Education and Training

The primary question guiding the review was: What is known about policies to support training and deployment of nurses, midwives and doctors for maternal-child health care in rural Africa? [from summary]

The main objectives of this study were to establish the views of medical students on learning about women’s and children’s health in low-income countries, to identify the nature and extent of learning already experienced, and to assess the demand for such learning. [from abstract]

To validate a new training module for skilled and semiskilled birth attendants authorized to provide care at birth—Helping Mothers Survive: Bleeding After Birth (HMS:BAB) [from abstract]

The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge of key newborn danger signs among mothers in southwestern Uganda. [from abstract]

This comprehensive curriculum for Household Development Agents (specialized polyvalent community health workers (CHWs)), trained under a World Bank funded pilot, consists of 8 training units: Human Rights, Community Mobilization & Communication, Cholera, Family Planning, Diarrheal Disease, Vaccination, Reproductive Health, and Nutrition. These units contain standard and widely accepted information and protocols that have been adapted for the Haitian context.

This cross-sectional descriptive study involved registered nurses from government hospitals and health clinics from Peninsular Malaysia. Multistage cluster sampling was used to recruit 1000 nurses from four states of Malaysia. [from abstract]

Building on the experience in several countries, this course draws on practices and analyses to provide participants with an understanding of factors bearing on the success of private sector health education and training.

In this course, students will learn to identify traditional mechanisms commonly used for financing public and private pre-service health workforce education institutions, recognize non-traditional finance options and understand the process for selecting and prioritizing new training institution financing options. [adapted from introduction.]

Part of the vision is for all physicians, by the end of their training, to possess the clinical expertise necessary to practice medicine based on the principles of quality, safety,professionalism, and patient-centred and team-based care. [adapted from summary]

There is a shortage of faculty that can provide high-quality training and mentorship for current training programmes and continuing education opportunities for health workers. The use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help to overcome these challenges. [adapted from introduction]

This study aims to evaluate the Developmental –Behavioural pediatrics (DBP) training experiences of pediatricians and pediatric trainees during their post graduate training in pediatrics. [from abstract]

During the three-and-a-half years of implementation, Ethiopia’s [Federal Ministry of Health] developed a new community health strategy for the Health Extension Program consisting of Primary Health Care Units (health centers and health posts) and the Health Development army. [adapted from abstract]

Zonal Hospital, Mandi identified that they were not identifying women with high risk conditions during their antenatal care (ANC) clinic. By re-organizing the clinic, the hospital was able to increase the proportion of pregnant women identified as being at high-risk from 1.6% to 12.3% in a matter of weeks. [from abstract]

Evidence is available on the potential efficacy of interprofessional education (IPE) to foster interprofessional cooperation, improve professional satisfaction, and improve patient care. We conducted this review to examine challenges of implementing IPE to suggest possible pathways to overcome the anticipated challenges in developing countries. [adapted from abstract]

The Scholarship Toolkit has been designed to facilitate setting up a programme for actors who find themselves facing critical staff shortages and who are interested in innovative HRH approaches and long–term solutions. A step-by-step description of the process as well as templates for key documents and other supporting materials are included. [adapted from introduction]

The objective of this study was to explore what the implementation of the [Ukwanda Rural Clinical School] meant for the practice of these physicians and to what extent the shift from full-time practising clinician to clinical teacher required them to adapt and change. [from abstract]

A mapping of training resource packages for [community health workers] was undertaken with documents retrieved online and from key informants. Materials were classified by health themes and analysed using agreed parameters. Ways forward were informed by a subsequent expert consultation. [from abstract]

Uganda, like other low-income sub-Saharan African countries, bears a heavy burden of surgical conditions with low surgical output in health facilities and significant unmet need for surgical care. To address this lack of adequate surgical services in Uganda, a diverse group of local stakeholders met in Kampala, Uganda, in May 2008 to develop a roadmap of key policy actions that would improve surgical services at the national level.This article is a critical discussion of these health policy priorities with references to recent literature. [adapted from abstract]

This paper calculates the faculty turnover rate at the College of Health Sciences of Addis Ababa University during the period of September 1991 to August 2011. [from abstract]

While discussing larger philosophical topics on the role of assessment, participants at this two-day workshop also debated the role of assessments in so-called new disciplines and how these appraisals will lead to a ‘new professionalism’. [adapted from summary]

Health systems in Europe face a number of increasingly complex challenges. Globalization, evolving health threats, an ageing society, financial constraints on government spending, and social and health inequalities are some of the most pressing. This policy summary aims to outline these needs and to consider measures and options towards meeting them. [adapted from summary]

To compare the effectiveness of mobile phone text messaging and that of traditional health worker training in communicating clinical recommendations to health workers in China. [from abstract]

With this publication, WHO issues its first guidelines for Transforming and Scaling up Health Professionals’ Education and Training. The guidelines are expected to give rise to regional and country based policy and technical dialogues with key stakeholders in education, health, finance and labour, on how best to finance health professional training and prepare health professionals for the 21st century.[from foreword]

The objective of this analysis was to assess the effectiveness of care provided by mid-level health workers (MLHWs), a group of cadres who are trained for 2-5 years to acquire basic skills in diagnosing, managing common conditions, and preventing disease. MLHWs, provided we adopt the right approaches and define their role on the basis of sound evidence, can be part of the solution. [from summary]

Sri Lankan rural doctors based in isolated peripheral hospitals routinely resuscitate critically ill patients but have difficulty accessing training. We tested a train-the-trainer model that could be utilised in isolated rural hospitals. [from abstract]

Using the IST Improvement Framework, developed by the USAID Applying Sciences to Strengthen and Improve Systems Project (ASSIST), as a guide, the authors developed a survey tool to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of IST provided between January 2007 and July 2012 by PEPFAR-funded implementing partners in Nigeria. [from abstract]

The Guidebook aims to be a useful resource amongst rural colleagues - to cross-fertilise experiences and build a stronger and more vibrant community of rural health care practitioners and medical educators. [adapted from preface]

“Community Based Education in Health Professions: Global Perspectives” presents a collection of case studies from Bangladesh, Brazil, Egypt, India, Pakistan and South Africa describing different ways of planning, implementing and sustaining community-based education for health students. The case studies provide an account of what worked and what did not, the trials and errors, and the challenges and lessons learned. [adapted from introduction]

This pilot study, which followed a convenience sample of 37 Ethiopian nationals enrolled in a spaced education course over a six-month period, attempted to determine the acceptability and effectiveness of the methodology in a low-resource context. [from abstract]

An assessment of existing preservice education of five medical laboratory schools, followed by remedial intervention and monitoring was conducted.[from abstract]