Browse by Geographic Focus

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards VCT, among Jimma Teachers Training College Students, Jimma town Oromia Region, Southwestern Ethiopia, 2014

To assess knowledge, attitude and practice toward HIV voluntary counseling and testing among students of Jimma Teachers Training College, in Jimma town, Oromia regional, state south western Ethiopia. A cross sectional study was conducted at Jimma teacher training college from February 10-12, 2014. The students were selected
by simple random sampling after; proportion allocation to the streams and departments was done by taking the stream
and departments as strata.

Motivation and Satisfaction Among Community Health Workers in Morogoro Region, Tanzania: Nuanced Needs and Varied Ambitions

In 2012, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW), Tanzania, approved national guidelines and training materials for community health workers (CHWs) in integrated maternal, newborn and child health (Integrated MNCH), with CHWs trained and deployed across five districts of Morogoro Region soon after. To inform future scale up, this study assessed motivation and satisfaction among these CHWs. [from abstract]

Shifting Management of a Community Volunteer System for Improved Child Health Outcomes: Results from an Operations Research Study in Burundi

Community-based strategies that foster frequent contact between caregivers of children under five and provide credible sources of health information are essential to improve child survival. Care Groups are a community-based implementation strategy for the delivery of social and behavior change interventions. This study assessed if supervision of Care Group activities by Ministry of Health (MOH) personnel could achieve the same child health outcomes as supervision provided by specialized non-governmental organization (NGO) staff. [from abstract]

Nurses educating Patients and Relatives About Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Diseases: A Qualitative Study in Uganda

Recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa have put viral hemorrhagic fever diseases in the spotlight. Uganda has had several outbreaks throughout the years, which have successfully been managed. Nurses’ patient education plays an important role in the work to increase public awareness about viral hemorrhagic fever diseases. The objective of this study was to assess how nurses at the emergency department educate the patients and relatives about the viral hemorrhagic fever diseases. [from abstract]

Empowerment Model for Nurse Leaders’ Participation in Health Policy Development: an East African Perspective

Nurses comprise the largest portion of the health care workforce in most countries; they interact closely with patients and communities, they work throughout the day and within all sectors of health care. Their breath of practice gives them a broad understanding of requirements of the health care system, of how factors in the environment affect the health outcomes of clients and communities. Nurses’ involvement in health policy development ensures that health services are: safe, effective, available and inexpensive. [from abstract]

Enhancing the Quality of Clinical Clerkships in a Resource Limited Settings Medical School: Northern Tanzania

To reduce healthcare worker shortages in sub-Saharan Africa, medical schools have increased enrolment. However, this
expansion has not been accompanied by adequate increases in faculty size or physical infrastructure.
Consequently, classes are overcrowded, and may lead to reduction in the quality of training, especially during clinical clerkships. Aiming to expose medical students to rural working environments and reduce overcrowding at the
main teaching hospital, in 2012 Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College(KCMUCo) introduced a 12-week clerkship
rotation.

Successful mLearning Pilot in Senegal: Delivering Family Planning Refresher Training Using Interactive Voice Response and SMS

Health workers’ knowledge of contraceptive side effects increased substantially after the refresher training. The mobile phone approach was convenient and flexible and did not disrupt routine service delivery. Clear limitations of the medium are participants can’t practice clinical skills or have interactive discussions. Also, some participants had trouble with network reception. [from abstract]

Basic E-learning Course on Human Rights and Health

Disseminate the links between health and human rights and explain the international human rights instruments that protect the right to health and other related human rights. [from materials]

Enhancing Public Health Practice through a Capacity-Building Educational Programme: An Evaluation

The Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Health Management, launched by the Govt. of India under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission in 2008, aims to enhance the managerial capabilities of public health professionals to improve the public health system. The Govt. of India invested enormous resources into this programme and requested an evaluation to understand the current processes, assess the graduates’work performance and identify areas for improvement. [from abstract]

Guide to the Performance Appraisal System in the Civil Service and Local Authorities

The purpose of this guide is to assist the Appraising Officer (Supervisor) and the Appraisee in the effective implementation of the PAS in the Civil Service and Local Authorities. [from introduction]

Human Resources for Health Issues in Kenya: Constraints and opportunities from a recent baseline survey

This paper summarizes the outcome of a rapid baseline survey and reveals critical gaps in the policy framework for HRH as well as resource constraint that must be addressed through additional budgets and better articulation of health workforce issues beyond personnel emoluments. The study shows the need for civil society organizations to join hands with development partners, Faith based organizations to advocate and support implementation of specific measures to address well documented HRH challenges. [from introduction]

What Drives the Community Health Services in Kenya: Results of a recent mapping exercise of Community Health Units in three regions of Turkana North, Greater Machakos, and Kibera

This position paper highlights the outcome of a recent mapping exercise in Turkana, Machakos and Kibera. Insights
from this study indicate that communities have embraced the Community Health Strategy and its contribution to improved
health status. [from introduction]

Improving Benchmarks for Key Health Service Delivery Areas: Evaluation of Demonstration Sites Interventions

The main objective of the evaluation was to conduct a review of the support given by the Capacity Kenya Project at the selected demonstration sites and their contribution to the health worker productivity and/or retention. [from introduction]

Baseline and Work Load Indicator Assessment for Community Health Workforce: A Case of Selected Community Units in Nyanza and Coast Regions

This study sought to assess the staff requirements, work load and performance with respect to the CH work force
using workload indicator of staffing need (WISN) tool. The ultimate objective was to provide information to guide the organization, management and development of the work force. [from abstract]

Career Plans of Primary Care Midwives in the Netherlands and Their Intentions to Leave the Current Job

In labour market policy and planning, it is important to understand the motivations of people to
continue in their current job or to seek other employment. Over the last decade, besides the increasingly medical
approach to pregnancy and childbirth and decreasing home births, there were additional dramatic changes and
pressures on primary care midwives and midwifery care. Therefore, it is important to re-evaluate the career plans
of primary care midwives and their intentions to leave their current job. [from abstract]

Strengthening Human Resource for Health in South-East Asia: Time for Action and Commitment (Report of a regional meeting, Thimphu, Bhutan, 19–21 November 2014)

The meeting was organized under three themes: (i) rural retention of health workforce; (ii) transforming and scaling up health professionals’ education and training; and (iii) human resources for health in the context of universal health coverage(UHC). [from abstract]

A Systematic Review of Nursing Research Priorities on Health System and Services in the Americas

To systematically review literature on priorities in nursing research on health systems and services in the Region of the Americas as a step toward developing a nursing research agenda that will advance the Regional Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage. [from abstract]

Assessment of Human Resources for Health Programme Implementation in 15 Latin American and Caribbean Countries

The health systems in the Americas region are characterized by fragmentation and segmentation, which constitute an important barrier to expanding coverage, achieving integrated primary health care, and reducing inefficiency and discontinuity of care. [from abstract]

West Africa Private Health Sector: Six Macro-Level Assessments

This brief is a summary of the West Africa private health sector assessment conducted by the SHOPS project. The assessment looked at six countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Niger, and Togo. The brief presents the assessment methods, findings, and both regional and country-specific recommendations. The recommendations aim to strengthen family planning and HIV service delivery by leveraging the unique capabilities of the West Africa Health Organization as well as each country’s private health sector. [from resource]

Tracking Implementation and (Un)intended Consequences: A Process Evaluation of an Innovative Peripheral Health Facility Financing Mechanism in Kenya

In many African countries, user fees have failed to achieve intended access and quality of care improvements. Subsequent user fee reduction or elimination policies have often been poorly planned, without alternative sources of income for facilities. We describe early implementation of an innovative national health financing intervention in Kenya; the health sector services fund (HSSF). [from abstract]

Health Sector Planning and Budgeting in Kenya: Recommendations to Improve Alignment

Kenya, like many developing countries, suffers from a persistent misalignment between policy, planning and budgeting; resulting in a failure of the government to achieve public sector targets and respond to changing population needs. Research conducted by KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme has found that several years after the adoption of these planning and budgeting tools, the desired linkage between policy, planning and resource allocation in the health sector is far from being realised.

Health Research Capacity in Africa: How to Measure?

Improving the capacity of local researchers in Africa is a recognised way to advance health and development. Numerous approaches to health research capacity strengthening (health RCS) exist, including training for individuals, improving research systems within institutions, and international collaborations among health research agencies. But how do we know if these approaches work and
which are the most effective

Three-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis as a Tool for Nurse Leader Performance Appraisals

This article proposes a performance appraisal based on competency models of leadership for a larger professional group working across several different organizations, yet in similar professional and institutional environments. The empirical data in this article are based on two surveys that were conducted in 15 Slovenian public hospitals. [from abstract]

Inequities in Chinese Health Services: An Overview of the Recent History of Chinese Health Care and Recommendations for Reform

The Chinese health system was once held up as a model for providing universal health care in the developing world in the 1970s, only to have what is now considered one of the least equitable systems in the world according to the World Health Organization. This article begins with a brief look at what equity in health services entails, and considers the inequities in access to health services in China among different segments of the population. [from abstract]

Examining the Communication Effects of Health Campaigns: A Case Study Using Find Thirty Every Day® in Western Australia

The aims of this study were to examine the relationship between campaign awareness and four socio-cognitive variables on changes in physical activity levels among a cohort of adults exposed to a physical activity campaign. Find Thirty every day® was a population-wide, serial mass media campaign delivered in Western Australia. [from abstract]

The Role of Institutions on the Effectiveness of Malaria Treatment in the Ghanaian Health Sector

The objective of this study is to find the effect of institutional factors on the quality of care. The institutional factors examined were mainly the extent of decentralization between government and health facilities, as well as between health workers and facility administration, the hiring procedure, and job satisfaction. [from abstract]

Understanding Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Adolescents: Evidence from a Formative Evaluation in Wakiso District, Uganda

Recent studies done in central Uganda have shown that there is need for a critical assessment of adolescent friendly services (AFS) to gain insights on current practice and inform future interventions. This study aimed to assess the sexual reproductive health needs of the adolescents and explored their attitudes towards current services available. [from abstract]

Why Medical Students Do Not Like to Join Rural Health Service? An Exploratory Study in India

Inadequate, inequitable distribution of the medical workforce remains a challenge across the globe, and India is no exception. Odisha, a state in India faces a major shortage of doctors particularly in rural and remote areas. In order to address this challenge, it is essential to understand medical students’ career plans, specialization preferences, choices of job location and sector, and views on working in rural and remote areas.

The Effect of Pre-Service Training on Post-Graduation Skill and Knowledge Retention Among Mid-Level Healthcare Providers in Mozambique

To evaluate the effort, data was collected at graduation and 10 months later from pre-revision (initial) and revised curriculum TMGs to determine the following: (1) Did cohorts trained in the revised curriculum score higher on measurements of clinical knowledge, physical exam procedures, and solving clinical case scenarios than those trained in the initial curriculum; (2) Did TMGs in both curricula retain their knowledge over time (from baseline to follow-up); and (3) Did skills and knowledge retention differ over time by curricula? Post-graduation and over time results are presented.

Antenatal Care Strengthening for Improved Quality of Care in Jimma, Ethiopia: An Effectiveness Study

The aims of this study were to design a participatory antenatal care (ANC) strengthening intervention and assess the implementation process and effectiveness on quality of ANC in Jimma, Ethiopia. [from abstract]