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The study utilized a non-systematic review of the literature using key words such as community health
workers, traditional birth attendants, reproductive health, child health and health outcomes. A case study from
Timor-Leste was also used. [from abstract]

Human resources are the most vital resource of any organizations which determine how other
resources are used to accomplish organizational goals. This research aimed to identity factors affecting health
workers’ motivation in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBUMS). [from abstract]

There is a scarcity of empirical data on institutions devoted to knowledge brokerage and their influence in Africa. Our objective was to describe two pioneering Knowledge Translation Platforms (KTPs) supporting evidence informed health policymaking (EIHSP) in Cameroon and Uganda.

Whole-system interventions are those that entail system wide changes in goals, service delivery arrangements and relationships between actors, requiring approaches to implementation that go beyond projects or programmes. Drawing on concepts from complexity theory, this paper describes the catalysts to implementation of a whole-system intervention in the North West Province of South Africa.

We explore whether social exclusion determines enrolment of older people in Senegal’s Plan Sesame and Ghana’s NHIS. Social exclusion affects older people’s uptake of social health protection (SHP) programs in both Senegal and Ghana. Reducing financial barriers is not enough to achieve universal coverage.Efforts to cover older people at risk of social exclusion should be increased. Sociocultural, political and economic dimensions should be considered while designing SHP schemes. [from abstract]

The aim here is to explore the extent to which further investment in technology could play a role in the development of an effective and affordable health sector strategy for at least some developing economies. It is suggested that the effectiveness of the approach may be highly dependent on the specific health conditions addressed, the nature of existing health systems and the overall socio-economic and cultural context. [from abstract]

The use of community health workers to administer prompt treatments is gaining popularity in most sub-Saharan African countries. Their performance is a key challenge because it varies considerably, depending on the context, while being closely associated with the effectiveness of case management strategies. What determines community health workers’ performance is still under debate. Based on a realist perspective, a systematic review recently hypothesized that several mechanisms are associated with good performance and successful community interventions.

Nurses are essential to the health care delivery system especially to meet the health related millennium development goals. However, despite the significant shortage of nurses in Ethiopia, research in the country regarding nurses’ intent to stay in their profession is lacking. This study assessed intent to stay in the nursing profession and associated factors among nurses working in referral hospitals, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. [from abstract]

This interview study aimed to explore perceived facilitators and barriers influencing patient safety among nurses involved in the direct provision of care. Considering the importance of nurses with regard to patient safety, this knowledge could facilitate the development and implementation of better solutions. [from abstract]

This paper examines Canadian CHNs learning needs in relation to the 2008 Canadian Community Health Nursing Standards of Practice (CCHN Standards). It answers: What are the learning needs of CHNs in Canada in relation to the CCHN Standards? What are differences in CHNs’ learning needs by: province and territory in Canada, work setting (home health, public health and other community health settings) and years of nursing practice? [from abstract]

Definitions of advanced nursing practice abound, yet little has been published concerning the context for advanced nursing in sub-Saharan Africa. This study set out to explore the existence of, and potential for, advanced nursing practice in Kenya. [from abstract]

At the end of the one year of intervention, the results showed a significant reduction in sexually transmitted infections in the group that was eligible for the $20 payments every four months,but no such reduction was found for the group receiving the $10 payments. The effects were stronger among the lower socioeconomic and higher risks groups. The results of a post-intervention follow-up survey conducted one year after discontinuing the intervention indicate a sustained effect among males, but not among females. [from abstract]

This study investigated whether increased numbers of primary healthcare clinical consultations in Indigenous communities in some remote areas of Australia are associated with the reduced need for urgent medical evacuations and remote telephone consultations. [from abstract]

Healthcare systems worldwide are changing and the use of complementary, alternative and traditional medicine (CAM) form part of this transformation. South Africa has a large number of CAM practitioners, but they are not included in the official healthcare system. The aim of this study was to determine the perception and usage of CAM among the academic and administrative staff of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, South Africa. [from abstract]

The objective of this research was to analyze the organizational culture of a Brazilian public hospital. It is a descriptive study with quantitative approach of data, developed in a public hospital of São Paulo State, Brazil. [from abstract]

This paper aims to explore and explain the use of models of care delivery that optimally utilize the role of nurses in primary healthcare, community-based care and other non-acute care contexts such as chronic disease management, long-term care, continuing care, health promotion and disease prevention. Additionally, exemplar models of care, as case studies, are identified to highlight essential elements of effective service delivery models and strategies for successful application. [from introduction]

To prepare this report, an interprofessional research team conducted in-depth interviews with key informants and
undertook a wide-ranging survey of peer-reviewed and grey literature on the components of teamwork; effectiveness of teams; types of interventions; healthcare team dynamics; and the impact of government infrastructure, legislation,
and policy on teamwork in the Canadian healthcare system. [from summary]

We examined associations between transdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice, and primary care and public health services integration in Brazil’s Family Health Strategy. We aimed to identify practices that facilitate service integration and evidence-based practice. [from abstract]

Over the past 30 years, Bangladesh has achieved significant economic and human development progress, and demonstrated impressive policy as well as programmatic commitment to lowering the fertility level. However, its future socioeconomic prospects may be hampered by its population growth rate, depending on how quickly the fertility rates decline and at which point they stabilize. [from abstract]

The aim of this study was to analyse the existing databases on health workforce in
Botswana in order to quantify the human resources for health.

The focus of this study is to better understand how social workers and related professionals are
trained and educated—both formally and informally—to engage in social work practice, especially as it is related to child protection, in the West and Central Africa region. [from executive summary]

Social care and support services include such areas as the protection of children from violence and exploitation, care for chronically sick or disabled children and adults, support in dealing with the social difficulties of those affected by conflicts and disasters and responses to gender based violence. The aim of this paper is to make proposals for a unified coherent strategic framework which clarifies the vision, nature, scope and rationale for social care and support services. [from introduction]

Immediate and exclusive initiation of breastfeeding after delivery have been associated with better neonatal survival and child health and are recommended by the WHO. We report impact on early infant feeding practices from the PROMISE-EBF trial. [from abstract]

Our analysis focused mainly on the Choose and Book system for outpatient referrals, introduced in 2004, which remained unpopular and little used throughout the period of our research (i.e. 2007–13). We identified four foci of resistance: to the policy of choice that Choose and Book symbolised and purported to deliver; to accommodating the technology’s sociomaterial constraints; to interference with doctors’ contextual judgements; and to adjusting to the altered social relations consequent on its use.

The Road map, which was developed with the appreciable contribution of critical stakeholders such as ministries of health, education, public services and finance as well as universities and training institutions regulators, professional bodies, civil society and nongovernmental organizations, defines strategic directions and priority interventions to be implemented in the period 2012–2025. [from introduction]

The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria - Maternal, Newborn and Child Health initiative supports efforts by the government of Nigeria to bridge primary health care (PHC) policies and services at three levels of government: federal, state and local. The paper suggests that understandings informed by complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have been helpful in shaping policy and programme design across these levels. [from abstract]

India faces enormous challenge in human resources for health care delivery system. Geographical misdistribution and urban-rural health worker deficit impedes the progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals. Many rural Indians receive health care from unqualified providers. Rational distribution and retention of qualified providers in rural and remote areas is a daunting task for the government. Little attention is paid in public medical institutions for the real health needs of the community. [from abstract]

The 2013/14 District Health Barometer (DHB) provides an overview of the delivery of primary health care (PHC) in the
public health sector across the provinces and districts in South Africa. The DHB is widely known for providing data to inform the development of District Health Plans and the National Department of Health’s Annual Performance Plan; as such, the publication has been used extensively for strategic planning and district monitoring.

This chapter gives an account of one relatively modest but effective intervention in an orthopaedic outpatient clinic at the New Somerset Hospital (NSH) in Cape Town in 2013. This project aimed to reduce patient waiting times in the clinic, and improve patient satisfaction. [from introduction]

As limited information has emanated from government as to the role of the private health sector in the National Health Insurance (NHI), this chapter directs the enquiry towards the private health sector in order to establish what it perceives as its role in a post-reform healthcare industry. [from abstract]