DR of Congo

Human Resources for Health in Six Healthcare Arenas Under Stress: A Qualitative Study

Research on “human resources for health” (HRH) typically focuses on the public health subsector, despite the World Health Organization’s inclusive definition to the contrary. This qualitative research examines the profile of HRH in six conflict-affected contexts where the public health subsector does not dominate healthcare service provision and HRH is a less coherent and cohesive entity: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Haiti, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Somalia. [from abstract]

Developing a National E-Health Strategy for DR Congo: A Preliminary Analysis of Business Needs, Existing Information Systems and Solutions

A first part of the study consisted of a detailed analysis of regulatory documents and strategic plans related to the Congolese health system and health informatics development. In a second part, field visits and semi-structured interviews were organized with a representative sample of relevant health structures throughout the country. [from abstract]

Applying Innovative Approaches for Reaching Men Who Have Sex With Men and Female Sex Workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW) have the highest HIV prevalence but have the least access to services due to their marginalization within Congolese society.

Improving Financial Access to Health Care in the Kisantu District in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Acting Upon Complexity

Comzmercialization of health care has contributed to widen inequities between the rich and the poor, especially in settings with suboptimal regulatory frameworks of the health sector. Poorly regulated fee-for-service payment systems generate inequity and initiate a vicious circle in which access to quality health care gradually deteriorates.

Picking Up the Bill - Improving Health-Care Utilisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo Through User Fee Subsidisation: A Before and After Study

Our research brings mixed findings on the effectiveness of user fee subsidisation as a strategy to increase the utilisation of services. Future work should focus on feasibility issues associated with the removal or reduction of user fees and how to sustain its effects on utilisation in the longer term. [from abstract]

The “Empty Void” is a Crowded Space: Health Service Provision at the Margins of Fragile and Conflict Affected States

Definitions of fragile states focus on state willingness and capacity to ensure security and provide essential
services, including health. Conventional analyses and subsequent policies that focus on state-delivered essential services miss many developments in severely disrupted healthcare arenas. The research seeks to gain insights about the large sections of the health field left to evolve spontaneously by the absent or diminished state. ]from abstract]

Fragile and Conflict Affected States: Report from the Consultation on Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Delivery

Fragile and Conflict Affected States present difficult contexts to achieve health system outcomes and are neglected in health systems research. This report presents key debates from the Consultation of the Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Delivery, Liverpool, June, 2014.

Pay-for-Performance, Motivation and Final Output in the Health Sector: Experimental Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

The pap er studies the effects of a financing mechanism for the health sector in which governmental payment to health facilities is contingent up on the number of patients for some predetermined health services, as opposed to a fixed payment. [from abstract]

Using Verbal Autopsy to Ascertain Perinatal Cause of Death: Are Trained Non-Physicians Adequate?

This initiative’s objective was to develop a standardized verbal autopsy training program and evaluate whether its implementation resulted in comparable knowledge required to classify perinatal cause of death by physicians and non-physicians. [from abstract]

Dealing with Difficult Design Decisions: The Experience of an RBF Pilot Program in Haut-Katanga District of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

The Haut-Katanga pilot program and impact evaluation described in this paper is intended to provide rigorous evidence, using a randomized intervention design, of the effects of a performance-based financing strategy in the difficult conditions of rural DRC by analyzing the effects of the strategy on production of health services (quantity and quality), management of the facility and behavior of health staff, and behavior of households.­ [from author]

Comprehensive Framework for Human Resources for Health System Development in Fragile and Post-Conflict States

The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive, engaging, and visible framework of HRH system development. This has been further developed from the lessons distilled from Japanese experiences of supporting HRH system development in three fragile and post-conflict health systems: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cambodia. [from author]

Reduced Perinatal Mortality Following Enhanced Training of Birth Attendants in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Time-Dependent Effect

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect on perinatal mortality of training birth attendants in a rural area of the Democratic Republic of Congo using two established programs. [from abstract]

HRH Country Profiles

The HRH country profiles serve as a tool for systematically presenting the HRH situation, policies and management. They are expected to help to monitor trends, generate regional HRH overviews, provide comparable data between countries and identify points for focused action in countries. They will also serve for a comparison of countries’ responses to similar HRH challenges.

Medical Schools in Rural Areas – Necessity or Aberration?

The purpose of this article was to analyze and compare the graduates of an urban- and a rural-located university in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where there is major maldistribution of physicians. While 70% of Congolese live in rural areas, relatively few doctors practice there. The results of the research for this article support the policy of establishing medical schools in rural areas, and also provide indications of approaches likely to increase the number and expertise of rural-located physicians. [adapted from abstract]

Training Health Care Workers to Promote HIV Services for Patients with Tuberculosis in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This study involves the development and evaluation of training materials for provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing, HIV prevention and integrated primary HIV care and support for use by health care workers involved in the care of patients with TB at the primary health care clinic level in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [adapted from abstract]

Model for Analysis, Systemic Planning and Strategic Synthesis for Health Science Teaching in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The problem of training human resources in health is a real concern in public health in Central Africa. What can be changed in order to train more competent health professionals? This is of utmost importance in primary health care.

Analysis of Adequacy Levels for Human Resources Improvement within Primary Health Care Framework in Africa

Human resources in health care system in sub-Saharan Africa are generally picturing a lack of adequacy between expected skills from the professionals and health care needs expressed by the populations. It is, however, possible to analyse these various lacks of adequacy related to human resource management and their determinants to enhance the effectiveness of the health care system. From two projects focused on nurse professionals within the health care system in Central Africa, we present an analytic grid for adequacy levels. [from abstract]