Documents & Reports

Working in Health: Financing and Managing the Public Sector Health Workforce

This book examines two key health workforce policy questions: the impact of government wage bill policies on the size of the health wage bill and on the health workforce staffing levels in the public sector; and if current human resource management policies and practices lead to strategic use of health wage bill resources in the public sector. [from foreword]

2009 FIP Global Pharmacy Workforce Report

This report expands on the findings of the first 2006 report to examine the workforce situation in more countries, describe significant trends which continue to face workforce development and identify pertinent challenges which must be addressed in order to ensure the equitable access and appropriate use of safe, effective and quality medicines as well as pharmaceutical services. This report also draws on the country experiences relating to workforce development in seven countries to explore the challenges and strategies employed to address these and their outcomes. [from forword]

Health Sector Strategic Plan II 2009-2012 (Rwanda)

The Health Sector Strategic Plan II is a three year strategic plan that will guide all interventions in the Rwandan health sector for July 2009 - June 2012. The plan details the direction the health sector will take in the next three years, the achievements and outcomes that will be attained and the interventions that will be undertaken to make sure these targets are met.

Nursing the Future: E-Learning and Clinical Care in Kenya

This document chronicles the evolution of e-learning among nurses in Kenya. It charts the obstacles - a shortage of qualified tutors, the scarcity of clinical placements - and the priorities to overcome them. [adapted from author]

Bridging the Gaps: Improving Decentralized HIV Services in Panama

This version of Voices reveals how hospital staff are using the Project’s performance improvement approach to strengthen comprehensive HIV care. [adapted from author]

Continuing Professional Development Accreditation System for Uganda

This publication outlines the processes to be followed by the Uganda Health Continuing Professional Development (CDP) Accreditation Agency, providers of CPD and health professionals applying for relicensure after CPD training.

Provision of Emergency Contraceptive Services through Paraprofessionals in India

This two-year study to assessed the usefulness and effectiveness of using paraprofessionals in educating and providing emergency contraceptive pill services to potential users. [from summary]

Integrating Family Planning and VCT Services in Ethiopia: Experiences of Health Care Providers

This study was undertaken primarily to understand what effect the efforts to integrate family planning and VCT services in health facilities had on health care providers’ work and service delivery practices in two regions of Ethiopia. [from summary]

Integrating Family Planning and HIV Services Improves Service Quality

This study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of two models for integrating HIV prevention services, including counseling and testing, within established family planning programs, and evaluated their quality against the standard practice. [from author]

Quality Improvement Handbook for Primary Health Care

This handbook contains the complete set of resources and tools required to introduce and maintain a performance and quality improvement process at primary health care centers in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan including: facilitator’s guide; performance improvement review process and tools; monitoring and support guide; and monitoring tools and forms handbook. [adapted from introduction]

Stigma and Discrimination in HIV Counseling and Testing Services in the Private Health Sector in Guatemala: A Qualitative Study

This document discusses the outcomes of a qualitative study to describe the knowledge and practices of private clinic and laboratory service providers regarding HIV and HIV counseling and testing.

The study also identifies the characteristics of the stigma that private service providers place on female sex workers, men who have sex with men, people living with HIV/AIDS and describes the experiences of these groups regarding private counseling and testing services. [adapted from executive summary]

Impact of a Quality Improvement Package on the Quality of Reproductive Health Services Delivered by Private Providers in Uganda

This document details the results of a study to determine whether a quality improvement package designed to enable small-scale commercial reproductive health service providers to improve the quality of services provided through self-assessment, action-planning, and supervisors’ support is effective in improving service quality. [adapted from sbatract]

Assessing the Role of the Private Health Sector in HIV/AIDS Service Delivery in Ethiopia

This study seeks to assess the role of private health facilities and pharmacies in HIV/AIDS service delivery in Ethiopia, and specifically to identify factors that could enable greater involvement of this sector in addressing the HIV epidemic.

Human Resources-Geographical Information Systems Data Development and Systems Implementation for the Christian Social Services Commission of Tanzania: Final Report

Current estimates indicate that between 30% and 70% of health care services in Africa are operated by faith-based organizations. However, these resources are not effectively integrated into national health information systems. While most partners providing health care in sub-Saharan Africa agree that FBOs play an important role in providing health services, there are few comprehensive data about the scope and scale of their contribution. This document details a project to collect facility location and personnel information to support the mapping and database development processes.

From Kampala to the Districts: Linking Data, Saving Lives

This video and its accompanying paper describe the experiences of two Ugandan nurses in coping with staff shortages and challenging conditions, as well as the use of data by the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council to support the country's health workers and improve health care in the districts. [adapted from description]

Impact of the AIDS Pandemic on Health Services in Africa: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys

This paper documents the impact of the AIDS crisis on non-AIDS related health services in fourteen sub-Saharan African countries. [from introduction]

Connecting Regions, Leading the Way: Sharing Health Worker Information in Namibia

Information on a country’s health workers is essential for planning and decision-making. The Capacity Project met with key decision-makers in Namibia to assess their information needs. This document describes the outcome and its impact on the Namibian health workforce. [adapted from author]

Impact of HIV/AIDS on Human Resources for Health in Tanzania

This study sought to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on the human resources in the health sector in Tanzania, to provide up to date and specific data on the needs and the supply of human resources in the health sector, and to inform the formulation of strategies for strengthening human resources in the health sector. [from summary]

Migration of Health Care Workers: Creative Solutions to Manage Health Workforce Migration

This paper details the conclusions of a June 2004 Seminar on Health and Migration on the topic of migration of health care workers.

Equity in Health Sector Responses to HIV/AIDS in Malawi

This technical paper analyzes the equity issues in HIV/AIDS health sector responses
in Malawi, including access to ART. [from executive summary]

Operations Manual for Delivery of HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment at Primary Health Centers in High-Prevalence, Resource-Constrained Settings

The operations manual provides guidance on planning and delivering HIV prevention, care, and treatment services at health centres in countries with high HIV prevalence. It provides an operational framework to ensure that HIV services can be provided in an integrated, efficient and quality-assured manner. [from introduction]

Building Capacity to Save Women's Lives in Mali

The Capacity Project partnered with the Ministry of Health and other organizations to perform a pilot study to demonstrate the efficiency and the safety of matrones using active management of the third stage of labor with skilled birth attendants who were authorized to perform the practice and assessed factors that could affect their ability. [from author]

New Era: Health Information Resource Centers in Southern Sudan

In Southern Sudan, the Capacity Project is strengthening the Ministry of Health’s ability to hire, train and manage a high-quality health workforce. Opened in May 2008, the Project-supported resource center provides hospital staff, medical students and Ministry of Health personnel with print and electronic materials, library services, Internet access and computer training. [adapted from author]

Improving the Quality of Health Care When Health Workers are in Short Supply

A number of low- and middle-income countries have a severe shortage of health workers. This paper studies how health workers’ choices of labour supply and work effort impact on the quality of health services when health workers are in short supply. [from abstract]

Rwanda: Performance-Based Financing in the Public Sector

Rwanda is one of the pioneers of performance-based financing. Building on lessons from three donor-financed pilots, the government has assumed leadership for this approach and is scaling up a standardized model nationwide. [from author]

Building Canadian Public Health Nursing Capacity: Implications for Action

The purpose of this research was to assist public health policy makers and managers to develop programs and policies to enhance the effectiveness of Public Health Nurse (PHN) services. The research question was, “What organizational attributes support PHNs to practice their full scope of competencies?” [adapted from author]

Health and Fragile States

With some of the worst health indicators and the least adequate health services in the world, providing health services and rebuilding health systems in fragile states is a complex undertaking. This health and fragile states dossier highlights the challenges and approaches to delivering health services in fragile states. [from publisher]

Case for a National Health Information System Architecture; a Missing Link to Guiding National Development and Implementation

Developing countries and the global network of donors, programs and NGOs agree that health systems need to become stronger if gains in health are to be achieved and sustained. A major factor contributing to this current situation is that the excessive burden of data collection falls to health workers. A national health information system capable of supporting day-to-day management, long-term planning, and policy development for the entire national health system is required. [adapted from abstract]

Men and Care in the Context of HIV and AIDS: Structure, Political Will and Greater Male Involvement

AIDS is a long and debilitating illness that renders patients unable to fend for themselves. In wealthy countries, health systems provide much of the necessary care; in the developing world, however, the burden is taken up by family and community members, a large majority of whom are women. This paper outlines some of the causes of this imbalance and makes recommendations for governments as they attempt to address the problem. [adapted from introduction]