits in the broader set of levers that exist for engaging with health care providers and organisations in developing countries in order to improve quality and affordability of care.

This study explores the details of the process leading to the equivalence determination of qualifications and degrees for the education and training of the health professions in Thailand. [from abstract]

Credentialing of health care providers, facilities and educational institutions is an integral component in building and sustaining robust HRH systems. This technical brief examines the characteristics and potential advantages of credentialing mechanisms and common challenges faced in implementing them in low-resource settings. [from author]

This report examines whether Zambia’s hospital accreditation program improved health outcomes and other indicators. Performed after an accreditation program had been launched in about 40 hospitals, the evaluation examined eight indicators of healthcare quality at hospitals that had and had not been exposed to the accreditation program.

Zambia’s recently developed hospital accreditation program is a major component of ongoing health sector reforms that have taken place in the country during the last decade. Although Zambia previously had several processes in place for evaluating hospital performance, comprehensive performance standards had not been developed and quality measurement was not standardized.

This brief report describes four different accreditation programs in South Africa: one is nationwide and addresses hospitals; the second accredits privately financed healthcare programs; the third is a provincial program accrediting all public healthcare facilities, and the fourth assesses clinics providing adolescent reproductive health. This operations research study interviewed stakeholders of the South Africa healthcare system to elicit their views of the best possible options for South Africa and of the strengths and weaknesses of the four existing programs. [author’s description]

This monograph provides a brief overview of several aspects of quality assurance, including its cost-effectiveness and its feasibility in less developed countries. The monograph describes the dimensions of quality, the four principles of quality assurance, the QA process, and key activities in the development of a QA program.

A global review resulted from a study conducted by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) under contract to the World Health Organization. The first of this report’s three parts describes structures and activities at national and international levels around the world to promote quality in health care. The second part catalogues quality concepts and tools in local use in various countries. The third part outlines initiatives in health service accreditation and analyses the operation of functioning national programmes around the world. The appendices include recommendations of major international bodies and meetings on quality assurance.

QAP implemented the first randomized control trial to measure the impact of accreditation in a developing country setting and reports its findings in this Operations Research Results report. The central issue to the report addresses the extent to which accreditation, known to favorably impact measurable indicators relating to the quality of care, actually improves patient outcomes. While exploring this issue, the report also sheds light on the importance of careful planning and communication in implementing complex research and would serve as a guide to others in undertaking similar efforts.