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This summary of evidence about the effect of lay health worker programmes (on mother and child health and tuberculosis) is derived from a Cochrane Review published in 2010. This video builds on the SUPPORT Summary of the same review, prepared for health policy makers in low and middle-income countries.

This summary is based on an update of a Cochrane systematic review published in 2010. The summary focuses on the effects of lay health worker interventions in improving maternal and child health and tuberculosis outcomes. [from author]

This report examines the growing phenomenon of the international migration of skilled health workers (nurses, doctors and more specialised workers, such as pharmacists, radiologists and lab technicians) in the Asia-Pacific region. [from summary]

Nearly four million neonatal deaths occur annually in the world despite existing evidence-based knowledge with the potential to prevent many of these deaths. Effective knowledge translation (KT) could help to bridge this know-do gap in global health. The aim of this study was to explore aspects of KT at the primary healthcare level in a northern province in Vietnam. [from abstract]

This article reports on a pilot evaluation of distance education modalities was conducted among U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands healthcare workers. [from abstract]

There has been a well documented need for continuing education (CE) for health workers in the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands region. This executive summary highlights key points from a series of CE needs assessments conducted in the region in 2004. [from abstract]

This article outlines a program developed to provide formal training for health workers in the Western Pacific to address HRH problems in the region, especially the adverse impact of both the absolute shortages of select health workers and the under-training of many of the current health workforce. [adapted from author]

This document addresses the field of public health education and the conditions in which public health personnel is integrated into the labor market. One of the purposes of the report is to investigate the characteristics of public health educational programs and their relation to the needs of national health systems. [from author]

The purpose of this guide is to support the strengthening of existing, or establishing new, human resources for health development departments at the central and subnational levels.

This study investigated the readiness of the public health sector to provide malaria casemanagement in Somalia, a country where there has been no functioning central government for almost two decades. [from abstract]

The objective of this paper was to present an international comparison of the health workforce in terms of skill mix, sociodemographics and other labour force characteristics, in order to establish an evidence base for monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health. [from abstract]

This presentation for the 2008 AIDS Conference outlines the issues in providing HIV treatement with an HRH shortage, task shifiting to lay providers and community health workers (CHWs), trends in lay workers in sub-Saharan Africa, and lessons learned for successful task shifting.

This study aimed to evaluate the contribution of community health workers with a focus on identifying the critical elements of an enabling environment that can ensure they provide quality services in a manner that is sustainable for expanding the health workforce to scale up HIV services. [adapted from author]

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of an Afghanistan community midwifery program in Takhar Province, to capture key lessons learnt from the first round of training, and to draw conclusions for future initiatives. [adapted from author]

This report links the high rates of maternal mortality with the health worker crisis in fragile states1. It explores the causes of maternal death, highlighting where and why these deaths are occurring. It also contrasts the need to fund health workers and strengthen health systems with the present aid allocations to health. [from author]

This paper captures the professional, personal and national effects conflict is having on health workers and the inadequate protection they currently work under. It explores the context in which health staff are working in some of the world’s most fragile countries. It outlines the high rates of death and disease and the vital role health workers play in not only addressing these needs, but in meeting global health targets. [from introduction]

All disasters are a health issue with national health workers at the heart of every response. This research into the role of national and international health workers after the 2010 earthquake in Haitie signals a need to rethink how the humanitarian community works with national health system and stresses how a strong health system offers vital protection from disaster-related risks.

The objectives of this scoping exercise were to provide an overview of existing definitions and concepts of health human resources productivity; a summary of the important contributions in literature; an overview of the leading researchers/centres with expertise on this topic; and
gaps and priorities for further research. [adapted from summary]

This presentation is an overview of the Ethiopian experience in strengthening human resources for health as a strategic approach to integrate services and improve productivity for family planning. [from publisher]

This paper attempts to fill a knowledge gap in comprehensive data on human resources for health in the formal and informal sectors in Bangladesh through a nationally representative sample survey conducted in 2007. [from abstract]

This paper presents a randomized feld experiment on community-based monitoring of public primary health care providers in Uganda. Through two rounds of village meetings, localized NGOs encouraged communities to be more involved with the state of health service provision and strengthened their capacity to hold their local health providers to account for performance. A year after the intervention, treatment communities are more involved in monitoring the provider; health workers appear to exert higher effort to serve the community; and there was a positive impact on child health.

This article provides key lessons learned from a large-scale community-based efficacy trial of a two-tiered system of community-based workers to deliver a package of essential maternal and newborn-care interventions and one of three umbilical cord-care regimens in Bangladesh.

This literature review examined the published literature on health programs in faith-based organizations to determine the effectiveness of these programs. [from author]

Faith-based organizations are integral partners in the global response to the AIDS crisis, often comprising sizable percentages of total health-care capacity in a country or region. This study aimed to better understand the perceptions and priorities of these key members of the global public health community about the past, present and future roles of faith-based organizations in AIDS prevention, treatment and support. [from preface]

This training course on improving routine health information systems is an international course on the comprehensive assessment of information use, with an emphasis on problem-solving. The course uses the Performance of Routine Information System Management conceptual framework and tools. [abstract]

This brief outlines the global health worker shortage, the need for better training, using digital media and technology to improve global health, and advocates for better diplomacy through better health.

This report will address the need to expand the global healthcare workforce and international emergency medical response mechanisms. It will also analyze the current mechanisms and channels that mobilize and coordinate healthcare volunteers in response to international disasters. The report will provide several collaborative pathways through which non-governmental organizations can coordinate their international emergency response efforts with volunteer teams of healthcare providers. [from introduction]

In this issue of the CapacityPlus Voices, Laurence Codjia of the Global Health Workforce Alliance shares her views on the role of stakeholder leadership groups in making progress on health workforce plans. [from publisher]

These data tables provide detailed information on the health workforce in Australia including data on workers from: health and community services, medical labor force, nursing and midwifery, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry and psychology. [from publisher]

This report is intended to assist in the process of rejuvenating dialogue and partnership with FBOs in the face of widespread health challenges in communities around the world, not least of which is HIV/AIDS. The revival of the primary healthcare model within WHO underscores that if this framework is to be promoted as a more sustainable system of health servicing and delivery, then the inclusion of FBOs will add greater potential for breadth and effectiveness. [from summary]