Journal Articles

Facilitated Patient Feedback Can Improve Nursing Care: A Pilot Study for a Phase III Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

This randomized trials was conducted to test the effectiveness of patient feedback on quality improvement of nursing care in English hospitals. [adapted from abstract]

Using a Campaign Approach Among Health Workers to Increase Access to Antiretroviral Therapy for Pregnant HIV-Infected Women in South Africa

This study evaluated a targeted brief antiretroviral (ART) campaign among health workers that used quality improvement health systems approaches to significantly improve access to ART for HIV-infected pregnant women across a large health district in South Africa. [adapted from author]

Developing a Tool to Measure Satisfaction among Health Professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa

Measurement of health workers’ satisfaction adapted to sub-Saharan African working conditions and cultures is a challenge. The objective of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to measure satisfaction among health professionals in the sub-Saharan African context. [from abstract]

Shaping Legal Abortion Provision in Ghana: Using Policy Theory to Understand Provider-Related Obstacles to Policy Implementation

This study investigated the reasons for poor implementation of the legal abortion policy in Ghana using Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy to better understand how providers shape and implement policy and how provider-level barriers might be overcome. [from abstract]

Using Verbal Autopsy to Ascertain Perinatal Cause of Death: Are Trained Non-Physicians Adequate?

This initiative’s objective was to develop a standardized verbal autopsy training program and evaluate whether its implementation resulted in comparable knowledge required to classify perinatal cause of death by physicians and non-physicians. [from abstract]

Improving Community Health Workers' Knowledge and Behavior about Proper Content in Malaria Education

This article reports on an intervention to enhance the knowledge and behavior of community health workers on providing adequate
education to patients on malaria. [adapted from author]

Case Study: Does Training of Private Networks of Family Planning Clinicians in Urban Pakistan Affect Service Utilization?

This study aimed to determine whether training of providers participating in franchise clinic networks is associated with increased family planning service use among low-income urban families in Pakistan.

Addressing the Migration of Health Professionals: The Role of Working Conditions and Educational Placements

This article provides a brief overview of the global health-worker shortage, which could undermine the Millennium Development Goal to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. [from abstract]

Uncovering High Rates of Unsafe Injection Equipment Reuse in Rural Cameroon: Validation of a Survey Instrument that Probes for Specific Misconceptions

The main objective of this study is to assess the extent of unsafe injection equipment reuse by health workers and potential for blood-borne virus transmission in Cameroon. [from abstract]

Community Health Workers Can Identify and Manage Possible Infections in Neonates and Young Infants: MINI, a Model from Nepal

This article describes the Morang Innovative Neonatal Intervention
(MINI), which tested a replicable model for the community management of neonatal infections within the existing government health system through the use of female community health volunteers. [adapted from author]

Barriers to Implementation of the HIV Guidelines in the IMCI Algorithm among IMCI Trained Health Workers in Zambia

Since 2004, health workers that have undergone integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) case management training have also received training in HIV assessment, but follow-up showed that 97% of the health workers assessed did not review or mention the HIV guidelines even though they had received the training. This study aimed to explore reasons for non-adherence to HIV guidelines in the IMCI algorithm and make recommendations on how this can be improved. [adapted from abstract]

Effectiveness of Community Health Workers (CHWS) in the Provision of Basic Preventive and Curative Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Interventions: A Systematic Review

This review was designed to find evidence of the effectiveness of CHWs in providing basic preventive and curative MNCH interventions, and to identify the factors that are crucial to their performance. [from abstract]

Why Do Some Women Still Prefer Traditional Birth Attendants and Home Delivery? A Qualitative Study on Delivery Care Services in West Java Province, Indonesia

This study aims to explore the perspectives of community members and health workers about the use of delivery care services in six villages of West Java Province where many women still deliver at home and without the assistance of trained birth attendants. [from abstract]

Challenges Faced by Health Workers in Providing Counselling Services to HIV-Positive Children in Uganda: A Descriptive Study

A descriptive study was conducted to explore the challenges health workers face in providing HIV counselling and testing services to children in Uganda. [adapted from abstract]

Occupational Exposure to HIV: A Conflict Situation for Health Workers

This study aimed to determine the frequency of occupational exposure to HIV, the circumstances and predisposing factors, the high-risk groups, the extent to which exposures are reported and the post-exposure prophylaxis utilized by health-care workers and students in a Ugandan hospital. [from abstract]

Community Mobilization and Health Management Committee Strengthening to Increase Birth Attendance by Trained Health Workers in Rural Makwanpur, Nepal: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

This protocol will test the effect of community mobilization through women’s groups, and health management committee strengthening, on institutional deliveries and home deliveries attended by trained health workers. [adapted from abstract]

Keeping Health Staff Healthy: Evaluation of a Workplace Initiative to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality from HIV/AIDS in Malawi

This study evaluated two workplace initiatives providing medical services, including HIV care; and a support group for HIV-positive staff to determine the uptake and outcome of HIV testing and counselling among health staff and their dependents; uptake and outcomes of antiretroviral therapy among health staff; and membership and activities of the support group. [adapted from abstract]

Tackling Health Workforce Shortages During Antiretroviral Treatment Scale-Up: Experiences from Ethiopia and Malawi

This article draws on the experience of Malawi and Ethiopia, which have been able to successfully increase their health workforce over a relatively short period, allowing scaling up of antiretroviral treatment. [from abstract]

Changes in Clients' Care Ratings after HIV Prevention Training of Hospital Workers in Malawi

This study examined the changes in clients’ health-care ratings before and after hospital workers received an HIV prevention intervention in Malawi, which increased the workers’ personal and work-related HIV prevention knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviors. [from abstract]

Clinical Staging of HIV-Related Illness in Mozambique: Performance of Nonphysician Clinicians Based on Direct Observation of Clinical Care and Implications for Health Worker Training

In Mozambique, clinical staging may be the primary determinant of HIV/AIDS treatment decisions, and the task of staging commonly falls to non-physician clinicians. This study evaluated the quality of performance in clinical staging two years after the first Mozambican clinicians were trained in HIV/AIDS care. [adapted from abstract]

Applying WHO's Workforce Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) Method to Calculate the Health Worker Requirements for India's Maternal and Child Health Service Guarantees in Orissa State

In one district of India, the authors used the WISN method to calculate the number of health workers required to achieve the maternal and child health service guarantees of the country and measured the difference between this ideal number and current staffing levels. [adapted from abstract]

Evaluation of Pre-Service Training on Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness in Ethiopia

This survey was conducted to assess the status of pre-service training on the integrated management of newborn and childhood illness strategy and its ability to equip health workers with essential knowledge and skills to effectively manage sick children with common neonatal and childhood diseases. [adapted from abstract]

Assessment of HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Use among Health Workers of Governmental Health Institutions in Jimma Zone, Oromiya Region, Southwest Ethiopia

This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, practice and factors associated to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis use among health workers of governmental health institutions in the Jimma zone. [from abstract]

Organization and Implementation of Community-Based Education Programs for Health Worker Training Institutions in Uganda

This study was undertaken to assess the scope and nature of community-based education for various health worker cadres in Uganda. [from abstract]

Othering the Health Worker: Self-Stigmatization of HIV/AIDS Care among Health Workers in Swaziland

This study explored perceived barriers to accessing HIV/AIDS care and prevention services among health workers in Swaziland by asking health workers about their views on how HIV affects Swaziland’s health workforce and what barriers and strategies health workers have for addressing HIV and using healthcare treatment facilities. [from abstract]

Mobiles for Malaria

This article shares various experiences in using mobile phones for malaria programs from news reports and research studies and how the mobile phone is becoming a valuable tool in fighting malaria from improving management of the information flow between health managers, health workers and patients to assisting health workers in parasite diagnosis. [adapted from author]

Peer Group Intervention for HIV Prevention among Health Workers in Chile

The authors tested the impacts of a professionally assisted peer-group intervention on Chilean health workers’ HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors using a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and 3 month post-test. [from author]

Does Shortening the Training on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Guidelines Reduce Its Effectiveness? A Systematic Review

Implementation of the integrated management of childhood illness strategy with an 11-day training course for health workers improves care for ill children in outpatient settings in developing countries. This study aimed to determine if shortening the training to reduce cost reduces its effectiveness. [adapted from abstract]

Health Workers' Attitudes Toward Sexual and Reproductive Health Services for Unmarried Adolescents in Ethiopia

This study aimed to examine health care workers’ attitudes toward sexual and reproductive health services to unmarried adolescents in Ethiopia through a descriptive cross-sectional study. [adapted from abstract]

Provider Bias or Organizational Limitations? Female and Male Health Care Workers' Interaction with Men in Reproductive Health Programmes in Rural Central India

This article examines the extent, motivation, and prevalence of village level health workers’ interaction with men concerning reproductive health issues in rural central India. [from author]