Journal Articles

Offline eLearning for Undergraduates in Health Professions: A Systematic Review of the Impact on Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Satisfaction

The world is short of 7.2 million health–care workers and this figure is growing. The shortage of teachers is even greater, which limits traditional education modes. eLearning may help overcome this training need. Offline eLearning is useful in remote and resource–limited settings with poor internet access. To inform investments in offline eLearning, we need to establish its effectiveness in terms of gaining knowledge and skills, students’ satisfaction and attitudes towards eLearning. [from abstract]

Is the Alma Ata Vision of Comprehensive Primary Health Care Viable? Findings From an International Project

The 4-year (2007–2011) Revitalizing Health for All international research program supported 20 research teams located in 15 low- and middle-income countries to explore the strengths and weaknesses of comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) initiatives at their local or national levels. Three different reviewers synthesized each final project report through qualitative analysis to gauge equity in access, community empowerment and participation, social and environmental health determinants. {adapted from abstract]

New Nurses Burnout and Workplace Wellbeing: The Influence of Authentic Leadership and Psychological Capital

The detrimental effects of burnout on nurses’ health and wellbeing are well documented and positive leadership has been shown to be an important organizational resource for discouraging the development of burnout. Intrapersonal resources also play a protective role against workplace stressors. This study investigated the influence of authentic leadership, an organizational resource, and psychological capital, an intrapersonal resource, on new graduate burnout, occupational satisfaction, and workplace mental health over the first year of employment (n = 205). [from abstract]

The Impact of Knowledge Management on Organisational Performance

Knowledge management is a process that transforms individual knowledge into organisational knowledge. The aim of this paper is to show that through creating, accumulating, organising and utilising knowledge, organisations can enhance organisational performance. [from abstract]

Task Shifting for Non-Communicable Disease Management in Low and Middle Income Countries – A Systematic Review

One potential solution to limited healthcare access in low and middle income countries (LMIC) is task-shifting- the training of non-physician healthcare workers (NPHWs) to perform tasks traditionally undertaken by physicians. The aim of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of studies involving task-shifting for the management of non-communicable disease (NCD) in LMIC. [from abstract]

Universal health coverage: The way forward

Universal health coverage (UHC) is the means to provide accessible and appropriate health services to all citizens without financial hardships. India, an emerging economy with demographic window of opportunity has been facing dual burden of diseases in midst of multiple transitions. Health situation in the country despite quantum improvements in recent past has enormous challenges with urban-rural and interstate differentials. Successful national programs exists, but lack ability to provide and sustain UHC.[from abstract]

Goal Setting and Knowledge Generation through Health Policy and Systems Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The importance of health policy and systems research (HPSR) and its role in aiding health system reforms has been increasingly recognized in recent years within the World Health Organization (WHO). An assessment of the 71 WHO Country Cooperation Strategies (CCS) that are publicly available and were published in English in 2012 was completed to determine the extent to which HPSR goals are incorporated at the global level. A review was then conducted using a Medline database search to determine the number of articles published by countries with HPSR goals. [from abstract]

Extending the Role of Pharmacists in Patient Care: Are Pharmacists in Developing Nations Ready to Change?

The main aim of this article is to reinforce the concept that there is a need to strengthen the basic pharmaceutical system in the Arab and African world before implementing any advanced clinical pharmacy or pharmaceutical care services to our communities. [from abstract]

Use of ICTs in Preventive Medicine

The focus of this study is to assess development in ICT use in preventive health care systems by examining relevant literature as well as innovations that can be brought in as dividends for desired performance of the medical personnel.[adapted from abstract]

Is There Any Role for Community Involvement in the Community-Based Health Planning and Services Skilled Delivery Program in Rural Ghana?

This paper presents findings from a study designed to assess the extent to which community residents and leaders participated in the skilled delivery program and the specific roles they played in its implementation and effectiveness. [from abstract]

Intimate Partner Violence: How Should Health Systems Respond?

IPV is important to health systems because of the wide-ranging and serious health effects experienced by exposed women, as well as the unique opportunity afforded to healthcare providers to enquire about violence. [from introduction]

Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction and Its Relationship on Career Development Among Nursing Staff within a Public Hospital in South Africa

South Africa has a dual health system, namely, the public health sector that includes government health institutions, serving mostly the lower income population and the private health sector that serves those who can afford care from their own income. The public sector is responsible for 82 percent of the population and only accounts for 40 percent of the government health expenditure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate job satisfaction levels among nursing staff within a public hospital in Southern Gauteng. [adapted from abstract]

The Benefits and Caveats of International Nurse Migration

Migration has a significant impact on both the individual and national level. This article summarizes the factors that contribute to nurse migration form the perspective of the source and recipient countries. Additionally, the impacts and issues surrounding nurse migration were also analyzed. [from abstract]

The Effects of Health Worker Motivation and Job Satisfaction on Turnover Intention in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study

The study explored the effects of motivation and job satisfaction on turnover intention and how motivation and satisfaction can be improved by district health managers in order to increase retention of health workers. [from abstract]

Adapting Continuing Medical Education for Post-Conflict Areas: Assessment in Nagorno Karabagh - A Qualitative Study

One of the major challenges in the current century is the increasing number of post-conflict states where infrastructures are debilitated. The dysfunctional health care systems in post-conflict settings are putting the lives of the populations in these zones at increased risk. [from abstract]

Islam and Family Planning: Changing Perceptions of Health Care Providers and Medical Faculty in Pakistan

Training health care providers and medical college faculty about the supportive nature of Islam toward
family planning principles addressed their misconceptions and enhanced their level of comfort in providing
family planning services and teaching the subject. [from synopsis]

Context-specific, Evidence-Based Planning for Scale-Up of Family Planning Services to Increase Progress to MDG 5: Health Systems Research

Local health planners are in a prime position to devise feasible context-specific activities to overcome
constraints and increase met need for family planning to accelerate progress towards MDG 5. [from abstract]

Why Do Health Labour Market Forces Matter?

This paper describes how labour market analysis can contribute to a better understanding of the factors behind human resource constraints in the health sector and to a more effective design of policies and interventions to address them. [from abstract]

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa: Harnessing E-Learning Potentials

This paper explores how e-learning is situated in the drive towards realization of MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] in the African continent.

The Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI): Innovations in Nursing and Midwifery Education

The Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI) was established in 2011 by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in response to key capacity-building challenges facing preservice nursing and midwifery education in Sub-Saharan Africa. NEPI has formed partnerships with governments and key stakeholders in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia and supports 19 nursing and midwifery education institutions and 1 nursing council.

Community-Based Education Programs in Africa: Faculty Experience Within the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Network

This paper examines the various models, challenges, and evaluative efforts of community-based education (CBE) programs at Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) schools and makes recommendations to strengthen those programs in the African context. [from abstract]

Effects of Health-System Strengthening on Under-5, Infant, and Neonatal Mortality: 11-year Provincial-Level Time-Series Analyses in Mozambique

Knowledge of the relation between health-system factors and child mortality could help to inform health policy in low-income and middle-income countries. We aimed to quantify modifiable health-system factors and their relation with provincial-level heterogeneity in under-5, infant, and neonatal mortality over time in Mozambique. [from abstract]

A window of opportunity for reform in post-conflict settings? The case of Human Resources for Health policies in Sierra Leone, 2002–2012

With this aim, the study looks at the development of policies on human resources for health (HRH) in Sierra Leone over the decade after the conflict (2002–2012). [from abstract]

Methodological considerations when translating “burnout”

No study has systematically examined how researchers address cross-cultural adaptation of burnout. We conducted an integrative review to examine how researchers had adapted the instruments to the different contexts. [from abstract]

Health Services Workforce in Rural China: Baseline Description

This research tried to reveal the current situation and to track the future trends of the rural health workforce. By
stratified multistage cluster sampling processes, the baseline data of nationwide longitudinal survey were gathered
from China.

Community Health Promotion Volunteers in Taiwan: Their Value to Nurses

In Taiwan, volunteers make a significant contribution to the health workforce. In this paper, we explain the volunteer’s role and describe both the benefits and barriers associated with volunteering as a health worker in Taiwan. We also outline the crucial function of volunteers in supporting community nursing work. [from abstract]

Factors Affecting Motivation and Retention of Primary Health Care Workers in Three Disparate Regions in Kenya

This study investigated factors influencing motivation and retention of HCWs at primary health care facilities in three different settings in Kenya - the remote area of Turkana, the relatively accessible region of Machakos, and the disadvantaged informal urban settlement of Kibera in Nairobi. [from abstract]

Retention of Female Volunteer Community Health Workers in Dhaka Urban Slums: a Prospective Cohort Study

Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are a key approach to improving community-based maternal and child health services in developing countries. A case–control study conducted in response to high dropout rates in the first year of the project showed that financial incentives, social prestige, community approval and household responsibilities were related to early retention in the project. In our present prospective cohort study, we aimed to better understand the factors associated with retention of volunteer CHWs once the project was more mature. [adapted from abstract]

Performance-based Incentives to Improve Health Status of Mothers and Newborns: What Does the Evidence Show?

Performance-based incentives (PBIs) aim to counteract weak providers’ performance in health systems of many developing countries by providing rewards that are directly linked to better health outcomes for mothers and their newborns. This paper analyzes and synthesizes the available evidence from published studies on the impact of supply-side PBIs on the quantity and quality of health services for mothers and newborns. This paper reviews evidence from published and grey literature that spans PBI for public-sector facilities, PBI in social insurance reforms, and PBI in NGO contracting.

Home Visits by Community Health Workers to Prevent Neonatal Deaths in Developing Countries: a Systematic Review

To determine whether home visits for neonatal care by community health workers can reduce infant and neonatal deaths and stillbirths in resource-limited settings. [from abstract]