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- HRH Overview Documents
Planning
Planejamento de recursos humanos de enfermagem: desafio para as lideranças
Propõe-se um ensaio das questões que envolvem o planejamento de recursos humanos de enfermagem na área hospitalar em nossa realidade, abordando possíveis temas para futuras pesquisas. Traça-se uma retrospectiva da evolução das pesquisas sobre dimensionamento de pessoal no país e a incorporação de novos instrumentos para avaliação da carga de trabalho com base no grau de dependência dos pacientes e nas ações de cuidado.
- 6 reads
Human Resource and Funding Constraints for Essential Surgery in District Hospitals in Africa: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Survey
While constrained health budgets and health worker shortages have been blamed for the low rates of surgery, there has been little empirical data on the providers of surgery and cost of surgical services in Africa. This study described the range of providers of surgical care and anesthesia and estimated the resources dedicated to surgery at district hospitals in three African countries. [from abstract]
- 22 reads
Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Smear-Positive Tuberculosis Treatment by Health Extension Workers in Southern Ethiopia: A Community Randomized Trial
In this study, we aimed to determine the cost and cost-effectiveness of involving health extension workers in tuberculosis treatment in Southern Ethiopia. This paper presents an ancillary cost-effectiveness analysis of data from a randomized control trial. [adapted from introduction]
- 5161 reads
Financing and Economic Aspects of Health Workforce Scale-Up and Improvement: Framework Paper
This paper identifies key considerations for countries and policymakers planning the financing of their health workforce, and is based on an extensive review and synthesis of the literature, research findings, and experience on the financing and economic aspects of health workforce scale-up and improvement. [from author]
- 157 reads
What Countries Can Do Now: Twenty-Nine Actions to Scale-Up and Improve the Health Workforce
This document explains seven financing and economic issues that matter for health workforce scale-up and financing. It then states twenty-nine actions that policy-makers could take right away to address the issues, independent of any long-term HRH interventions in progress. [from introduction]
- 187 reads
Evaluation of a Rapid Workforce Expansion Strategy: the Kenya Emergency Hiring Plan
This evaluation presents the results of a Kenyan emergency hiring plan (EHP) to quickly hire, train and deploy workers to high-need areas. The report presents the tracked hiring, training and deployment of all new hires compared to identified gaps. It also contains facility statistics and new hire and coworker feedback in a sample of ten facilities at baseline and every six months for period of three years. [adapted from summary]
- 189 reads
Planning the Development of Human Resources for Health for Implementation of the Stop TB Strategy: a Handbook
This handbook provides background information on the current workforce situation in the health sector and summarizes the issues and challenges; introduces the HRH Action Framework and the Stop TB (tuberculosis) Strategy; applies the Framework to human resource development (HRD) for comprehensive TB control; describes how to prepare a strategic plan for HRD in support of comprehensive TB control; and gives a step-by-step guide on how to develop HRD plans based on the structures and processes described. [adapted from introduction]
- 252 reads
Macroeconomic and Fiscal Issues in Scaling Up Human Resources for Health in Low-Income Countries
This background paper to the World Health Report 2006 discusses the fiscal and macroeconomic implications associated with scaling up health workforce capacity. While these general issues and concepts are relevant in all setting, the focus of the discussion is on low-income countries and sub-Saharan Africa in particular. [from publisher]
- 268 reads
Will There Be Enough People to Care? Notes on Workforce Implications of Demographic Change 2005-2050
This background paper to the World Health Report 2006 aims to calculate the workforce implications of demographic changes by projecting future health workforces for developed economies, including Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada. [from publisher]
- 168 reads
Measuring Expenditure for the Health Workforce: Evidence and Challenges
Managing health workforce expenditure requires the generation of evidence in order to support informed policy decisions. This background paper for the World Health Report 2006 takes a step forward in exploring HRH expenditures and presents the results of a first measurement for the health workforce in WHO Member States in the years 1998–2003. [from publisher]
- 206 reads
Counting Health Workers: Definitions, Data, Methods and Global Results
This background paper to the World Health Report 2006 describes the approaches followed in assembling the global database as well as some preliminary analysis of the content of the source data. The broad picture of health workers worldwide is examined and some useful strategies for improving health workforce statistics are highlighted. [from publisher]
- 187 reads
WISN Toolkit: Toolkit for Implementing Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) to Improve Health Workforce Planning and Management in Decentralized Health Systems
The Toolkit is adapted from the WHO WISN Manual. WISN has traditionally been in a top down approach with limited success, particularly when applying it within the context of a decentralized government system. It was recognized that a more innovative approach was required to implement the methodology successfully at decentralized levels. [from author]
- 624 reads
National Trends in the United States of America Physician Assistant Workforce from 1980 to 2007
The physician assistant (PA) profession is a nationally recognized medical profession in the United States of America. The authors examined the 1980-2007 US census data to determine the demographic distribution of the PA workforce and PA-to-population relationships. Maps were developed to provide graphical display of the data. [adapted from abstract]
- 177 reads
Health Workforce Development in the Cuban Health System
A well trained and well managed workforce is crucial for facilitating access to good quality health services. This brief article examines the development of the health workforce and the systems that support them in Cuba. [adapted from author]
- 284 reads
Are Vaccination Programmes Delivered by Lay Health Workers Cost-Effective? A Systematic Review
This paper reviews the costs and cost-effectiveness of vaccination programme interventions involving lay or community health workers. [from abstract]
- 242 reads
Assessment of Interactions between Global Health Initiatives and Country Health Systems
Some critics have claimed that disease-specific global health initiatives (GHIs) burden health systems that are already fragile in countries with few resources, whereas others have asserted that weak health systems prevent progress in meeting disease-specific targets. We use a review and analysis of existing data, and 15 new studies to describe the complex nature of the interplay between country health systems and GHIs. There are sections that specifically address the human resources for health and health information systems impacts. [from author]
- 255 reads
Joint External Evaluation of the Health Sector in Tanzania: Draft Report
This evaluation focused on the relevance of the health sector strategic and implementation plans to the achievement of the the MDGs in health; the extent of progress and achievements in the health sector reform process; achievements in improving acces, service quality and health outcomes; and changes in partnership activities. Section 8 examines how effectively the health sector has dealt with important issues in HRH during the evaluation period. [adapted from author]
- 347 reads
Estimation of Physician Supply by Speciality and the Distribution Impact of Increasing Female Physcians in Japan
Japan has experienced two large changes which affect the supply and distribution of physicians. They are increases in medical school enrollment capacity and in the proportion of female physicians. The purpose of this study is to estimate the future supply of physicians by specialty and to predict the associated impact of increased female physicians, as well as to discuss the possible policy implications. [from abstract]
- 257 reads
Annual Report 2008/2009 (South Africa)
The report reflects the key milestones achieved by the department in its quest to improve the health status of South Africans, through the delivery of accessible, caring and good quality services. Most importantly, the report also reflects the department’s limitations and constraints encountered during the reporting period, which will have to be addressed going forward. [from foreword]
- 362 reads
Health Sector Strategic Plan II (Uganda)
The Health Sector Strategic Plan II 2005/06 – 2009/10 represents a consolidation and extension of the achievements of HSSP I and focuses on health promotion and prevention, including the provision of basic curative services. The HSSP II emphasizes the role of communities/households and individuals ownership for health and health services and defines the planned investments for achieving an optimal balance for scaling up the priority interventions within the available resource envelope.[adapted from summary]
- 3521 reads
Guidelines on Planning Human Resources for Nursing
The purpose of these guidelines is to assist nurse leaders in strengthening the management of their professional workforce and, through this, to assist in strengthening health care delivery and strategies for improving health. [from author]
- 470 reads
Estimating the True Shortfall of Medical Practitioners in Rural India
A researcher from the University of Surrey (UK) proposes a basic framework for estimating relative shortages of medical personnel in rural and urban areas of developing countries. The author distinguishes between qualified doctors, trained non-doctors and untrained non-doctors. Using data for Ujjain district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, the author then estimates their impact on the quality of health care available. [from author]
- 387 reads
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]
- 389 reads
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]
- 450 reads
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.
- 666 reads
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.
- 424 reads
Methods for Evaluating Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of a Skilled Care Initiative in Rural Burkino Faso
This paper aims to describe the design, methods and approaches used to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the skilled care initiative in reducing pregnancy-related and perinatal mortality in Ouargaye district, Burkina Faso. [from summary]
- 718 reads
Staffing Needs for Quality Perinatal Care in Tanzania
In Tanzania maternal and perinatal mortalities and morbidities are problems of public health importance, and have been linked to the shortage of skilled staff. We quantified the available workforce and the required nursing staff for perinatal care in 16 health institutions in Dar es Salaam. [from abstract]
- 355 reads
Challenges at Work and Financial Rewards to Stimulate Longer Workforce Participation
Because of the demographic changes, appropriate measures are needed to prevent early exit from work and to encourage workers to prolong their working life. The aims of this study were to examine the reasons for voluntary early retirement, the reasons for continuing working life after the official retirement age and the predictive value of the reasons mentioned. [adapted from abstract]
- 382 reads
Faculties of Medicine: Important Contributors to Health Human Resource Planning in Canada
This article suggests that because they are already heavily involved in meeting the HRH needs of the citizenry, Canadian medical faculties are extrememly well-positioned to actively participate in HRH planning. [adapted from abstract]
- 2857 reads

