Supervision

Primary Health Care Supervision in Developing Countries

The objectives of this article were summarise opinion about what supervision of primary health care is by those advocating it; compare these features with reports describing supervision in practice; and to appraise the evidence of the effects of sector performance. [adapted from summary]

Implementation of Performance Support Approaches in Central America and Uganda

The Capacity Project worked with governments and partners in Central America and Uganda to test approaches for strengthening supervision systems in the health sector, as one component of the Project’s workforce performance support strengthening. [from summary]

Supporting Health Worker Performance with Effective Supervision

This brief includes the results of the Project’s performance support (PS) interventions, and discusses factors that contributed to those results. The brief shares the common intervention model, analyzes the variations in content, context and methods of the interventions and discusses how similarities and differences played a role in the results. Finally, the brief includes recommendations for implementing and scaling up PS interventions. [from author]

New Strategies for Supervision

This presentation outlines a new vision of supportive supervision that is an ongoing process, forges relationships within the system and reinforces quality outcomes at all levels. [adapted from author]

Modern Supervision in Action: a Practical Guide for Midwives

The aims of this publication are to encourage midwives and student midwives to make the most of supervision by working in partnership with their supervisor; provide clear information about the supervisory process and the interface between supervision and midwifery practice; and inform midwives and student midwives about the changing role of the supervisor of midwives. [from introduction]

Integrated Supervision Checklist

The checklist has been developed to guide those officers who conduct supervision as part of their responsibilities at the various levels of the health delivery system in Malawi. [from author]

Decentralized Supervision of Community Health Programs: Using LQAS in Two Districts of Southern Nepal

This chapter is an excerpt from “Community-Based Health Care: Lessons from Bangladesh to Boston.” Using tools of statistical quality control, simple field epidemiology can both motivate and lead community health efforts to achieve higher coverage of essential services. Even basic health workers can measure their accomplishments, which motivates all involved to strive toward agreed-upon goals. The importance of repeated measurement at the local level is well illustrated in this chapter. [adapted from author]

Facilitative Supervision for Quality Improvement: a Curriculum

This curriculum focuses on the fundamentals of quality health care services in presenting an approach to supervision that emphasizes mentoring, joint problem solving, and two-way communication. It is meant to be used by trainers who introduce the facilitative approach to supervision to supervisors from different levels of the health system: on-site and off-site supervisors, including medical and nonmedical supervisors. [from publisher]

Supportive Supervision to Sustain Health Worker Capacity in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and North Sumatera

This brief describes PATH’s project to implement supportive supervision techniques to improve health worker training in Indonesia.

Improving Quality of Reproductive Health Care in Senegal Through Formative Supervision: Results from Four Districts

In Senegal, traditional supervision often focuses more on collection of service statistics than on evaluation of service quality. This approach yields limited information on quality of care and does little to improve providers’ competence. In response to this challenge, Management Sciences for Health (MSH) has implemented a program of formative supervision. This multifaceted, problem-solving approach collects data on quality of care, improves technical competence, and engages the community in improving reproductive health care. [abstract]

Supervisor Competency Self-Assessment Inventory

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]

Clinical Supervision in the Workplace: Guidance for Occupational Nurses

This leaflet has been designed as an introduction to clinical supervision. It aims to stimulate ideas and to encourage occupational health nurses to set up supervision practice in their workplaces. Clinical supervision isn’t a management tool, but can be used as a support and prompt to professional practice in a creative way. [from introduction]

Maximizing Access and Quality through Management and Supervision

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]

Facilitative Supervision: An Example of Strengthening Leadership & Management for Health Action

As part of the East, Central and Southern African College of Nursing’s 7th Scientific Conference, this presentation introduces the facilitative approach to supervision, which aims to improve providers’ performance and the quality of health care services.

Participatory Supervision with Provider Self-Assessment Improves Doctor-Patient Communication in Rural Mexico

In this setting, physicians were already making site visits to clinics to monitor technical standards of care. An intervention was designed to reinforce doctors’ interpersonal communication (IPC) training. Under the intervention, doctors received IPC job aids, self-assessment forms, and tape recorders. They taped themselves during consultations and assessed their skills from the recordings, using the forms and in consultation with their supervisors. The self-assessment form and the supervisor assessment form were modified to be reproduced in this report. [publisher’s description]

Family Planning Manager's Handbook

The Family Planning Manager’s Handbook is a standard text in management training courses around the world and has received wide recognition as a practical guide for managers of health and family planning programs. [publisher’s description]

Impact of Supervision on Stock Management and Adherence to Treatment Guidelines: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Ensuring the availability of essential drugs and using them appropriately are crucial if limited resources for health care are to be used optimally. While training of health workers throughout Zimbabwe in drug management (including stock management and rational drug use) resulted in significant improvements in a variety of drug use indicators, these achievements could not be sustained, and a new strategy was introduced based on the supervision of primary health care providers.

Beyond the Clinic Walls

This book contains a series of case studies which depict the management issues a family planning organization faces in designing and implementing a new community-based distribution (CBD) program for contraceptives. The cases, which take place in a fictional country Momonboro, are based on an actual program initiated in an African country, and reflect the problems and successes which that program experienced.

Nine Step Guide to Implementing Clinic Supervision

There is no doubt that one of the most effective ways of improving quality of health care at district level, is by means of clinic supervision. To that end, the Clinic Supervisor’s Manual is being used to implement supervision throughout health districts in South Africa. This booklet is a simple tool which guides the effective use of the Clinic Supervisor’s Manual in addition to guiding the day to day activities involved in supervision towards successful and improved outcomes. It is envisaged that clinic supervisors, programme managers, sub-district and district managers will benefit from reading and using The Nine Step Guide to Clinic Supervision.

Perspectives about and Models for Supervision in the Health Professions

This presentation is from a Capacity Project sponsored interactive workshop to consider fresh perspectives on supportive supervision, exploring alternative approaches to the standard visiting-supervisor model from within and outside the international health care sector.

Supervision Training: Some Lessons from Kenya

This presentation is from a Capacity Project sponsored interactive workshop to consider fresh perspectives on supportive supervision, exploring alternative approaches to the standard visiting-supervisor model from within and outside the international health care sector.

Leadership for Performance Improvement: a New Approach for Supervision

This presentation is from a Capacity Project sponsored interactive workshop to consider fresh perspectives on supportive supervision, exploring alternative approaches to the standard visiting-supervisor model from within and outside the international health care sector. The presentation discusses a leadership approach to supervision.

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Visiting Supervisor Model: What is the Evidence?

This presentation is from a Capacity Project sponsored interactive workshop to consider fresh perspectives on supportive supervision, exploring alternative approaches to the standard visiting-supervisor model from within and outside the international health care sector.

Technical Review of Health Service Delivery at District Level

The 2003 technical review report covers only one main strategy: district health services. It looks at district health service performance from the viewpoint of Council Health Management Teams (CHMT) and LG. The report presents a short general appraisal of district health services (section 1). Planning and budgeting for better health (section 2) looks at what the requirements are for a performing planning and budgeting process (section 2.1, including guidelines and process) and what information should be available at council level to develop a comprehensive council health plan (section 2.2). Issues related to implementing the council health plan (section 3) include financial resources (3.1), non-financial resources (3.2), systems development (3.3) and service delivery (3.4).

Supporting Staff Through Effective Supervision: How to Assess, Plan and Implement More Effective Clinic Supervision

This Kwik-Skwiz addresses the important area of clinic supervision. This document is aimed at district management teams; clinic supervisors and program managers may find it especially useful. Key areas of effective supervision are presented with the aim of assisting district management teams to critically assess clinic supervision in your district. [author’s description]

Defining a Performance Improvement Intervention for Kenya Reproductive Health Supervisors: Results of a Performance Analysis

The competency-based approach used in JHPIEGO-supported training improves performance by ensuring that trainees go back to their worksites with the knowledge and skills required to provide FP services. Once back at the workplace, however, participants often face constraints that limit their ability to provide quality services. Factors that can affect the performance of the healthcare provider include: job expectations, performance feedback, supplies and equipment, motivation, possessing the knowledge and skills to provide services, and supervision.

Facilitative Supervision Handbook

The handbook includes descriptions of the facilitative approach to supervision and the roles and characteristics of facilitative supervisors in involving staff in the QI process, leading staff through change, creating a nonthreatening environment, and helping staff use data for decision making. [publisher’s description]

Facilitative Supervision: a Vital Link in Quality Reproductive Health Service Delivery

AVSC defines facilitative supervision as an approach to supervision that emphasizes mentoring, joint problem solving, and two-way communication between the supervisor and those being supervised. This definition recognizes that supervisors play an essential role as intermediaries who can facilitate the implementation of institutional goals and who can facilitate local-level problem solving and quality improvement. The aim is to focus attention on a key concept of supervision, joint problem solving, and to remind us that traditional inspection alone is not conducive to helping sites achieve continuous quality improvement.

Challenge of Integrated Supervision of Vertical Health Programs in Cambodia

This presentation was part of the International Conference on Global Health session, “Integration and Application: Successes and Challenges in Health-Worker Training.” It talks about the need for supervision, the supervisory problems at the Health Center, the approaches taken to address the problem, improving supervisor skills, and monitoring.

Formative Supervision of Reproductive Health Care in Senegal: Results from 5 Districts

This presentation was part of the International Conference on Global Health session, “Integration and Application: Successes and Challenges in Health-Worker Training.” It presents the results of a study done in Senegal to evaluate the formative supervision program and its impact on the quality of reproductive health care.