Browse by Geographic Focus

Human Resources for Health and Universal Health Coverage: Fostering Equity and Effective Coverage

The paper reports on country experiences using an analytical framework that examines effective coverage in relation to the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality (AAAQ) of HRH. [from abstract]

Household perceptions and their implications for enrolment in the National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

This paper identifies, ranks and compares perceptions of insured and uninsured households in Ghana on health care providers (quality of care, service delivery adequacy, staff attitudes), health insurance schemes (price, benefits and convenience) and community attributes (health ‘beliefs and attitudes’ and peer pressure). [from abstract]

Does the Design and Implementation of Proven Innovations for Delivering Basic Primary Health Care Services in Rural Communities Fit the Urban Setting: The Case of Ghana’s Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS)

This paper provides an overview of innovative experiences adapted while addressing these urban health issues, including the process of deriving constructive lessons needed to inform discourse on the design and implementation of the sustainable Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) model as a response to urban health challenges in Southern Ghana. [from abstract]

Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme in the Context of the Health MDGs - An Empirical Evaluation Using Propensity Score Matching

In 2003 the Government of Ghana established a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to improve health care access for Ghanaians and eventually replace the cash-and-carry system. This study evaluates the NHIS to determine whether it is fulfilling its purpose in the context of the Millennium Development Goals #4 and #5 which deal with the health of women and children. [from abstract]

Fragmented Governance and Local Service Delivery in Malawi

This study helps government and donors to understand how local government and service delivery work and to assess whether the return of local councils is likely to improve their functioning. [from introduction]

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the Dormaa Municipality, Ghana: Why Some Residents Remain Uninsured?

The paper presents a quantitative investigation on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the Dormaa Municipality, Ghana: Why some residents remain uninsured? [from abstract]

Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction among Nurses

This study assessed occupational stress and job satisfaction among nurses working in tertiary care hospitals and
to find out correlation between occupational stress and job satisfaction among nurses. [adapted from abstract]

Using Workshops to Develop Theories of Change in Give Low and Middle Income Countries: Lessons from the Programme for Improving Mental Health Care (PRIME)

Theory of Change (ToC) approach workshops are a useful approach for developing ToCs as a basis for mental health care plans because they facilitate logical, evidence based and contextualised plans, while promoting stakeholder buy in.
Because of the existing hierarchies within some health systems, strategies such as limiting the types of participants
and stratifying the workshops can be used to ensure productive workshops.

Leadership Practices of Head Nurses as Expected and Perceived by Staff Nurses in Public Hospitals in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

This study aimed to identify the levels of leadership practices among head nurses as expected and perceived by staff nurses and to compare the differences between expectation and perception of staff nurses toward leadership practices of head nurses in public hospitals of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. [from abstract]

'I Felt Colonised': Emerging Clinical Teachers on a New Rural Teaching Platform

The objective of this study was to explore what the implementation of the [Ukwanda Rural Clinical School] meant for the practice of these physicians and to what extent the shift from full-time practising clinician to clinical teacher required them to adapt and change. [from abstract]

Task-Shifting and Prioritization: A Situational Analysis Examining the Role and Experiences of Community Health Workers in Malawi

The objective of this study was to understand the performed versus documented roles of the [Health Surveillance Assistants], to examine how tasks were prioritized, and to understand HSAs’ perspectives on their
roles and responsibilities. [from abstract]

Health Workers Perception on Constraints to Effective Administration of Quality Care to the Mentally Ill Patients

This study examined the Perception of health workers on the constraints to effective administration of quality health care to the mentally ill patients in psychiatric hospital in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Accelerating Progress On Maternal Health In Africa: Lessons From Emerging Policy And Institutional Innovations

This paper examines three groups of innovative ideas have been institutionalized in African countries to improve maternal health: policy, institutional and experimental innovations. [adapted from abstract]

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]

Key Aspects of Health Policy Development to Improve Surgical Services in Uganda

Uganda, like other low-income sub-Saharan African countries, bears a heavy burden of surgical conditions with low surgical output in health facilities and significant unmet need for surgical care. To address this lack of adequate surgical services in Uganda, a diverse group of local stakeholders met in Kampala, Uganda, in May 2008 to develop a roadmap of key policy actions that would improve surgical services at the national level.This article is a critical discussion of these health policy priorities with references to recent literature. [adapted from abstract]

Surgical Care in the Developing World-Strategies and Framework for Improvement

The purpose of this study was to identify the various problems with surgical care in the developing world and enumerate identified strategies or propose solutions. We also sought to rank these strategies in order of potential impact. [from abstract]

Turn-Over Rate of Academic Faculty at the College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University: a 20-year Analysis (1991 to 2011)

This paper calculates the faculty turnover rate at the College of Health Sciences of Addis Ababa University during the period of September 1991 to August 2011. [from abstract]

Right Time, Right Place: Improving Access to Health Service Through Effective Retention and Distribution of Health Workers

This series draws from studies in a range of countries and provides new insights into what can be done to improve access to health through more effective human resources policies, planning and management. The primary focus is on health workforce distribution and retention. [from abstract]

Violence Against Health Workers

he tragic and excessive attack on a doctor at the Western Hospital in Australia in February has brought the issue of violence in health care settings back into the spotlight, writes the magazine of the Australian Medical Association (Victoria). This latest attack serves as a stark reminder of the unacceptable risks health care workers are exposed to just by turning up to work each day, with emergency departments in particular described in recent times as ‘war zones’. [from summary]

Addressing Needs in the Public Health Workforce in Europe

Health systems in Europe face a number of increasingly complex challenges. Globalization, evolving health threats, an ageing society, financial constraints on government spending, and social and health inequalities are some of the most pressing. This policy summary aims to outline these needs and to consider measures and options towards meeting them. [adapted from summary]

Use of Text Messages to Communicate Clinical Recommendations to Health Workers in Rural China: A Cluster-Randomized Trial

To compare the effectiveness of mobile phone text messaging and that of traditional health worker training in communicating clinical recommendations to health workers in China. [from abstract]

Improving Malaria Knowledge and Practices in Rural Myanmar Through a Village Health Worker Intervention: A Cross-Sectional Study

The purpose of this paper is to compare the malaria knowledge level and health practices of individuals in SPH intervention areas to individuals without SPH intervention [from abstract]

What Makes Staff Consider Leaving the Health Service in Malawi?

This study aims to highlight these demotivating factors by exploring the critical aspects that influence [Mid-Level Providers’] intention to leave their jobs [from abstract]

Widening Disparity in the Geographic Distribution of Pediatricians in Japan

The purpose of this study was to investigate recent changes in the geographic distribution of pediatricians and the factors underlying this change. [from abstract]

Physician Tracking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current Initiatives and Opportunities

The objective of this study is to provide information on the current state of physician tracking systems in the region, highlighting emerging themes and innovative practices. [from abstract]

For More Than Love or Money: Attitudes of Student and In-Service Health Workers Towards Rural Service in India

In India, there is a constant tug of war in national policy on “Which health worker is needed in rural areas?” and “Who can, realistically, be got there?” In this article, we try to inform this debate by juxtaposing perspectives of three cadres involved in primary care in India—allopathic, ayurvedic and nursing—on rural service. We also identify key incentives for improved rural retention of these cadres. [adapted from abstract]

Twenty Years of Health System Reform in Brazil An Assessment of the Sistema Único de Saúde

It has been more than 20 years since the 1988 Constitution formally established the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS), which established health as a fundamental right and duty of the state and started a process of fundamentally transforming Brazil’s health system. The report assesses whether the SUS reforms have transformed the health system as envisaged more than 20 years ago and whether the reforms have led to improved outcomes with regard to access to services, financial protection, and health status. [adapted from introduction]

The Human Resources for Health Program in Rwanda — A New Partnership

From 1989 through 1997, Rwanda had the lowest life expectancy of any country in the world. Workforce setbacks further plagued the country as many clinicians fled or were killed. During the last decade, however, Rwanda has rebuilt its health system and registered some of the steepest declines in premature mortality in recent history.[adapted from introduction]

The Effectiveness of a ‘Train the Trainer’ Model of Resuscitation Education for Rural Peripheral Hospital Doctors in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan rural doctors based in isolated peripheral hospitals routinely resuscitate critically ill patients but have difficulty accessing training. We tested a train-the-trainer model that could be utilised in isolated rural hospitals. [from abstract]