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This study seeks to assess the role of private health facilities and pharmacies in HIV/AIDS service delivery in Ethiopia, and specifically to identify factors that could enable greater involvement of this sector in addressing the HIV epidemic.

Current estimates indicate that between 30% and 70% of health care services in Africa are operated by faith-based organizations. However, these resources are not effectively integrated into national health information systems. While most partners providing health care in sub-Saharan Africa agree that FBOs play an important role in providing health services, there are few comprehensive data about the scope and scale of their contribution. This document details a project to collect facility location and personnel information to support the mapping and database development processes.

Few countries require that physicians demonstrate explicitly that they remain fit to practice. The term revalidation is defined as an evaluation of a medical practitioner’s fitness to practise. Although this definition focuses on assessment, it is recognized that the process leading up to it should be formative, encouraging professional development as well as identifying those unfit to practice. [adapted from author]

To increase access to antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings, several experts recommend task shifting from doctors to clinical officers, nurses and midwives. This study sought to identify task shifting that has already occurred and assess the antiretroviral therapy training needs among clinicians to whom tasks have shifted. [from abstract]

The proportion of international medical graduates (IMGs) serving as primary care physicians in rural underserved areas (RUAs) has important policy implications. We analyzed the 2000 American Medical Association Masterfile and Area Resource File to calculate the percentage of primary care IMGs, relative to U.S. medical graduates, working in RUAs. [from abstract]

Foreign nurses are increasingly being sought, creating a lucrative business for new recruiting agencies both at home and abroad. This paper examines past and current foreign nurse use as a response to nurse shortages and its implications for domestic and global nurse workforce policies. [from abstract]

This article reports on cross-sectional survey documenting staff/population ratios in public sector mental health services in South Africa. [from abstract]

This article reports on cross-sectional survey documenting staff/bed ratios in public sector mental health services in South Africa. [from abstract]

The purpose of this article was to analyze and compare the graduates of an urban- and a rural-located university in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where there is major maldistribution of physicians. While 70% of Congolese live in rural areas, relatively few doctors practice there. The results of the research for this article support the policy of establishing medical schools in rural areas, and also provide indications of approaches likely to increase the number and expertise of rural-located physicians. [adapted from abstract]

This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders. [adapted from abstract]

Although international nurse recruitment campaigns have succeeded in attracting large numbers of migrant nurses to countries such as Ireland, where domestic supply has not kept pace with demand, the long-term success of such initiatives from a workforce planning perspective will depend on the extent to which these nurses can be retained in destination countries. [from introduction]

This video and its accompanying paper describe the experiences of two Ugandan nurses in coping with staff shortages and challenging conditions, as well as the use of data by the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council to support the country's health workers and improve health care in the districts. [adapted from description]

This article details the results of a South African study assessing the feasibility of utilizing volunteers in tracing patients who had defaulted from scheduled psychiatric clinic appointments. [adapted from introduction]

This article describes the impact of community service doctors on offsetting the shortage of health professionals in public hospitals in South Africa. [adapted from introduction]

This article describes the imbalance between the influx of foreign nurses and the out-migration of indigenous personnel in South Africa. [adapted from introduction]

This article reports on the obstacles to care and the outcome of treatment for patients presenting with tuberculosis to four hospitals in the rural South African region of Sekhukhuneland. [adapted from article]

This paper assesses the development of maternal health services and policies in Bangladesh by reviewing policy and strategy documents since the country's independence in 1971, with primary focus on rural areas where three-fourths of the total population of reside. [adapted from abstract]

This paper documents the impact of the AIDS crisis on non-AIDS related health services in fourteen sub-Saharan African countries. [from introduction]

This paper reports on how to improve recruitment of surgical trainees and training of surgeons in Uganda, focusing on perceptions of potential trainees, trainers, and medical administrators. [from introduction]

Information on a country’s health workers is essential for planning and decision-making. The Capacity Project met with key decision-makers in Namibia to assess their information needs. This document describes the outcome and its impact on the Namibian health workforce. [adapted from author]

This article describes the Public Health Resource Network, an innovative distance-learning course in training, motivating, empowering and building a network of health personnel from government and civil society groups. Its aim is to build human resource capacity for strengthening decentralized health planning, especially at the district level. [from abstract]

The shortages of teaching faculty and insufficient learning resources have hampered the traditionally intensive surgical training apprenticeships. To address this, Muhimbili University attempted to enhance technical skills in general surgery and emergency procedures for senior medical students by implementing a surgical skills practicum using locally developed simulation models. This article evaluates the effectiveness of the program. [adpated from abstract]

Most of the district health services in Malawi are provided by nurses and clinical health officers specially trained to provide services that would normally be provided by fully qualified doctors or specialists. This study explores how these cadres are managed and motivated and the impact this has on their performance. [adapted from abstract]

This study analyzed data from a human resources health facility survey conducted in Kenya. The study looked into the status of attrition rates and the proportion of attrition due to retirement, resignation or death among doctors, clinical officers, nurses and laboratory and pharmacy specialists in surveyed facilities. [adapted from abstract]

We conducted this study to document the perceptions of community health workers in Pakistan on their knowledge and communication needs, image building through mass media and mechanisms for continued education. [adapted from abstract]

In resource-poor settings, the facility-based maternal death review or audit is one of the most promising strategies to improve health service performance. We aim to explore and describe health workers’ perceptions of facility-based maternal death reviews and to identify barriers to and facilitators of the implementation of this approach in pilot health facilities of Senegal. [from abstract]

This study sought to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on the human resources in the health sector in Tanzania, to provide up to date and specific data on the needs and the supply of human resources in the health sector, and to inform the formulation of strategies for strengthening human resources in the health sector. [from summary]

This article documents the key stages of a project to develop and implement an online resource for facilitating local implementation and delivery of a program to provide improved access to mental health care. The article also reports on the use of this resource 12 months after its launch. [adapted from abstract]

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the most important studies addressing the recruitment and retention of doctors to rural and remote areas of Australia. [adapted from abstract]

This guide details efforts to promote workforce sustainability by recognizing the need for a flexible healthcare workforce with skills to match patient and client needs while ensuring Tasmania keeps pace with international health workforce developments. [adapted from introduction]