HRH Overview

This editorial provides a summary of the results of a consultation on the urgent challenges the health workforce is facing. [adapted from author]

This working paper describes a tool and model for extimating the health worker requirments for scaling up priority health interventions in limited resource areas of sub-Saharan Africa, rooted in the concept of functional job analysis and taking into consideration skill set and quality measures. [adapted from author]

Until recently researchers and policymakers paid little attention to the role of health workers in developing countries but a new generation of studies are providing a fuller understanding of these issues using more sophisticated data and research tools. This article presents ten examples of this new type of research. [from introduction]

This background paper to the World Health Report 2006 presents an analysis of the relationship between the availability of doctors, nurses and midwives across countries and the intervention coverage. It demonstrates that health status and levels of coverage are positively associated with health worker density. The purpose of this paper, is to determine whether these relationships are robust to the inclusion of many more countries in the data set.

This background paper documents the analytical work conducted for the World Health Report 2006 to provide new evidence on the relationship between the density of human resources for health and the coverage of key health interventions, at subnational level in Brazil. The analysis highlights how socioeconomic conditions of the population moderates the ability of health workers to perform their tasks efficiently and how various policies have succeeded in increasing the coverage of antenatal care services. [from publisher]

This issue of Voices highlights the Capacity Project’s success in planning, developing and supporting the health workforce and its impact on health systems strengthening. [from publisher]

This presentation provides an overview of the health workforce in Africa, the causes of the workforce crisis and solutions, financing the health workforce and global attention to the issues. [from author]

This report outlines the work done by the Capacity Project to strengthen human resources to implement quality health programming in developing countries, focusing on: improving workforce planning and leadership; developing better education and training programs; and strengthening systems to support workforce performance. [adapted from author]

The purpose of this course is to introduce the basic principles and promising practices related to HRH. By the end of the course, participants should be able to: describe the global HRH situation and promising practices; and identify documents, organizations and other resources that address HRH issues. [from author]

This presentation addresses health workforce supply and distribution issues and stakeholders, as well as the consequences of inaction in resolving these issues.

This paper synthesises some of the published and grey literature on the process of scaling up the health workforce - also known as human resources for health (HRH) - with a particular focus on increasing the number of trained providers of health services. It concentrates on low- and middle-income countries, although some literature on richer countries is included. [from summary]

This agenda for global action is intended to guide the initial steps in a coordinated global, regional and national response to the worldwide shortage and mal-distribution of health workers with the goal of moving towards universal access to quality health care and improved health outcomes. It is meant to unite and intensify the political will and commitments necessary for significant and effective actions to resolve this crisis, and to align efforts of all stakeholders at all levels around solutions. [from introduction]

This paper reflects on human resources for health research. It provides recommendations regarding this increasingly important component of the overall strategy to improve the quality, quantity and stability of successful sustainable health system improvement in developing countries. [adapted from abstract]

The health worker shortage in sub-Saharan Africa derives from many causes, yet the dynamics of entry into and exit from the health workforce in many of these countries remain poorly understood. This limits the capacity of national governments and their international development partners to design and implement appropriate intervention programmes. This paper provides some of this information through the first systematic estimates of health worker inflow and outflow in selected sub-Saharan African countries. [adapted from introduction]

This presentation outlines the main issues surrounding the health workforce in Romania and describes the effects of primary health care reforms.

Review of different documents on human resource for health in Ethiopia was undertaken. Generally there is shortage in number of different groups of professionals, maldistribution of professionals between regions, urban and rural setting, and governmental and non governmental/private organizations. A number of measures are being taken to alleviate these problems. The implications of these for human resource development by 2015 are explored briefly. [adapted from abstract]

The 2008 World Health Report revisits the vision of primary health care as a set of values and principles for guiding the development of health systems. It represents an opportunity to identify major avenues for health systems reform in the areas of universal coverage, service delivery, public policy and leadership. [adapted from publisher]

This article summarizes the Joint Learning Initiative report that analyzes the global workforce, which proposes mobilization and strengthening of human resources for health is central to combating health crises in some of the world’s poorest countries and for building sustainable health systems in all countries. [adapted from author]

In the space of just a few years, close to 300,000 people with HIV have been put onto ART in Ethiopia and Malawi - two of the countries most severely affected by the human resources for health crisis. But while some might suggest that such a rapid scale-up could only have come at the expense of other general health services, Ethiopia and Malawi performed this remarkable feat using HIV/AIDS funding and technical support to launch ambitious and comprehensive human resource plans to strengthen their health sectors overall. [from author]

Malawi is one of the poorest nations in the world, with some of the worst health worker to population ratios. Most health services are provided by clinical officers, medical assistants and enrolled nurses. The government has taken action to address the staffing shortfall, estimated at 15,000. [from author]

This document discusses the issues surrounding human resources for health and how they impact health system performance.

The Capacity Project helped to organize and facilitate a regional Human Resources for Health (HRH) Action Workshop in Accra, Ghana, September 23-28, 2007. Participants came together with the overall purpose of exchanging knowledge and best practices in planning, developing and supporting the health workforce in order to improve health workforce management capacity and strategic development at the country level.

This article is an overview of the major HRH issues facing the health system in Zambia, including out-migration, an outdated medical-training infrastructure, faulty government management, and the effects of HIV/AIDS.

This article outlines different efforts at making strategic HRH plans in the developing world. The article focuses on the financial aspects of HRH planning and provides some general guidelines on the best way to make these plans.

This document outlines the issues for human resources for health in the Americas and what the Pan American Health Organization resolves should be done to address them.

Liverpool Associates in Tropical Health has been teaching, researching and consulting in HRH throughout the changing global and country contexts for almost two decades. This overview paper highlights the changes that we have observed over time, in both the attention paid to workforce issues and the types of activities that we have seen. [from author]

This document outlines three major human resources for health challenges related to family planning and reproductive health. Several possible solutions are suggested, including: increasing task shifting, workforce planning, and partnerships. [adapted from publisher]

This article discusses the gaps exist between the potential of health systems and their actual performance. Best practices from various countries are discussed. The author concludes that the crisis can be tackled if there is global rsponsibility, political will, financial commitment and public-private partnership for country-led and country-specific interventions that seek solutions beyond the health sector. [adapted from abstract]

This report first reviews the policy and programmatic challenges of weak health systems, health care worker shortages, and related issues in HIV/AIDS affected countries, and concludes by outlining three key options for strengthening health systems during PEPFAR’s next five-year phase. [from introduction]

To foster a global exchange of human resources for health (HRH) evidence, tools and innovation, the Capacity Project created a searchable collection of HRH resources with librarian support. Launched in May 2006, the HRH Global Resource Center now has over 1,500 resources to support HRH in developing countries and help the health community address workforce challenges. [author’s description]