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One of the most significant challenges in fighting the AIDS epidemic in Southern Africa is securing the health care workforce to deliver care in settings where the manpower is already in short supply. The authors produced a demand-driven staffing model based on treatment protocols for HIV-positive patients that adhere to Mozambican guidelines.

This document reports on the findings of three projects in Canada that link population health needs to health human resource planning, to illustrate the value and challenges in using health human resource data to inform policy decisions on nursing productivity and to generate evidence based retention policies to guide nursing workforce sustainability. [adapted from summary]

This research study was undertaken to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of two models of integrating family planning services with postabortion services.

Task shifting, a process whereby medical tasks are delegated to less specialized health-care workers, provides one mechanism to address some of the shortfalls of many health care systems. This article advocates for increased task shifting in health care systems, especially in the developing world. [adapted from author]

The configuration of rural health services is influenced by geography. Rural health practitioners provide a broader range of services to smaller populations scattered over wider areas or more difficult terrain than their urban counterparts. This has implications for training and quality assurance of outcomes. This exploratory study describes the development of a “clinical peripherality” indicator that has potential application to remote and rural general practice communities for planning and research purposes. [from introduction]

This is a review of the literature on attracting and retaining health workers. The findings suggest that recruitment and retention strategies are usually not comprehensive and often limited to addressing a single or limited number of factors. Because of the complex interaction of factors impacting attraction and retention, there is a strong argument to be made for bundles of interventions which include attention to living situations, working conditions and environments, and professional development opportunities. [adapted from author]

Little is known about the impact of implementing nursing-oriented best practice guidelines on the delivery of patient care in either hospital or community settings. The results of this study indicate that implementation of nursing best practice guidelines can result in improved practice and patient outcomes in some settings. [adapted from author]

This study shows that graduates from higher quality institutions account for a disproportionately large share of emigrating physicians in India. Even within high-end institutions, better physicians are more likely to emigrate. Interventions should focus on the highly trained individuals in the top institutions that contribute disproportionately to the loss of human resources for health. The findings suggest that affirmative-action programmes may have an unintended benefit in that they may help retain a subset of such personnel. [adapted from author]

The purpose of the study was to examine the association between the health workforce, particularly the nursing workforce, and the achievement of the HIV/AIDS-related Millenium Development Goals, taking into account other factors known to influence health status, such as socioeconomic indicators.

This study evaluated the skills and competency levels of hospital managers in South Africa to determine whether there are any significant differences between managers in the public and private sectors. The results show that managers in the private sector perceived themselves to be significantly more competent than their public sector colleagues in most of the management facets. Public sector managers were also more likely than their private sector colleagues to report that they required further development and training. [adapted from abstract]

It has been shown that, internationally, medical students of rural origin are more likely to practice in a rural area after graduation, but this has not been demonstrated in South Africa before. This study aimed to investigate the career choices of medical graduates of rural origin in the South African context, and to determine what proportion of rural origin students are currently practicing in a rural area. [from abstract]

This document outlines three major human resources for health challenges related to family planning and reproductive health. Several possible solutions are suggested, including: increasing task shifting, workforce planning, and partnerships. [adapted from publisher]

Reorganization and decentralization of health services according to a task shifting approach can help to address the current shortages of health workers. This document provides background on task-shifting and twenty-two guidelines for countries that are considering adopting or extending a task-shifting approach to health workforce teams. [from introduction]

This paper addresses the influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the health workforce. An overview of the impact of HIV/AIDS on health systems is provided, with a focus on developing countries. Other topics include the impact of HIV/AIDS on morbidity and mortality among staff in Africa; the impact of HIV/AIDS on workforce motivation, performance and migration; and future staffing scenarios and potential obstacles. [adapted from author]

This report assesses the business development needs, particularly financial and training, of private health care providers and distributors of reproductive health and family planning products and services in Romania. [adapted from author]

This report describes opportunities for engaging and supporting a well managed and effectively regulated private sector to improve the region’s health. This report highlights the critical role the private sector can play in meeting health care needs in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also identifies policy changes that governments and international donors can make to enable the private sector to take on an ever more meaningful role in closing Africa’s health care gap. [adapted from publisher]

This paper looks at reproductive health and family planning programs in the Eastern Europe and Eurasian region. It includes: a methodology to analyze the RH/FP market; an overview of opportunities and constraints to the private sector region; a description of current practices in the region that foster a greater private sector role in the provision of FP services and products; and recommendations for leveraging and maximizing private sector contribution to RH/FP goals. [adapted from author]

This guide offers policymakers and researchers the latest evidence on private-provider networks and franchises, lessons learned in the field, and policy recommendations on how to mobilize private-provider networks and health franchises to help address reproductive health care needs in developing countries. [adapted from publisher]

This course will build the skills of those who are in a position to support change agents in health service delivery. The course focus is on changes in clinical practices, behavioral practices of providers, and management practices at service delivery sites. [adapted from author]

This article focuses on the field of telemedicine in developing countries and its role in improving health, using examples from the experience of the International Development Resource Centre. [adapted from publisher]

This study analyzes the Lithuanian family physician (FP) workforce to determine if an adequate supply of FPs will be available in the future to take over emerging tasks. The authors conclude that despite the rapid expansion of the FP workforce during the last fifteen years, forecasts of supply and demand indicate that the number of FPs in 2015 will not be sufficient. [adapted from author]

The goal of this study was to develop and test a way to establish, monitor, and predict the need for nursing services by using the health needs of the population. This study explored the relationship between the health needs of Ontarians, their use of community and hospital nursing services, and variations in outcomes. The findings suggest that decisions about the deployment of nursing resources are associated with differences in outcomes. [adapted from author]

The objective of this study was to quantify staff requirements in primary health care facilities in South Africa through an adaptation of the WHO workload indicator of staff needs tool. The results show that the application of an adapted WHO workload tool identified important human resource planning issues. [adapted from abstract]

This article discusses the gaps exist between the potential of health systems and their actual performance. Best practices from various countries are discussed. The author concludes that the crisis can be tackled if there is global rsponsibility, political will, financial commitment and public-private partnership for country-led and country-specific interventions that seek solutions beyond the health sector. [adapted from abstract]

The 2006 Tanzania Service Provision Assessment Survey provides detailed information on the availability and quality of facility infrastructure, resources, and management systems, and on services for child health, family planning, maternal health (antenatal and delivery care), and selected infectious diseases, namely sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis. The survey also provides information on the capacity of health facilities to provide quality HIV/AIDS services. [adapted from abstract]

A study was undertaken in Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador to determine the impact of a management training program on health managers’ job performance. Factors associated with a successful training outcome were training techniques, strengthening of enabling factors, and reinforcement mechanisms. [adapted from abstract]

This article presents the results of a 2002 social audit of the health sector of three Baltic States. Comparisons were made of perceptions, attitudes and experience regarding unofficial payments in the health services of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The findings can serve as a baseline for interventions and to compare each country’s approach to health service reform in relation to unofficial payments. [adapted from abstract]

In order to highlight the driving forces determining the international allocation of medical personnel, the cases of four countries (the Philippines and South Africa as source countries, and Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom as destination countries) are examined. The paper concludes that changes in demand generated in major destination countries determine the international allocation of medical personnel at least in the short run. [from abstract]

The Swiss government decided to freeze new accreditations for physicians in private practice in Switzerland based on the assumption that demand-induced health care spending may be cut by limiting care offers. This legislation initiated an ongoing controversial public debate in Switzerland. The aim of this study is therefore the determination of socio-demographic and health system-related factors of per capita consultation rates with primary care physicians in the multicultural population of Switzerland. [from abstract]

Faith-based organizations are a key link in the sustainability of accessible health services. In many African countries, they have been providing health care for over 60 years and in some, such as Kenya, for a century or more.