Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper provides information about the efforts and commitments by WHO member states and the various opportunities created by regional and global partners, including the progress made. It also explores issues and challenges
related to the underlying factors of the HRH crisis. [from author]

This study aimed to test a peer group intervention to address personal HIV prevention needs of rural health workers in Malawi. [from abstract]

This article outlines the need for establishing contextually appropriate competencies in HIV and AIDS nursing as a fundamental step toward ensuring success in addressing the pandemic in Southern Africa.

The main objective of this article is to explore health workers’ experience of working conditions, linked to motivation to work. [from abstract]

This study aimed to determine factors that will attract and retain rural and urban health workers to rural Nigerian communities, and to examine differences between the two groups. [from abstract]

This article describes an innovative 2-year apprenticeship training program implemented by Makerere University School of Public Health to strengthen capacity for leadership and management of HIV/AIDS programs in Uganda. [from abstract]

The objective of this study was to make a comprehensive assessment of community-based education (CBE) as implemented by Ugandan health professional training institutions to document the nature of CBE conducted and propose an ideal model with minimum requirements for health professional training institutions in Uganda. [adapted from abstract]

This report evaluates what kind of health care and health education were still being promoted five years after the Kisumu Primary Health Care project had ended, and what had happened to all the voluntary health workers that had been trained as part of the project’s focus on community health workers and community involvement in service delivery. [adapted from author]

This article describes Uganda’s transition from a paper filing system to an electronic HRIS capable of providing information about country-specific health workforce questions. It examines the ongoing five-step HRIS strengthening process used to implement an HRIS that tracks health worker data at the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council (UNMC) and describes how HRIS data can be used to address workforce planning questions. [adapted from abstract]

Kenya has bold plans for scaling up priority interventions nationwide, but faces major human resource challenges, with a lack of skilled workers especially in the most disadvantaged rural areas. This study investigated reasons for poor recruitment and retention in rural areas and potential policy interventions through quantitative and qualitative data collection with nursing trainees. [adapted from abstract]

Numerous initiatives were undertaken during the third Health Sector Development Programme (HSDP III) to achieve universal access to primary health care, notably through the implementation of the health extension program and the accelerated expansion of health centers. This report highlights the major achievements and challenges of the health sector in 2002 under five major sections: leadership and governance, human resources development and management, essential medical products and technologies, service delivery and quality of care, and health financing.

Several training institutions have engaged in programs to expose pre-service health workers to rural health work to demystify it and to enable the professionals make an informed choice on practice location after qualification. In this study, the intentions of Ugandan medical students to work in rural health facilities after qualification were sounded out, together with the factors that affect them and their perception of rural areas. [from abstract]

In Uganda, the Faculty of Health Sciences of Uganda Martyrs University picked up the challenge of training health workers in the field of health promotion. Over 100 health workers have qualified in health promotion since 2004. This study followed up the graduates of the program to see what they are doing in the field, to see how their current work is related to health promotion, to see how they perceive their work and to identify the challenges they face in executing health promotion duties. [from abstract]

This study aimed to determine the level of health-care workers’ compliance with infection prevention guidelines and identify factors that influence compliance at Ronald Ross General Hospital, Mufulira District. [from abstract]

The study analyzes the deficiency that seem to exist between nurse curricula
and nurse practices and explore chronic care models or approaches evident among Zambian General Nursing Council (GNC) final year nursing students and GNC trained practicing nurses. The study also assesses how they formulate these chronic care models or approaches. [from author]

The Master of Medicine program is the clinical specialist postgraduate training started in response to increased training costs of specialists abroad, brain drain and an increasing demand for local specialists. The program’s objective were to produce specialists locally who would be easier to retain and able to work in district hospitals. The training costs would be proportionately less. This study reviews the outcome of the postgraduate program and assess whether the original intentions have been met to date. [adapted from introduction]

This study aimed to measure students’ perspectives on the teaching quality of the school of medicine at University of Zambia and concurrently measure health professionals educators perspectives on the need for teaching courses for health professionals educators (educational skills training). The results are discussed as indications for educational skills training for educators in health professionals’ education. [from abstract]

The human resource crisis facing the Zambian health sector has potential to derail existing health programs including millennium development goals. This paper will highlight the underpinning factors, analyze current interventions and propose alternative solutions to this crisis. [from abstract]

The 2010 edition of the SAHR focuses on two main issues: Reflections on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Perspectives on a National Health Insurance (NHI) for South Africa. As is customary, the Review ends with the Indicators section which provides a range of indicators relevant to the MDGs and NHI. [from summary]

The aim of this policy is to promote high standards of practice in the recruitment and employment of health professionals who are not South African Citizens or permanent residents in the health sector in South Africa. It attempts to preclude the active recruitment of health professionals from developing countries without specific government agreements. [adapted from author]

This article examined the association between density of healthcare providers and patient outcomes using a large nationally representative cohort of patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy in Uganda. [from abstract]

This study reviewed and assessed the Tanzania’s current distance learning programs for health care workers, as well as those in countries with similar human resource challenges, to determine the feasibility of distance learning to meet the need of an increased and more skilled health workforce. [adapted from abstract]

This study is an examination of the state of medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa including all countries, all identified and recognized schools, and all languages of instruction. The study was undertaken to help provide a platform of understanding regarding the status, trends and present and future capacity building efforts for educators, policy makers, and international organizations. [from summary]

The report provides available data on the health workforce in Potuguese-speaking
African countries to support the responsible staff and partners in identifying the needs for intervention to improve the national and regional capacity for the development of human resources for health. [adapted from summary]

This article focuses on an unexpected finding of a research project which explored the experience of being a traditional midwife. The study found that traditional midwives often perceive skilled (professional) birth attendants to be abusive of both them and the women who are transferred to hospital for emergency obstetric care. [from abstract]

With the aim of arriving at a better understanding of specific dimensions of health workforce inequalities in their national contexts, three case studies are presented from Ethiopia, Brazil and Mexico. [from introduction]

This article examines the context of intimate partner violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, outlines the intersections between partner violence and reproductive health, and considers the opportunities for linkage at the program and service levels. [adapted from author]

In South Africa, emergency contraceptive pills are available directly from pharmacies without a prescription. This study assessed pharmacists’ knowledge of and attitudes toward the medication. [from abstract]

The Sub-Saharan African Medical School Study examined the challenges, innovations, and emerging trends in medical education in the region. [from summary]

This paper reviews reports on maternal, neonatal and child health, as well as HIV care and treatment services that look at program incentives. [from abstract]