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In this setting, physicians were already making site visits to clinics to monitor technical standards of care. An intervention was designed to reinforce doctors’ interpersonal communication (IPC) training. Under the intervention, doctors received IPC job aids, self-assessment forms, and tape recorders. They taped themselves during consultations and assessed their skills from the recordings, using the forms and in consultation with their supervisors. The self-assessment form and the supervisor assessment form were modified to be reproduced in this report. [publisher’s description]

This study tested two low-cost alternatives to supervision-self-assessment and peer review-that may reinforce providers’ skills after training, in this case training in interpersonal communication and counseling (IPC/C). There were three study groups: the control group received no reinforcement after training, a “self-assessment” (SA) group performed SA exercises for 16 weeks after training, and a SA and peer review group also performed SA exercises for 16 weeks and met in small groups to peer review and guide each other in their efforts to improve their IPC/C skills.

The Quality Assurance Project (QAP) has developed and twice tested a computer-based version of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) training course. Earlier testing had shown that the computer-based training (CBT), which takes six days, was as effective as the 11-day training traditionally used to teach healthcare providers to use IMCI. This report describes more recent testing of the CBT, which is available on CD-ROM.

Facilitator-led training of 20 healthcare providers in IMCI requires 11 days of lectures/practice and 6 facilitators, while the QA Project’s computer-based training requires 9 days and 4 facilitators. This study compared the cost-effectiveness of the two methods and found that both courses had equal effects on participants’ knowledge and skills, and retention after three to four months. The computer course was about 25 percent less expensive, excluding the cost of developing the software and for the computers used in the training. [publisher’s description]

This study examines the relationship between IMCI compliance and three cost issues: the length of client-provider consultations, treatment drugs, and workload. The setting was 26 health clinics in Niger, the only developing country setting where QA was implemented before IMCI. [publisher’s description]

The article analyzes the practice of physicians and nurses working on the Family Health Program. A questionnaire was used to assess the evidences of assimilation of the new values and care principles proposed by the programme. The results showed that a great number of professionals seem to have incorporated the practice of home visits, health education actions and planning of the teams’ work agenda to their routine labour activities. [abstract]

This paper describes the application of activity-based costing (ABC) to calculate unit costs for a healthcare organization in a developing country. It also describes the ways in which these calcualtions can provide information for improving the efficiency and quality of healthcare services. [from abstract]

Sustaining healthy populations and creating a context that facilitates health may require a broader perspective, such as that embodied in community participation. But some health specialists think that community participation is time-consuming and does not really improve health outcomes. Participatory processes can be protracted and progress toward health goals delayed, requiring heavy time and resource investments that may not be matched by the achievement of desired results.

This paper focuses on nurses who have migrated and are registered/licensed/authorized to practice, post-adaptation/orientation, and are working as a nurse in a given country. The term international nurse is used for nurses who have been educated abroad and have either been recruited or have chosen to migrate.

This publication is part of a series that highlights some of the key challenges, opportunities and practical examples that were identified in dialogues among over 400 leaders in business, government, development agencies, civil society, and academia to share good practices and identify practical and feasible models of collective business action and public-private partnership aimed at achieving more systemic and scalable solutions to global challenges. It makes recommendations for ways that companies can get directly engaged in specific initiatives on-the-ground. [adapted from author]

The research described in this report investigated whether facility-based teams that had been trained and coached to develop and implement improvements in performance of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) algorithm through problem-solving teams would improve case management. The study compared 21 facilities with teams and 14 without, all in rural facilities in Kenya.

The Quality Assurance Project undertook a national assessment of private sector tuberculosis (TB) services in Cambodia to improve understanding of private sector practices and the sector’s willingness to participate in efforts to improve TB services. Over 500 respondents, including doctors, pharmacists, drug sellers, and TB patients, participated. In addition, mystery shoppers visited private pharmacists and drug sellers so that the surveyed groups’ reports could be compared to actual experiences.

This report presents data on in-hospital care for childbirth and obstetrical emergencies in 14 hospitals. This report examines intervals between critical events

This report presents the results from Rwanda for the of the Quality Assurance Project’s three Safe Motherhood Studies: competence of skilled birth attendants, the enabling environment for skilled attendance at birth, and the causes of the delay in receiving medical attention after a woman arrives at a healthcare facility. The Rwanda study focused on an urban referral (tertiary care) hospital with an active maternity department, two mid-sized referral (secondary care) hospitals, and four health centers. [publisher’s description]

These guidelines…propose a set of questions that a prospective learner or purchaser of distance education can use for selecting suitable distance learning programmes. [adapted from introduction]

The standards provide a new framework against which individual doctors and the medical profession can assess themselves in a voluntary self-evaluation and self-improvement process. The standards should form the basis for continuted professional development (CPD) providers in designing CPD activities. Depending on local needs and traditions, the standards can also be used by national or regional agencies engaged in monitoring, recognition, and accreditation of CPD. [from introduction]

The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Working Party applied the principles which were developed regarding basic medical education to postgraduate medical education. Attention was focused on the general application of guidelines in quality development of medical education. WFME holds that the set of international standards presented can be used globally as a tool for quality assurance and development of postgraduate medical education. [from introduction]

A central part of the World Federation for Medical Education strategy is to give priority to specification of international standards and guidelines for medical education, comprising both institutions and their educational programmes. Adoption of international standards will constitute a new framework for medical schools to measure themselves. Furthermore, internationally accepted standards could be used as a basis for national and regional recognition and accreditation of medical schools’ educational programs. [from introduction]

This manual provides useful information to help the trainer conduct a training program in the client-centered approach to reproductive health. In addition to the modules covering the step-by-step activities that will help participants master different concepts, the information presented ranges from a practical listing of the tools required to short presentations on topics that the trainer will want to be familiar with during the training. [from introduction]

The authors argue that health for all is not achievable in most countries without health sector reform that incorporates a process of coordinated health and human resources development. They examine the situation in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization.

This report is from a workshop on HRD for mental health in Pacific island countries. The objectives of the workshop were to evaluate the mental health training needs and resources in the Pacific island countries; to achieve consensus on guiding principles in the developmenet of national mental health education and training programs in the local context; and to identify mechanisms to support countries in developing and strengthening mental health training programs. [from summary]

The purpose of the guidance package is to assist policy-makers and planners to: develop a policy and comprehensive strategy for improving the mental health of populations; use existing resources to achieve the greatest possible benefits; provide effective services to persons in need; and assist the reintegration of people with mental disorders into all aspects of community life, thus improving their overall quality of life.

This speech contends that a well performing workforce is the most critical determinant of the performance of services. Well functioning infrastructures and equipment do not serve if the people who deliver the services are not there (be it that there are none available, that they are absent from work, or that they are on strike). Well trained health workers, without the appropriate tools and supplies cannot do much either. And even when all ingredients are there, if workers are not motivated, services underperform. Advocacy to convince policy and decision-makers, as well as international agencies and donors to do something to improve the performance of the health workforce (HW) has been fervent these last 3-4 years, and it has been quite successful.

As part of the African Growth and Opportunitues Forum, this paper addresses how African businesses are responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis. It is imperative that businesses take immediate action to lessen the economic and social consequences of HIV/AIDS. If they take action, businesses can ensure that economic initiatives, such as the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) will succeed in stimulating economic growth in Africa. While both the public and private sector should have HIV/AIDS policies and programs, this paper addresses only the private business sector response to the epidemic. However, many of the actions, best practices, and conclusions discussed in this paper are also applicable to public sector policies and programs.

This report aims to provide assistance to business and associated partners in recognising the business case for further action against HIV/AIDS in the workplace and beyond. This is achieved through providing evidence of the impact that HIV/AIDS has on business activities and by highlighting the lessons learned from past and current responses. Guidance is provided in the form of policy tools, case studies and an examination of how to undertake successful partnerships in response to HIV/AIDS. This publication does not seek to provide standard models but tools to guide effective, efficient and needs-specific responses to HIV/AIDS.

A group of individuals with expertise in areas such as TB control, human resources (HR) development and health systems (Annex 1) participated in a Consultation on HR Development for TB Control convened jointly by WHO and the Rockefeller Foundation and held at WHO headquarters in Geneva on 27 and 28 August 2003. This report summarizes the results of the consultation and the recommendations presented to the Second ad hoc Committee on the TB Epidemic.

This study provides initial information about current nursing issues that have arisen as a result of health care reform initiatives. Regardless of differences in service models or phases of health sector reform implementation, in all the countries the participating nurses identified many common themes, trends, and changes in nursing practice. The driving forces for change and their intensity have been different in the five countries.

Even though the situation of human resources in health varies between the countries of the Region of the Americas, all of them are confronted by deep imbalances in the availability, composition, and distribution of the work force. These imbalances can be present as acute shortages of health personnel, chronic and persistent problems of inappropriate distribution of the work force with regard to needs, or inequities in composition of health providers in relation to the population served.

This working paper is from the African regional consultative meeting on human resources for health (HRH) in Brazzavile, Congo. It describes the issues in health systems and HRH in the region and outlines the strategies and actions required for improvement. The document also discusses the Observatory of Health Human Resources for Africa, which was proposed as a cooperative network initiative among the countries and different partners of the region to produce the information and knowledge necessary for improving human resources policy decisions, and to share the country experiences in order to improve human resource development in the health services. [adapted from author]

The Family Planning Manager’s Handbook is a standard text in management training courses around the world and has received wide recognition as a practical guide for managers of health and family planning programs. [publisher’s description]