HRH Global Resource Center - Health Sector Reform

Determinants of Access to Healthcare by Older Persons in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sat, 14 Mar 2015 20:12:31 +0000

Older persons report poor health status and greater need for healthcare. However, there is limited research on older persons’ healthcare disparities in Uganda. Therefore, this paper aimed at investigating factors associated with older persons’ healthcare access in Uganda, using a nationally representative sample. [from abstract]

The Free Health Care Initiative: How Has it Affected Health Workers in Sierra Leone

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 01:39:21 +0000

No study to date has focused on how the decisions made, or not made, in the post-conflict
period can affect the longer term pattern of attraction, retention, distribution and
performance of health workers, and thus ultimately the performance of the sector. [from abstract]

Against the Odds: Mozambique's Gains in Primary Health Care

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:04:48 +0000

Despite numerous persistent challenges – including low quality of care, continuing inequalities and the substantial impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic – Mozambique provides important lessons to other countries aiming to scale up health provision rapidly in a post-conflict setting. These particularly include the importance of focusing on distance and education as barriers to access, using innovative and low-cost human-resource policies to scale up health personnel quickly, and of moving towards more coordinated systems of aid disbursement. [from abstract]

Dominican Republic Improves Access to Health Services by Strengthening Human Resources Management

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 21:04:31 +0000

In the Dominican Republic, the Ministry of Health is improving to access to high-quality health services by focusing on the health workforce and, in particular, the systems used to manage these valuable human resources. One important outcome has been the discovery of a large number of people on the payroll who were no longer working. The money saved by cleaning the payroll is being reinvested into the health sector. [from resource]

How Much Will Health Coverage Cost? Future Health Spending Scenarios in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:17:53 +0000

As Latin American countries seek to expand the coverage and benefits provided by their health systems under a global drive for universal health coverage (UHC), decisions taken today – whether by government or individuals – will have an impact tomorrow on public spending requirements. To understand the implications of these decisions and define needed policy reforms, this paper calculates long-term projections for public spending on health in three countries, analyzing different scenarios related to population, risk factors, labor market participation, and technological growth.

Local Stakeholders’ Perceptions About the Introduction of Performance-Based Financing in Benin: A Case Study in Two Health Districts

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:12:08 +0000

Performance-Based Financing (PBF) has been advanced as a solution to contribute to improving the performance of health systems in developing countries. This is the case in Benin. This study aims to analyse how two PBF approaches, piloted in Benin, behave during implementation and what effects they produce, through investigating how local stakeholders perceive the introduction of PBF, how they adapt the different approaches during implementation, and the behavioural interactions induced by PBF. [from abstract]

Sustainable Healthcare System in Nigeria: Vision, Strategies and Challenges

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:54:43 +0000

Unfortunately, with its current estimated population of 150 million and estimated total of 23,640 health facilities operated via a three – tiered governance structure, Nigeria is still ranked by World Health Organization at 187th position in its health system among 191 member states. This article reviewed related relevant literature which revealed that, for more than two decades ago, African countries including Nigeria have been plunged into economic crisis which seriously affected a large portion of their populations and raised social and political tensions.

The GAVI Alliance and the ‘Gates approach’ to Health System Strengthening

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:35:51 +0000

Lauded for getting specific health issues onto national and international agendas and for their potential to improve value for money and outcomes, public-private global health initiatives (GHIs) have come to dominate global health governance. Yet, they have also been criticised for their negative impact on country health systems. In response, disease-specific GHIs have, somewhat paradoxically, appropriated the aim of health system strengthening (HSS).

Building Health Literate Organizations: A Guidebook to Achieving Organizational Change

Fri, 08 Aug 2014 17:53:38 +0000

This guidebook is intended to complement the many excellent health literacy resources that already exist and are emerging every day, and to help organizations of any size use them to become health literate health care organizations. Health literate health care organizations “make it easier for people to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health. [from introductions]

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

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:10:07 +0000

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.