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This brief outlines the teaching of management theory in a training centre for government health workers in Peshawar, Pakistan. The study finds that imposing western principles of management is often inappropriate. Training must build on the strengths and address the weaknesses of local management styles in a sensitive manner. [from author]

This report outlines a rapid descriptive assessment to gain an initial understanding of the management workforce for service delivery in Ethipia, Ghana and Tanzania and to test selected criteria for assessing managers as part of the health workforce. [adapted from summary]

This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders. [adapted from abstract]

This issue explores the Management Sciences for Health’s Virtual Leadership Development Program, which was designed to strengthen the leadership capacity of health teams to produce organizational results. [adapted from author]

This study aims to undertake a national assessment of existing district management structures, competencies and current training programmes in order to inform a national strategy and plan to strengthen district management capacity to ensure effective delivery of primary health care in South Africa. [from introduction]

Traditionally, faith-based health organisations have been important health care providers in many remote and other under-serviced areas. Currently, these facilities bear the brunt of the competition for scarce human resources. It is important for faith-based organisations to learn from recent experiences and from the creative ways in which colleagues seek to retain their health workers and improve quality of human resource management. The accompanying guide contains case studies based on Quest for Quality for in-country discussion. [from preface]

Nurses and managers interviewed in Cape Town primary care facilities share their insights, experiences and how they cope with the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [from introduction]

This document details the specific hiring criteria for directors as established by the Health Services division of the Ghana Ministry of Health.

Strong leadership and management skills are crucial to finding solutions to the human resource crisis in health. Health professionals and human resource (HR) managers worldwide who are in charge of addressing HR challenges in health systems often lack formal education in leadership and management. The Virtual Leadership Development Program is a web-based leadership development program that combines face-to-face and distance learning methodologies to strengthen the capacity of teams to identify and address health challenges and produce results. [adapted from abstract]

Interviews were conducted with staff of 4 hospitals thought to be functioning relatively well. The purpose of this study was to understand some of the factors contributing to the relative success of 4 South African distric hospitals, in order to share lessons learned with other institutions. A number of key factors were identified through this process, many of which relate to the performance, management and interactions of the health workers, which appear to be important in effective functioning of district hospitals. [adapted from summary]

This paper argues that stronger and values-based public sector management and leadership is essential in building health systems that better address health inequities. It identifies the particular competencies of public sector managers and reviews evidence on how these competencies can be developed. Renewing the values base of public health system managers and professionals is an important requirement. [from summary]

The issue of The Manager focuses on designing and improving a package of HIV-related services using a conceptual framework called the Functional Service Delivery Point. The framework can help managers to identify the characteristics that make HIV-related services functional and to deliver these services with strong community and management support. [from editor]

Management Sciences for Health has developed an approach to helping managers become more like coaches, which has proven successful in various settings. This issue of the eManager will help you examine your managerial practices and give you the tools to expand your role from manager to manager as coach.

This presentation was given at the First Forum on Human Resources for Health in Kampala. It defines health leadership and management, why strengthening it is important, the lessons learned so far, and the main components and uses of the WHO framework. [adapted from author]

This presentation was given at the First Forum on Human Resources for Health in Kampala. It gives definitions and frameworks, core competencies needed, examples of good practice, observations and future directions. [adapted from author]

In an initiative to collate experiences on management development in low resource settings, WHO carried out case studies to explore management development approaches and how these impacted managerial and service delivery performance. [adapted from author]

The Institute of Health Management Research conceived an operational research project to develop and test key management interventions in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the district health system and services at the district level. [from author]

This study evaluated the skills and competency levels of hospital managers in South Africa to determine whether there are any significant differences between managers in the public and private sectors. The results show that managers in the private sector perceived themselves to be significantly more competent than their public sector colleagues in most of the management facets. Public sector managers were also more likely than their private sector colleagues to report that they required further development and training. [adapted from abstract]

A study was undertaken in Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador to determine the impact of a management training program on health managers’ job performance. Factors associated with a successful training outcome were training techniques, strengthening of enabling factors, and reinforcement mechanisms. [adapted from abstract]

This Self-Assessment Inventory outlines the major areas of competence an effective supervisor must have. The competency areas are sub-divided into categories which correspond to the major functions supervisors perform. Its primary use is as a self-assessment tool. Individuals are encouraged to use it to assess their competence and performance as supervisors and use the results to develop a plan for improvement. This Inventory can also be used as a guide to curriculum development for Supervisory Training, using the components as the basis for a needs assessment exercise. [purpose]

The purpose and objectives of this study are to examine the extent to which the manager’s span of control influences nurse, patient, and unit outcomes; and investigate which particular leadership style contributes to optimum nurse, patient, and unit outcomes under differing spans of control. [author’s description]

The main purpose of this chapter is thus to develop a dynamic and unified framework for describing and analysing the role of the health care manager in a changing Europe. The chapter also attempts to combine the construction of this theoretical model with its application, drawing on empirical work in different European countries to illustrate the challenges and opportunities arising from the various elements of health care reform. [from introduction]

This report is based on deliberations from an international consultation on strengthening leadership and management as an essential component to scaling health services to reach the Millennium Development Goals. The focus was on low-income countries though the principles discussed concerned leadership and management in other settings as well. The report describes a technical framework adopted by the consultation for approaching management development and sets out key principles for sustained and effective capacity building. [author’s description]

Achieving the health Millennium Development Goals will require a significant scaling up of health service delivery in many countries. The number of competent managers will also have to be scaled up at the same time – managers are an essential resource for ensuring that priority needs are met and resources are used effectively. This study describes various management strengthening activities in 3 countries – South Africa, Togo and Uganda. [from executive summary]

Population-based healthcare has become the focus of healthcare services around the world so there is an ever-increasing need to train and support nurse managers who can led and nurture nurses as they work towards providing optimum levels of satisfaction and safety in the care they give to their patients. [abstract]

The objectives of this presentation are to provide participants with an understanding of the role of leaders and managers in promoting quality services and to have participants identify action steps/interventions to promote quality at different levels of the health system. [from author’s description]

This issue of The Manager shows how health managers, though faced with multiple challenges of decentralization, can redefine their roles and responsibilities to better support both the people they serve and the staff at management levels closest to the population. It shows how health managers can adopt leadership practices to carry out their new roles and ultimately make decentralization work. [editor’s description]

This issue of The Manager will help managers at all levels understand the principles of local-level performance assessment and improvement. It also presents the concept of essential public health functions as a useful policy framework for decentalizing service management while maintaining and improving the coverage and quality of services. [editor’s description]

This issue of The Manager focuses mainly on leading changes in practices that improve health, rather than on overall strategic and structural change. The issue can help health managers work with a team as change agents to address community and organizational challenges that require a change in clinical or management practices.

This publication is an effort to respond to the different needs for capacity building in management and implementation of health programmes and delivery of essential services. It reflects the thinking acquired from experience working with health sector reforms being implemented in the African Region. The District Health Management Training modules cover the principles that are applicable across the Region and are meant to guide and strengthen the management capacity of district health management teams. [author’s description]