Journal Articles

Antiretroviral Treatment and the Health Workforce in South Africa: How Have ART Workers Been Affected by Scaling Up?

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of scaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART) on the working environment and motivation of health workers in South Africa; and to suggest strategies to minimize negative effects and maximise positive effects. [from summary]

What Impact Do Global Health Initiatives Have on Human Resources for Antiretroviral Treatment Roll-Out? A Qualitative Policy Analysis of Implementation Processes in Zambia

Zambia, like many of the countries heavily affected by HIV and AIDS in southern Africa, also faces a shortage of human resources for health. The country receives significant amounts of funding from GHIs for the large-scale provision of antiretroviral treatment through the public and private sector. This paper examines the impact of GHIs on human resources for ART roll-out in Zambia, at national level, in one province and two districts. [from abstract]

Current Status of Human Resources and Training in Hospital Pharmacy

The lack of adequate national pharmacy work-force plans and the reluctance of health authorities to develop these and resource their implementation, particularly for services beyond supply chain management, may be due to the scarcity or lack of an appropriate human resource information system and evidence base. Compared with other health professions, pharmacy is severely lagging in developing an evidence base related to its education and work-force development.

Specialist Training in Fiji: Why do Graduates Migrate, and Why do They Remain? A Qualitative Study

Losses of graduates from the Fiji School of Medicine to overseas migration and to the local private sector prompted exploration of the reasons for these losses from the Fiji public workforce. This study provides some support for the view that local or regional postgraduate training may increase retention of doctors. Attention to career pathways and other sources of frustration, in addition to encouragement to complete training, should increase the likelihood of such programs reaching their full potentials. [adapted from abstract]

Physician Supply Forecast: Better than Peering in a Crystal Ball?

Anticipating physician supply to tackle future health challenges is a crucial but complex task for policy planners. While there are number of forecasting tools available the methods, advantages and shortcomings of such tools are not straightforward and not always well appraised. This paper attempts to present a typology of existing forecasting approaches and to analyze the methodology-related issues. [adapted from abstract]

Effectiveness of a Training-of-Trainers Model in a HIV Counseling and Testing Program in the Caribbean Region

This study evaluates the effectiveness and sustainability of a voluntary counseling and testing training program based on a training-of-trainers model. [adapted from abstract]

Community Characteristics that Attract Physicians in Japan: a Cross-Sectional Analysis of Community Demographic and Economic Factors

Population size is often correlated with the number of physicians in a community, and is conventionally considered to represent the power of communities to attract physicians. However, associations between other demographic/economic variables and the number of physicians in a community have not been fully evaluated. This study seeks other parameters that correlate with the physician population and show which characteristics of a community determine its attractiveness to physicians. [adapted from abstract]

Changing Nature of Nursing Work in Rural and Small Community Hospitals

This study investigates the influence of demographic characteristics, provincial policies, organizational changes and emerging practice challenges on the rural–urban segments of the Canadian nursing workforce in order to describe the nature of nursing work from the perspective of rural nurse executives and frontline nurses. [adapted from introduction]

Brain Drain and Health Professionals: a Global Problem Needs Global Solutions

Migration of medical professionals from developing countries has become a major concern. This brain drain worsens the already depleted healthcare resources in poor countries and widens the gap in health inequities worldwide. This article makes recommendations regarding the collaboration of international organizations to protect the value of this intellectual property. [adapted from article]

Loss of Health Professionals from Sub-Saharan Africa

The already inadequate health systems of sub-Saharan Africa have been badly damaged by the emigration of their health professionals. This article suggests some practical measures to address the situation. [adapted from summary]

Trends in International Nurse Migration

Predicted shortages and recruitment targets for nurses in developed countries threaten to deplete nurse supply and undermine global health initiatives in developing countries. This article supports a twofold approach involving greater diligence by developing countries in creating a largely sustainable domestic nurse workforce, and their greater investment through international aid in building nursing education capacity in the less developed countries that provide nurses. [adapted from abstract]

Fate and Career Destinations of Doctors who Qualified at Uganda’s Makerere Medical School in 1984: Retrospective Cohort Study

The author presents a report on the career paths taken by graduates of Makerere Medical School in Uganda.

Human Resources and the Quality of Emergency Obstetric Care in Developing Countries: a Systematic Review of the Literature

This paper reports on a systematic literature review exploring the importance of human resources in the quality of emergency obstetric care and thus in the reduction of maternal deaths. [from abstract]

What Impact do Global Health Initiatives Have on Human Resources for Antiretroviral Treatment Roll-Out? A Qualitative Policy Analysis of Implementation Processes in Zambia

This paper examines the impact of Global Health Initiatives on human resources for antiretroviral treatment roll-out in Zambia at a national level, in one province and two districts. [adapted from abstract]

Assessment of the Multidisciplinary Education for a Major Change in Clinical Practice: a Prospective Cohort Study

This study documents and assesses the impact of a major educational and support program on a change in the health service provision of a neonatal intensive care unit. [adapted from abstract]

Patients Consulting Traditional Health Practitioners in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Urban Areas in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

This paper describes the results of a study to assess patients consulting full-time traditional health practitioners (THP) and the THPs' practices after they had been trained on HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infections prevention and care. [adapted from abstract]

Evaluation of a Safer Male Circumcision Training Program for Traditional Surgeons and Nurses in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

This paper describes the results of safer circumcision training designed to improve circumcision knowledge, attitude and practice which was successfully delivered to traditional surgeons and nurses in South Africa. [adapted from abstract]

Traditional Healers and Nurses: a Qualitative Study on Their Role on Sexually Transmitted Infections Including HIV and AIDS in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

This study investigated the role of traditional healers in sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS as well as a collaboration between the traditional and biomedical health care systems as seen by nurses and traditional healers. Qualitative analyses are presented on themes including attitude and respect; collaboration between traditional healers and nurses; control and regulation of traditional health practices; and the training needs of healers and nurses. [adapted from abstract]

Participation of Traditional Birth Attendants in Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Services in Two Rural Districts in Zimbabwe: a Feasibility Study

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV is among the key HIV prevention strategies in Zimbabwe. The main objective of this study was to evaluate acceptability and feasibility of reinforcing the role of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in family and child health services through their participation in PMTCT programmes in Zimbabwe. [from abstract]

Healthcare Workers' Attitudes to Working During Pandemic Influenza: a Qualitative Study

The UK healthcare system's ability to cope during an influenza pandemic will largely depend on the number of healthcare workers (HCWs) who are able and willing to work through the crisis. This paper includes the results of a qualitative study exploring the views of UK HCWs on working during an influenza pandemic in order to identify factors that might influence their willingness and ability to work. [from abstract]

Use of Our Existing Eye Care Human Resources: Assessment of the Productivity of Cataract Surgeons Trained in Eastern Africa

This article measured the productivity of cataract surgeons in Africa and assesses the factors that predict high productivity among surgeons in general. [adapted from abstract]

Measuring and Managing the Work Environment of the Mid-Level Provider: the Neglected Human Resource

Our study aimed to explore a neglected but crucial aspect of human resources for health in Africa: the provision of a work environment that will promote motivation and performance of mid-level providers. This paper explores the work environment of mid-level providers in Malawi, and contributes to the validation of an instrument to measure the work environment of mid-level providers in low income countries. [from abstract]

Work Satisfaction of Professional Nurses in South Africa: a Comparative Analysis of the Public and Private Sectors

Work satisfaction of nurses is important, as there is sufficient empirical evidence to show that it tends to affect individual, organizational and greater health and social outcomes. This paper presents a national study that compares and contrasts satisfaction levels of nurses in both public and private sectors. [from abstract]

Globalization, Migration and Brain Drain: a Reality Check

This paper discusses the pros and cons of health worker migration, describing management methods that are beneficial for both sending and receiving countries. [adapted from abstract]

Challenges of Managing Government-Seconded Health Workers in Private Not-for-Profit Health Facilities of Kibaale District, Uganda

This article describes issues raised by the deployment of civil servants through the public-private partnership for health to work in private-not-for-profit health facilities in Kibaale region of Uganda. [adapted from abstract]

Is it (Not) High Time to Introduce Performance-Based Pay in Uganda's Health System?

This article describes the issues facing Uganda’s health system and presents arguments for and against instituting a performance-based pay system.

Assessment of the Training of the First Intake of Health Extension Workers

Ethiopia’s poor health status is due primarily to communicable diseases, poor nutrition, and lack of access to health services in general and for most of the rural, nomadic pastoralist and fringe areas in particular. In response, the government has launched a Health Extension Program for which training of Health Extension Workers has been started. This study assesses the first year’s training program in terms of its inputs, processes and output. [from abstract]

Human Resource Development for Health in Ethiopia: Challenges of Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

Review of different documents on human resource for health in Ethiopia was undertaken. Generally there is shortage in number of different groups of professionals, maldistribution of professionals between regions, urban and rural setting, and governmental and non governmental/private organizations. A number of measures are being taken to alleviate these problems. The implications of these for human resource development by 2015 are explored briefly. [adapted from abstract]

Accuracy of the Jamaican National Physician Register: a Study of the Status of Physicians Registered and Their Countries of Training

Clinical research activities have suggested that the current records of physicians registered to practice in Jamaica may not be accurate. Our objective was to determine whether the Medical Council of Jamaica (MCJ) accurately records and reports the identities, number and specialty designation of physicians in Jamaica. An additional aim was to determine the countries in which these physicians were trained. [from abstract]

Identification of Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Rehabilitation Professionals in Ontario, Canada: Results from Expert Panels

Health human resource (HHR) strategies for Canadian rehabilitation professionals are lagging behind other professional groups such as physicians and nurses. The objectives of this study were: 1) to identify recruitment and retention strategies of rehabilitation professionals including occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech language pathologists from the literature; and 2) to investigate both the importance and feasibility of the identified strategies using expert panels amongst HHR and education experts. [from abstract]