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Healthcare workers (HCWs) can play an important role in assisting patients to stop smoking, but this role is undermined if they themselves smoke. The study determined the prevalence of tobacco smoking and alcohol use among HCWs in public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. [from abstract]

The authors wished to establish the use of existing diabetes management guidelines by general practitioners in Tshwane, South Africa. [adapted from abstract]

Poor case detection and inadequate numbers of mental health staff have been associated with increased morbidity among individuals with depression presenting to primary care. In Nigeria, as in most developing countries, general practitioners (GPs) may fill this treatment gap. This study surveyed the knowledge of and attitudes of GPs towards depression.

This update describes the development of a platform for delivery of essential health services in a post-conflict setting using integrated mobile teams of health workers consisting of MOH doctors, nurses, midwives, community health workers, and technicians, as well as community nutrition volunteers. [adapted from author]

This technical brief presents a project in Ethiopia focused on scaling-up efforts in underserved rural communities to enable access to long-acting family planning at the village level through task-shifting to Ethiopia’s health extension worker cadre. [adapted from author]

Although all occupational hazards are important, the risk of laboratory-associated infection in employees of clinical laboratories is greater than it is in many other occupations. This survey was conducted in Pakistan to assess the awareness of biosafety measures and the practices performed by laboratory technicians during their routine laboratory work. [adapted from introduction]

The Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM) was designed to help assess communtiy health worker program functionality and to provide benchmarks against which to measure program improvements. This operations research activity was designed as a field intervention study that applied the CHW AIM process. [adapted from summary]

This report provides an overview of an intercountry review and analysis of the present capacity, current status and functionality of HRH departments or units responsible for HRH actions in the ministries of health at the national level in the African Region of the World Health Organization. [adapted from introduction]

The objective of this study was to pilot an action learning group program, (an informal, practically based management training program which allow trainees to reflect on their own work environment) with managers in a rural public health setting and to explore participants’ experience of the program. [adapted from abstract]

This article describes the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives, a four-year initiative to increase the collaboration among national stakeholders and help strengthen the capacity of health professional regulatory bodies to reform national regulatory frameworks, and discusses its importance in implementing and sustaining national, regional, and global workforce initiatives. [adapted from abstract]

Evidence is emerging on the cost-effectiveness, quality and health coverage of social franchises (established networks of private sector providers for reproductive health and other primary care services). This study of providers in the Sun Quality Health network in Myanmar explores provider motivations – both financial and non-monetary – for joining and remaining in a social franchise. [adapted from author]

Pharmacists are viewed as highly trained yet underutilised and there is growing support to extend the role of the pharmacist within the primary health care sector. This study aimed to describe the opinions of local stakeholders in South-East Queensland on the integration of a pharmacist into the Australian general practice environment. [from abstract]

Using South Africa as a case study, this article reports on the engagement of non-governmental organizations and community care workers in the implementation of collaborative tuberculosis/HIV activities in rural South Africa, including extent of participation and constraints and opportunities to enhance effective participation. [adapted from abstract]

The aim of this study is to explore how postgraduate general medical practitioner trainees regulate their learning in the workplace, how external regulation promotes self-regulation and which elements facilitate or impede self-regulation and learning for these healthcare workers. [adapted from abstract]

This study was carried out to assess the attitudes of Ethiopian medical students towards their training and future practice of medicine, and to identify factors associated with the intent to practice in rural or urban settings, or to migrate abroad. [from abstract]

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the introduction of the Occupation Specific Dispensation, which sought to improve the public services’ ability to attract and retain health workers in South Africa, thereby reducing incentives to emigrate. [adapted from abstract]

This study aimed at assessing the current situation of the health system of rural health care and evaluating the clinical competency of village doctors in management of childhood illnesses prior to implementing IMCI program in remote border rural areas. [from abstract]

This cross-sectional survey was conducted on consenting students of the first medical school in Gambia to help understand preferences for specialties by medical students, and the factors driving choices, to assist policy makers in ensuring optimal spread of personnel across disciplines. [adapted from abstract]

This study aimed to describe the patterns, severity and outcomes of incidents of workplace violence among employees of a large correctional health service, and to explore the help-seeking behaviours of staff following an incident. [from abstract]

The aim of this study is to develop and test a multifaceted practice pharmacist role in primary care practices to improve the quality use of medicines by patients and clinic staff. [from abstract]

The enormous fiscal pressures facing trauma centers may lead trauma centers to reduce nurse staffing and to make increased use of less expensive and less skilled personnel. The goal of this study was to examine whether nurse staffing levels and nursing skill mix are associated with trauma patient outcomes. [from abstract]

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of residents, residency directors and pharmacists within Canadian family medicine residency programs that employ a pharmacist educator to better understand the impact of the role. [from abstract]

This paper explains a simulation model for health workforce planning developed to estimate the required and available capacity of health professionals in the Netherlands over the past ten years. [adapted from abstract]

The study estimates the cost of recruiting and training of community health workers (CHWs), the cost of replacement of CHWs, and forgone services in the community due to CHW dropout. [adapted from abstract]

This case study describes the development of a forecasting tool to inform its position on key workforce parameters, focused on modeling the situation for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and health care aides in Alberta. [adapted from abstract]

The authors undertook a survey of both resident and non-resident graduates of Pacific ethnicity from health professional undergraduate courses at the University of Otago in New Zealand to examine the retention of these graduates in Pacific communities and factors influencing their choices of destination. [from author]

This article presents a taxonomy of new operational models of nursing care delivery that maximize the use of available nursing resources while ensuring safe, high-quality care - using the context of acute care units in Quebec and comparing their distinctive features. [adapted from abstract]

Using the case of Brazil, the authors measure changes in inequalities in the distribution of the health workforce and account for the sources of inequalities at sub-national level to identify whether policies have been effective in decreasing inequalities and increasing the density of health workers in the poorest areas between 1991 and 2005. [from abstract]

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that strengthening health systems, through improved leadership and management skills of health teams, can contribute to an increase in health-service delivery outcomes. The study was conducted in six provinces in the Republic of Kenya. [from abstract]

This edition of Hotline, an HRH newletter focused on the needs of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in Africa, highlights resources, trainings and workshops, articles of interest and other information for FBO HRH pracitioners.