Planning

Health care labor is central to managing and delivering health services. Because recruitment and retention policies are key issues for purchasers, gaining insights into labor-purchasing mechanisms may permit them to be addressed more effectively. This paper is intended to provide a brief introduction to health care labor purchasing and the mechanisms through which it can have an impact on the delivery of health services and on health system performance. A framework is developed to foster understanding of health labor purchasing mechanisms. [abstract]

Planning for the efficient and effective delivery of health care services to meet the health needs of the populations is a significant challenge. Globally policy makers, educators, health service researchers, leaders of unions and professional associations, and other key stakeholders struggle with the best way to plan for a workforce to fulfill the health needs of populations.

The NGO Service Delivery Program (NSDP) developed a system ensuring better access of the health services to the poorest segment of the population, along with raising revenue by providing fee-for services to the better off population. The former strategy highlights a safety net policy for the poorest segment, who are identified by participatory rapid appraisal technique and handed out a health benefit card. The latter strategy helps the NGOs to revise their service charges according to local demand and other factors. This report analyzes this pilot effort and its drawbacks and makes recommendations based on lessons learned. [adapted from author]

Tools to assist primary providers and their managers in assessing, monitoring and improving the gender sensitivity of family planning and reproductive health services on an ongoing basis. [publisher’s description]

The HRH Framework provides a pathway for governments and health managers to develop a comprehensive plan for addressing the critical shortage of health staff in HIV/AIDS and health services in general. [author’s description]

Against the backdrop of growing concern about shortages of health personnel, the report focuses on one of the most critical components of the workforce

Canada is a major recipient of foreign-trained health professionals, notably physicians from South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries. Nurse migration from these countries, while comparatively small, is rising. African countries, meanwhile, have a critical shortage of professionals and a disproportionate burden of disease. What policy options could Canada pursue that balanced the right to health of Africans losing their health workers with the right of these workers to seek migration to countries such as Canada? [author’s description]

The Workload Indicators for Staffing Levels was created to provide a rational method of setting the correct staffing levels in health facilities, taking into account the the wide local variations which are found within every country, such as the different levels and patterns of morbidity in different locations, the ease of access to different facilities, the patient attitudes in different parts of the country to the services provided, and the local economic circumstances. This Manual sets out all the activities which are necessary in order to design and implement the WISN Method in a country.

This study demonstrates how Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) can be used as a human resources planning and management tool for improving decisions at all levels of health services about the provision, allocation and deployment of staff. [from abstract]

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the human resources for health (HRH) currently available and required to reach the targets set by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in both the public sector and the faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Kenya. A stratified convenience sample of health facilities at all levels of care (primary, secondary, tertiary) in each of the eight provinces was selected for the assessment. Detailed information on human resources and provision of services related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, maternal health, and child health was collected.

This study provides evidence on the cost of providing HAART to health care workers and suggests that this strategy could reduce absenteeism and alleviate future staff shortages at moderate cost to hospitals. This is crucial, given the impending human resources crisis in health care in South Africa and the growing burden of HIV/AIDS. These cost estimates should be good indicators of the costs of extending antiretroviral therapy to health care workers in public-sector hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal. [author’s description]

There is a growing conviction among policy-makers that the availability of adequate numbers of well-trained and motivated human resources is a key determinant of health system’s capacity to achieve their health, responsiveness and fairness-improving goals. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost, effectiveness and incremental cost effectiveness ratios of various distance-education strategies for the health sector in Swaziland; and recommend the most cost-effective option. [abstract]

This chapter of the World Health Report provides a framework for developing a national HRH strategic plan including: building trust and managing expectations; fair and cooperative governing; leadership; strategic intelligence; and workforce institutions.

Intended to complement Working Together for Health: The World Health Report 2006, these policy briefs are intended to assist those who make and carry out health policy worldwide. The briefs address the following, Strengthening information and research on the health workforce: strategies for action; Investing in education for expanded capacity and lifelong learning; Making the most of the existing health workforce; Addressing the complex challenges of health worker migration; Bridging between health workers in separate public health programs; and Financing health workforce development. After describing an issue, the briefs propose ways to address it, many of which have been drawn from experience in countries. [author’s description]

One of the current recommendations for tackling the health sector staffing crisis faced by many countries is that they should have comprehensive and coherent human resources for health (HRH) strategic plans. Such plans normally include strategies for strengthening performance of staff, improving staff retention and adapting to any major structural changes that may be occurring. A key component of the wider HRH strategic plan is a workforce plan. This plan enables senior managers to scan and analyze human resources (HR) data routinely, determine relevant policy questions and institute policies to ensure that adequate numbers of staff with appropriate skills are available where and when they are needed. [author’s description]

This paper addresses the health care system from a global perspective and the importance of human resources management (HRM) in improving overall patient health outcomes and delivery of health care services.

The challenges in the health workforce are well known and clearly documented. What is not so clearly understood is how to address these issues in a comprehensive and integrated manner that will lead to solutions. This editorial presents - and invites comments on - a technical framework intended to raise awareness among donors and multisector organizations outside ministries of health and to guide planning and strategy development at the country level. [abstract]

There is currently much debate about the role Global Health Initiatives (GHI) should play in strengthening health systems. There is increasing realization that without more support to help countries build health system capacity, the resources mobilized by GHIs are unlikely to reach their full potential. This paper argues that health-system strengthening requires improving capacity in critical components of health systems in order to get more equitable and sustained improvement across health services and outcomes. This paper discusses these critical components, including human resource development within the broader context of health system strengthening. [adapted from author]

This cross-sectional study was carried out in four states that were selected according to geopolitical and administrative criteria to identify the effects of decentralization on health financing and governance policies in Mexico from the perspective of users and providers. The report discusses the effect of decentralization on health service providers and community involvement. Data collection was performed using in-depth interviews with health system key personnel and community leaders, consensus techniques and document analyses. [adapted from author]

NGOs that provide basic health care to the poor must become less dependent on donor support by diversifying their funding. The NGO Service Delivery Program (NSDP), a USAID-funded health care program in Bangladesh, is working with NGOs to find corporate sponsorship. [publisher’s description]

This report of a two-day technical consultation summarizes challenges, lessons learned from promising projects, knowledge and practice gaps, and recommendations for future practice. It suggests guidelines for community involvement in youth reproductive health and HIV prevention at all stages of a project cycle. [publisher’s description]

The study aimed to establish the magnitude of migration of health professionals, its causes and to document the associated impacts on service delivery. [author’s description]

Partners for Health Reformplus conducted a comprehensive assessment of the public health sector in Côte d’Ivoire to quantify HR available and what is needed to maintain basic health services while scaling up HIV/AIDS services to reach targets at the national level and at the global level through initiatives such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the World Health Organization’s 3 by 5 Initiative, and the Millennium Development Goals. [from abstract]

This report identifies innovative approaches countries are using to address the shortages of health care workers and describes efforts to achieve long-term sustainability. [author’s description]

The broad objective of this paper is to contribute to the retention of health workers in Malawi by providing an enhanced understanding of health workers’ coping strategies, together with the identification of possible strategies that could impact on their retention. [from author]

This paper reviews the situation and trend in human resources for health and its priority problems in Thailand. It also highlights the issue of the inequitable distribution of doctors. Through several brainstorming sessions among stakeholders, it summarizes a package of recommendations for the future continuous and sustainable knowledge-based human resources for health development. [from abstract]

This article addresses some human resource problems amongst which migration of human capital to resourceful settings is detailed as a priority problem. Several factors have contributed to dissatisfaction and human resources, especially those with higher skills and qualifications, migrating towards more resourceful settings, both overseas and within the country. [from abstract]

This document contains a country analysis on HRH covering situations, trends, and priority problems including issues in undifferentiated strategies of health sector development for remote areas and the shortage and maldistribution of well trained nurses and community nurses. It also includes a discussion on HRH development, strategies and policies in Lao PDR. [adapted from author]

This document report on the trends of HRH during past fifty years including the issues of unqualified doctors in rural areas, geographical differences in HRH, and the increase in medical school graduates. It also forecasts HRH needs for fifteen years from 2000 to 2015.

This paper is mainly intended to show the demographic implications for Bangladesh’s Health-human resources production in the next two decades as absolute increase in Population is still too high that the economy can cope with. [author’s description]