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This paper assesses some analytical problems and approaches towards improving the utilization of primary health care services by the rural communities in Nigeria. This article examines some cross cutting issues in [Primary Health Care] PHC and outlines approaches to improve the use of health services by rural people. [adapted from abstract]

This document provides an overview of the HRH labour market in Sudan, highlighting the importance of a comprehensive approach to understanding the driving forces that affect the supply and demand for health workers, in order to provide a basis for developing effective HRH polices that can contribute to progress towards universal health coverage. [from abstract]

Health facilities in rural, resource limited settings face multiple challenges responding to a growing demand for HIV treatment, including lack of adequate numbers of trained health workers. Many programs have used community health support workers (CHSWs) to provide specific services related to HIV care, and to complement facility-based treatment. [from abstract]

Indonesia is striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 4 target of less than 23 infant deaths per 1000 live births by 2015. In order to reach this target, a community case management (CCM) model, was introduced by the American funded Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) and the Indonesian Ministry of Health (MoH) in 2011. Little is known about how CCM has been delivered and there is no research that examines the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of CCM in Indonesia.

The public health sector in South Africa faces a number of human resource–related inundations. Solving these challenges requires the provision of empirically derived information on these matters. This study investigated the relationship between three work-related factors, person-environment fit, work-family balance and perceived job security, and employee satisfaction and organisational commitment. A conceptual framework that links these factors is proposed and tested. [from abstract]

Medicines are a major driver of quality, safety, equity, and cost of care in low and middle-income country health systems. Universal health coverage implementers must explicitly address appropriate use of medicines to realize the health benefits of medicines, avoid wasting scarce resources, and sustain the financial viability of universal health coverage schemes. [from abstract]

This paper presents the results of two field experiments on local accountability in primary health care in Uganda. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control, coupled with the provision of report cards on staff performance, resulted in significant improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes in both the short and the longer run. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control without providing information on performance had no impact on quality of care or health outcomes.

Improving maternal and reproductive health still remains a major challenge in most low-income countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The growing inequality in access to maternal health interventions is an issue of great concern. In Ghana, inadequate attention has been given to the inequality gap that exists amongst women when accessing antenatal care during pregnancy and skilled attendance at birth.

The health systems of most countries in the region are characterized by the provision of services through both public and private providers, often in parallel or in competition with each other. This has raised the option for governments to purchase services from the private sector, to address gaps in services particularly for the poor and underserved. This policy brief reviews the evidence base of government purchasing primary care services from the private sector.

Health systems interventions, such as capacity-building of health workers, are implemented across districts in order to improve performance of healthcare organisations. However, such interventions often work in some settings and not in others. Local health systems could be visualised as complex adaptive systems that respond variously to inputs of capacity building interventions, depending on their local conditions and several individual, institutional, and environmental factors.

The study concludes that to address these gender gaps in ICTs in Nigeria, all hands must be on deck to change women’s attitudes towards ICT use by overcoming technophobia;women should be provided with educational and economic empowerment; government ICT policies and programs must address the needs of women;and the civil society should be part and parcel of this crusade for the betterment of women and the society at large. [from abstract]

Behavior is crucial throughout global health interventions. The discipline of behavior change offers distinct expertise needed across 6 different domains of behavior. Such expertise is in short supply, however. We will not have effective and sustainable health systems, nor achieve our ambitious global health goals, without seriously addressing behavior change. [from abstract]

During national scale up of Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) in Rwanda, greater improvements in care-seeking were found in the districts where Kabeho Mwana implemented its model than in the rest of the country. Success was attributed to an emphasis on routine data review, intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and, in particular, CHW peer support groups. [from introduction]

Laboratory professionals are expected to maintain their knowledge on the most recent advances in
laboratory testing and continuing professional development (CPD) programs can address this expectation. In
developing countries, accessing CPD programs is a major challenge for laboratory personnel, partly due to their
limited availability. An assessment was conducted among clinical laboratory workforce in Botswana to identify and
prioritize CPD training needs as well as preferred modes of CPD delivery. [from abstract]

Lauded for getting specific health issues onto national and international agendas and for their potential to improve value for money and outcomes, public-private global health initiatives (GHIs) have come to dominate global health governance. Yet, they have also been criticised for their negative impact on country health systems. In response, disease-specific GHIs have, somewhat paradoxically, appropriated the aim of health system strengthening (HSS).

While concepts such as ‘partnership’ are central to the terminology of private–public mix (PPM), little attention has been paid to how social relations are negotiated among the diverse actors responsible for implementing these inter-sectoral arrangements. India’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) has used intermediary agents to facilitate the involvement of private providers in the expansion of Directly Observed Therapy, Short-Course (DOTS).

This study used a mixed methods approach with data from the Regulatory Human Resources Information System (tracks initial student enrolment through registration) and the Kenya Health Workforce Information System (tracks deployment and demographic information on licensed nurses) for the quantitative analyses and qualitative data from key informant interviews with nurse training institution educators and/or administrators. [from abstract]

Patient’s satisfaction is one indicator of healthcare quality. Few studies have examined the inpatient experiences in resource-scarce environments in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper examines patient’s satisfaction on the public medical wards at a Kenyan referral hospital, we performed a cross-sectional survey focused on patient’s satisfaction with medical information and their relationship with staffing and hospital routine. Ratings of communication with providers, efforts to protect privacy, information about costs, food, and hospital environment were also elicited. [adapted from abstract]

This research aims to evaluate the potentialities, issues and challenges of developing mobile healthcare system in the developing world. We have proposed a potential mHealth model based on mobile telecommunication networks. This research offers a set of guidelines to aid the implementation of a successful mobile healthcare system. [from abstract]

The healthcare system of developing countries are immersed in the complex issues of governance and financing of health care, human resource inequity and lack of access to quality health services, which are significantly impacting on the delivery of health services to the consumers. This paper will highlight on of health care system of Pakistan and Cuba under the spheres of their health care delivery system, organizational structure, authority and power structure, decision making process, future challenges and their resolutions. [from abstract]

Systematic reviews can offer policymakers and stakeholders concise, transparent, and relevant evidence pertaining to pressing policy priorities to help inform the decision-making process. The production and the use of systematic reviews are specifically limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The extent to which published systematic reviews address policy priorities in the region is still unknown.

In countries with high maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality, reliable access to quality healthcare in rural areas is essential to save lives. Health workers who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to remain in rural posts. Understanding what factors influence health workers’ satisfaction can help determine where resources should be focused. Although there is a growing body of research assessing health worker satisfaction in hospitals, less is known about health worker satisfaction in rural, primary health clinics.

This paper will evaluate the effect of vouchers for maternity care in public health-care facilities on the utilization of maternal health-care services in Cambodia. The study involved data from the 2010 Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey, which covered births between 2005 and 2010. The effect of voucher schemes, first implemented in 2007, on the utilization of maternal health-care services was quantified using a difference-in-differences method that compared changes in utilization in districts with voucher schemes with changes in districts without them.[adapted from abstract]

The predominant model of public health commodity supply chains in developing countries is one dominated by a central medical store (CMS). In this model, the CMS plays the pivotal role of procurement, storage and warehousing of all health commodities before they are distributed to the next level in the supply chain. Challenges with technical and organization capacity at the CMS level has led to longstanding difficulties in creating sustainable performance improvements in several countries.

There is growing evidence that providing increased voice to vulnerable or disenfranchised populations is important to improving health equity. In this paper we will examine the engagement of Aboriginal community members and community controlled organisations in local governance reforms associated with the Aboriginal Health National Partnership Agreements (AHNPA) in Australia and its impact on the uptake of health assessments. [from abstract]

Health and well-being services, in common with many public services, cannot be delivered by a single organisation and require co-ordination across several organisations in a locality. There is some evidence, mostly from other sectors, that middle managers play pivotal roles in this co-ordination by developing networks of relationships with colleagues in other organisations. These networks of relationships, established over time, provide contexts in which managers can, collectively, create the knowledge needed to address the challenges they encounter.

Using online discussion forums can have a positive impact on psychological well-being through development of shared group identity and validation of thoughts, feelings and experiences. This may be particularly beneficial to people with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), who often become socially isolated, lack mobility and face threats to their sense of identity. We set up a peer-support online forum to identify the nature of support provided and to explore its development over time.

The leaflet, “Components of a Strong Health Information System” briefly explains the six key components that help countries develop their own health information systems in a way that empowers all those who contribute to and benefit from health information. The six key components include three categories of inputs, processes and outputs of HIS reform. [from introduction]
Companion piece to http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/5925

The JAHR 2013 report assesses progress in implementing the tasks laid out in the Five-year health plan 2011–2015, as well as results of implementing the Five-year plan targets and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the same time the report contains an in-depth analysis on “Universal health care coverage”. [from introduction]

The HMN Framework explains why and how countries can build stronger systems to gather, manage, analyse and distribute health information. The Framework describes the elements that help to make a system effective, how they can be evaluated, and the principles that empower countries to build and strengthen their systems according to an agreed standard. [from introduction]
Companion piece to http://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/5927