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Some critics have claimed that disease-specific global health initiatives (GHIs) burden health systems that are already fragile in countries with few resources, whereas others have asserted that weak health systems prevent progress in meeting disease-specific targets. We use a review and analysis of existing data, and 15 new studies to describe the complex nature of the interplay between country health systems and GHIs. There are sections that specifically address the human resources for health and health information systems impacts. [from author]

This study was designed to document the role and experience of health professionals with significant responsibility for human resource management (HRM); identify the challenges that these health professionals face; identify additional skills and knowledge needed by these health professionals to address HRM challenges; solicit recommendations for changes in pre-service and in-service HRM training. [from summary]

The purpose of this review paper is to provide information and guidance to those in the health care setting about why it is important to combat HIV-related stigma and how to successfully address its causes and consequences within health facilities. [from abstract]

This paper provides a participant-observer perspective of the evolution of community health workers from vertical and isolated activities for TB, HIV and other specific diseases to an integrated community health team approach for tackling the main disease burden in a rural district of Mozambique. [from introduction]

This presentation provides an overview of the health workforce in Africa, the causes of the workforce crisis and solutions, financing the health workforce and global attention to the issues. [from author]

This presentation dicusses the import of task shifting to providing health care and AIDS treatment programs to low-resource countries in Africa using Mozambique as an example.

This session will focus on different model programs incorporating novel techniques to optimize training of health workers. Discussion will include the realities of brain drain, health worker migration, and maintaining a vibrant health workforce. [from author]

This paper presents the roles of traditional healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and scopes for including them in the national AIDS prevention and control program.

This evaluation focused on the relevance of the health sector strategic and implementation plans to the achievement of the the MDGs in health; the extent of progress and achievements in the health sector reform process; achievements in improving acces, service quality and health outcomes; and changes in partnership activities. Section 8 examines how effectively the health sector has dealt with important issues in HRH during the evaluation period. [adapted from author]

Japan has experienced two large changes which affect the supply and distribution of physicians. They are increases in medical school enrollment capacity and in the proportion of female physicians. The purpose of this study is to estimate the future supply of physicians by specialty and to predict the associated impact of increased female physicians, as well as to discuss the possible policy implications. [from abstract]

The goal of this paper is twofold. It uses the recent experience of Brazil’s Family Health Program to assess the effectiveness of community based health interventions as instruments for improvements in health conditions in less developed areas. It also evaluates whether the health improvements associated with the program also brought about the changes in household behavior predicted by economic theory and noticed in other contexts. [adapted from author]

The objective of this article was to determine the current practices of private practitioners for the management of STIs in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, evaluation of pharmacotherapy for STIs in private clinics and to ascertain the management of STIs compared to standard guidelines. [from author]

Because of increased demand for injectable contraception coupled with an overburdened clinical health system, countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, have recently expanded the use of non-clinic based approaches in providing this method. In this first review of the available evidence of these efforts, this consultation concluded that there is sufficient evidence to support expansion of community-based health workers providing progestin-only injectable contraceptives, especially DMPA. [from author]

Many developing countries face strains in meeting the demands for provision of health services because of limited medical personnel. This has led to renewed interest in task sharing, also known as task shifting. A key feature of task sharing is that those with less medical or paramedical training can provide some of the same services with the same quality as those with more training. [from author]

The aim of this study was to provide a baseline assessment in PMTCT in the traditional health sector to determine the views of women who have used the services of traditional practitioners before, during and/or after pregnancy; and to conduct formative research with traditional health practitioners (THPs), i.e. herbalists, diviners and traditional birth attendants on HIV, pregnancy care, delivery and infant care. [adapted from abstract]

Brain drain impedes maternal, neonatal, and child health and the fight against HIV/AIDS, and translates into loss of potential employers, teachers, and role models. Improving the health workforce database, wages, health resources and working conditions, task shifting, pay-back from recipient countries and migrant health professionals, securing additional investment in the health workforce, and the development of locally relevant medical training and research are useful measures to combat this problem. [from abstract]

This paper presents what the Capacity Project learned about various forms of gender discrimination and how they serve as barriers to health workforce participation, against the backdrop of the global gender and HRH literature. It points to the central roles played by pregnancy discrimination in weakening women’s ties to the health workforce, and occupational segregation in limiting men’s role in the development of a robust informal HIV/AIDS caregiving workforce.

In Lesotho, as in many other countries, the HIV and AIDS care burden falls on the shoulders of women and girls in unpaid, invisible household and community work. This gender inequity in HRH needs to be addressed to ensure fair and sustainable responses to the need for home and community-based HIV/AIDS care and support. The Capacity Project addressed these issues through a study of men as providers of HIV/AIDS care and support. [from author]

As the Capacity Project has worked to strengthen HRH systems to implement quality health programs in developing countries, it has systematically focused on how differences and inequalities affect women’s and men’s opportunities for education, training and occupational choice. In Rwanda, the Project helped the government follow through on its national policy commitments to gender equality by conducting a study of workplace violence and gender discrimination as barriers to workforce participation. [from author]

This technical brief focuses on issues around health worker motivation, job satisfaction, incentives, retention and performance. [from author]

The Capacity Project has made specific technical contributions to shape and advance the human resources management professional development agenda at the global, regional and country level since 2005. This brief describes the rationale, process, methodology and some of the results of key approaches that the Project and its collaborating partners developed and implemented in sub-Saharan Africa. [from author]

This brief provides a retrospective view of the Project’s contributions and recommendations in the area of global partnering. [from author]

This brief includes the results of the Project’s performance support (PS) interventions, and discusses factors that contributed to those results. The brief shares the common intervention model, analyzes the variations in content, context and methods of the interventions and discusses how similarities and differences played a role in the results. Finally, the brief includes recommendations for implementing and scaling up PS interventions. [from author]

As the global community wrestles with human resources for health issues, faith-based organizations (FBOs) are a vital source of health worker production and promising practices. This brief describes how during the past five years the Capacity Project has worked to increase the number of countries in which FBOs are building national capacity in HRH. [adapted from author]

The goals of the Capacity Project’s Strengthening Health Professional Associations Initiative were: to promote high standards of practice; to help provide the skills for associations to advocate more effectively for the needs of clients and providers;and to form networks among professionals and professional associations. [from author]

This brief provides an overview of results from a qualitative evaluation study of the Capacity Project’s HRIS strengthening in Swaziland, Uganda and Rwanda. In addition, it draws on results from a regional workshop on data-driven decision-making in Tanzania hosted by the Capacity Project in collaboration with ECSA-HC and WHO. [from author]

The Learning for Performance (LFP) approach is a systematic instructional design process and set of practical tools designed to yield more efficient training that focuses on what is essential for health workers to do their jobs, while addressing the factors that ensure application of new skills on the job. [from author]

This brief reviews how the Capacity Project addressed gender discrimination and inequality in HRH through its institutional mechanisms, approaches and tools as well as in country-level implementation. [from author]

The Capacity Project offered technical support to Rwanda’s Ministry of Health to develop the capacity of the district hospital clinical workforce in order to expand client access to a full range of quality FP methods. These included long-acting and permanent methods and vasectomy in particular. [from author]

This legacy brief describes the knowledge management principles and successful initiatives of the Capacity Project such as the HRH Global Resource Center, the HRH Action Framework, the Uganda Ministry of Health KM Portal and health information libraries.