Journal Articles

This article describes a methodology developed to establish tuberculosis (TB) related work load in a given context and for a given patient load for use by TB program managers and health planners. The authors piloted this methodology in Tanzania in three districts; one rural, one urban and one semi-urban district as the countrycurrently faces a health workforce shortage of 65% in the public sector and 86% in the private sector, with unequal distribution between urban and rural areas. [adapted from author]

Virtual worlds are increasingly being explored as a support for education. The aim of this work was to study the suitability of Second Life as an educational tool for primary healthcare professionals. [from abstract]

The government of Pakistan identified 4 medical colleges for the introduction of a new medical curriculum, but despite concerted efforts, it was not implemented. The purpose of this research was to identify the barriers and reasons for delay in implementation of the curriculum and to assess the understanding of the stakeholders. [adapted from abstract]

This overview outlines how the growing trend in online learning can open up new perspectives and opportunities for Africa’s health professionals. [adapted from author]

This study evaluates the Midwives Service Scheme in Nigeria which engaged newly graduated, unemployed, and retired midwives to work temporarily in rural areas to improve the wide variation between maternal, newborn, and child health indices across geopolitical zones and between urban and rural areas, mostly due to variations in the availability of skilled attendance at birth. [adapted from author]

This paper reviews the magnitude and form of Cuban medical cooperation in the Pacific and analyses its implications for health policy, human resource capacity and overall development assistance for health in the region. [from abstract]

HIV/AIDS is fast becoming a chronic disease with the advent of antiretroviral drugs, therefore making home based care key in the management of chronically ill HIV/AIDS patient. The objective of this study was to determine the perception and practice of health care workers on HIV/AIDS related home based care in the health facilities in Ogun state, Nigeria. [from abstract]

This study compares and contrasts two provider types - obstetric nurses and professional midwives - with the medical model, analyzing perspectives on their respective training, scope of practice, and also their perception and experiences with integration into the public system as skilled birth attendants. [from abstract]

This study aimed to evaluate perceived and assessed clinical capabilities of recent graduates of an outcomes-based integrated medical program and compare to benchmarks from traditional content-based or process-based programs. [from abstract]

The objectives of this review were systematically assess national practices in HRIS implementation, identify main areas of weakness in HRIS implementation with attention to countries facing acute health workforce shortages, offer recommendations to ministries of health and global health policy makers on how to improve the science and application of human resources information and monitoring systems. [from author]

As there is considerable uncertainty whether the scale of emigration of health workers in Poland will continue at the current rate, increase or decrease in coming years, this cross-sectional survey assess the most likely scale of emigration of Polish doctors and identifies the characteristics of potential migrants. [from author]

The aim of this systematic review was to explore the use of feedback in improving the effectiveness of workplace based assessments in postgraduate medical training. [adapted from abstract]

This study investigates how physical space, level of staffing, staff burnout, staff absenteeism, staff experience and facilities’ experience with ART provision are associated with levels of adherence to clinical protocol as part of Zambian HIV care and treatment program. [adapted from author]

Violence at work is one of the major concerns in health care activities. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of physical and non-physical violence in a general health care facility in Italy and to assess the relationship between violence and psychosocial factors, thereby providing a basis for appropriate intervention.[from abstract]

A better understanding of how public sector midwives in Senegal are experiencing their work and how it is affecting them is needed in order to better address their needs and incite them to remain in their posts. This study aims to explore their job satisfaction and its effects on their burnout, intention to quit and professional mobility. [from abstract]

This article describes the need behind and the process used by nursing leaders from six sub-Saharan African countries who collaborated to develop the essential nursing competencies related to HIV and AIDS. [adapted from author]

Nursing leaders from six sub-Saharan African countries collaborated to develop the essential nursing competencies related to HIV and AIDS. These competencies can help to guide pre-service education related to HIV and AIDS, to strengthen in-service or capacity-building programs designed for already qualified nurses, and to guide policy and regulatory reform in the context of taskshifting, task-sharing, and scope of nursing practices. [from author]

Drawing on livelihood studies in health and sociological theory of capitals, this study develops and evaluates the new concept of workhood. As an analytical device the concept aims at understanding health workers’ capacities to access resources (human, financial, physical, social, cultural and symbolic capital) and transfer them to the community from an individual perspective. [from abstract]

The aim of this study was to explore contemporary lay health worker policy development processes and the extent to which issues of gender are taken up within this process. [from abstract]

This study explored clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for maternal health in Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Tanzania to compare factors related to CPG use including their content compared with World Health Organization guidelines, their format, and their development processes; and to explore perceptions of their availability and use in practice. The overall purpose was to further the understanding of how to increase CPGs’ potential to improve quality of care for mothers. [adapted from abstract]

This article evaluated a four-year action research study across the Australian Capital Territory health system to strengthen interprofessional collaboration though multiple intervention activities. [from abstract]

This study describes the process and cost of training to attain competence of lower level health workers to perform malaria RDTs in a public health system setting in eastern Uganda. [from abstract]

This paper draws on experiences scaling-up antiretroviral treatment in three sub-Saharan African countries (Malawi, South Africa and Lesotho) and highlights the main opportunities and challenges posed by task shifting and proposes specific actions to tackle the challenges. [adapted from summary]

This article reviewed the type of HRH-related activities that are eligible for financing within GAVI, Global Fund and the World Bank; reviewed the HRH-related activities that each agency is actually financing; and reviewed the literature to understand the impact that these investments in HRH have had on the health workforce in developing countries. [adapted from author]

This study aimed to assess whether the use of cell phone text messaging to improve access to continuing healthcare education in under-resourced settings is acceptable to South African midwives in both the public and private sectors. [adapted from author]

This study examined the hypothesis that a medical school in a low-resource setting, based on volunteer faculty, can be sustainable and associated with improvement in medical workforce and population health outcomes. [from abstract]

This systematic review investigates what helps and hinders routine outcome measurement of allied health professionals practice. [from abstract]

This issue includes articles for FBOs on: making advocacy effective in a contemporary setting; country experiences in human resources for health; role of church health coordinating committees in advocacy; monitoring responsiveness in healthcare centres; and an introduction to monitoring and evaluation. [adapted from author]

This issue of Contact has been published to give practical examples of how treatment can be made more accessible by faith-based organizations (FBOs) and FBO health care institutions particularly in resource-limited settings. [from author]

This edition of Contact magazine focuses on pharmaceutical human resources, who are crucial for the delivery of quality health care. Church health systems in particular have to take up the challenge of attracting, motivating and retraining qualified pharmaceutical human resources. [from author]