Journal Articles

Task shifting is one avenue for delivering needed health care in resource poor settings, and on-the-ground reports indicate that task shifting may be applicable in humanitarian responses to natural disasters and conflicts. This report evaluates the potential strengths and weaknesses of task shifting in humanitarian relief efforts, and proposes a range of strategies to constructively integrate task shifting into humanitarian response. [adapted from abstract]

Follow-up studies of former students are an efficient way to organize the entire process of professional training and curriculum evaluation. The aim of this study was to identify professional profile subgroups based on job-related variables in a sample of former students of a Brazilian public dental school. [from abstract]

The objective of this research was to study prescribing practices of private practitioners in the treatment of tuberculosis, two decades after a similar study conducted in the same geographical area revealed dismal results. [from abstract]

The aim of the present study was to examine whether a 16-hour night-call schedule allowed for sufficient recovery in anaesthesiologists compared with other physician specialists handling less life-threatening conditions, when on call. [from abstract]

This research aimed at examining the effects of mentoring functions on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of new nurses in Taiwan’s hospitals.

Hospital-based providers’ willingness to report to work during an influenza pandemic is a critical yet under-studied phenomenon. Witte’s Extended Parallel Process Model has been shown to be useful for understanding adaptive behavior of public health workers to an unknown risk, and thus offers a framework for examining scenario-specific willingness to respond among hospital staff. [from abstract]

The objective of this article is to compare the processes and outcomes of four pulic-private mix project on DOTS implementation for tuberculosis control in New Delhi, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Nairobi, Keny; and Pune, India. [from abstract]

Shortages of health workers are obstacles to utilising global health initiative (GHI) funds effectively in Africa. This paper reports and analyses two countries’ health workforce responses during a period of large increases in GHI funds. [from abstract]

Antiretroviral treatment services delivered in hospital settings in Africa increasingly lack capacity to meet demand and are difficult to access by patients. This article evaluates the effectiveness of nurse-led primary care based antiretroviral treatment by comparison with usual hospital care in a typical rural sub Saharan African setting. [from abstract]

There is currently limited published evidence of health-related training programmes in Africa that have produced graduates, who remain and work in their countries after graduation. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of graduates of field epidemiology training programmes in Africa stay on to work in their home countries, many as valuable resources to overstretched health systems. [from abstract]

Telehealth is the delivery of health care at a distance, using information and communication technology. The major rationales for its introduction have been to decrease costs, improve efficiency and increase access in health care delivery. This systematic review assesses the economic value of one type of telehealth delivery - synchronous or real time video communication – rather than examining a heterogeneous range of delivery modes as has been the case with previous reviews in this area. [from abstract]

This paper reports on two separate experiences of human resources development plans costing in Mozambique and Guinea Bissau to provide insight into the practice of costing exercises in information-poor settings and contribute to the existing debate on HRH costing methodologies. [adapted from abstract]

The objective of this qualitative study was to understand how nursing professionals coped with job retraining in a public hospital after an illness. [adapted from abstract]

This study evaluated which factors affect health professionals’ intentions to use clinical guidelines generally in their decision-making on patient care. [adapted from abstract]

The MOH has developed a human resources for health strategic plan to address the health workforce crisis through improved training, hiring, and retention. This study used a model to forecast the size of the public sector health workforce in Zambia over the next ten years to identify a combination of interventions that would expand the workforce to meet staffing targets. [adapted from abstract]

This study assessed the social networks in a Master of Hospital and Healthcare Administration program. The authors’ conclusions suggest that intentional social network development may be an important opportunity for capacity-building programs as healthcare systems improve their ability to manage resources and tackle emerging problems. [adapted from introduction]

Expanded access to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-poor settings is dependent on task shifting from doctors to other health-care providers. We compared outcomes of nurse versus doctor management of ART care for HIV-infected patients. [from summary]

This paper investigates the role of various healthcare providers in provision of health services in a remote rural area in Bangladesh. [from abstract]

The World Health Organization has suggested a minimum target for all countries: 2.3 health professionals per 1,000 people. Many countries cannot afford to meet the target; in fact, funding the proposed number of health workers would require some countries to devote 50 percent of their gross domestic product to health. We offer an alternative solution that would allow governments to set targets that are realistic and achievable within their financial constraints. [from abstract]

This study aimed to identify the determinants of job motivation among physicians, a neglected perspective, especially in developing countries. [from abstract]

This study evaluated the effect of malaria rapid diagnostic tests on health workers anti-malarial drug prescriptions among outpatients at low level health care facilities within different malaria epidemiological settings in Uganda. [from abstract]

In South Africa the need to integrate HIV, TB and STI programmes has been recognised at a policy and organisation level; the challenge is now one of translating policies into relevant actions and monitoring implementation to ensure that the anticipated benefits of integration are achieved. This research set out to determine how middle level managers could be empowered to monitor the implementation of an effective, integrated HIV/TB/STI service. [from abstract]

This study assessed community acceptability of the use of rapid diagnostic tests by Ugandan community health workers, locally referred to as community medicine distributors. [from abstract]

A subset of private health organizations, some called social enterprises, have developed novel approaches to increase the availability, affordability and quality of health care services to the poor through innovative health service delivery models. This study aims to characterize these models and identify areas of innovation that have led to effective provision of care for the poor. [from abstract]

The primary goal of this paper is to use interview data to explore physicians’ self reported coping strategies. In addition, questionnaire data is utilized to explore the degree to which the coping strategies are used and are associated with feelings of emotional exhaustion, a key symptom of burnout. [from abstract]

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a clinically relevant educational program to enhance the language proficiency and professionalism of international medical graduates in a Canadian context. [adapted from introduction]

The author looks at the implications and the training needs of task shifting. [adapted from author]

Against the background of the development of palliative care in Austria the authors undertook this survey to identify the preferences of the general pracitioners’ and nurses’ regarding the specific design of training seminars in palliative care. We wanted to gain a better insight into which educational topics, timeframe, location and group designs are likely to attract a majority of different professional groups. [from author]

Since wikis depend on collaborators to keep content up-to-date, healthcare professionals who use wikis must adopt behaviors that foster this collaboration. This protocol describes the methods we will use to develop and test the metrological qualities of a questionnaire that will assess healthcare professionals’ intentions and the determinants of those intentions to use wiki-based reminders that promote best practices in trauma care. [from abstract]

Low uptake of voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) in sub-Saharan Africa is raising acceptability concerns which might be associated with ways by which it is offered. This study investigated the acceptability of home-based delivery of counselling and HIV testing in urban and rural populations in Zambia where VCT has been offered mostly from local clinics. [from abstract]