Journal Articles

Sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An assessment of health-care worker availability in the region against health system needs for that area reveals stark gaps. This article details the contributing reasons for health-care worker shortages, as well as the effect of these shortages on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected patients. [from abstract]

This article focuses on professional nurses in a study of patterns of planning, recruitment, training and task allocation associated with an expanding antiretroviral program in the districts of Free State. [from abstract]

Using the most updated information on the supply of physicians over a 20-year period, this paper projects the size of the future global need for, demand for and supply of physicians to year 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals. [adapted from abstract]

This paper reports on AIDS-related stigma baseline findings from a study to evaluate the impact of a stigma-reduction intervention in three large hospitals in New Delhi, India. The study highlights issues particular to the health care sector in limited-resource settings. [from abstract]

This paper examines Tanzanian service providers’ perceptions of contraceptives to shed light on questions of local level dissemination of population knowledge and shaping of identities. The findings suggest that the family planning program serves in a process of differentiation between two groups of local women: the service providers and their clients. [adapted from abstract]

Healthcare workers (HCWs) will be key players in any response to pandemic influenza, and will be in the front line of exposure to infection. This study is designed to determine the range of factors associated with their responses to the prospect of working through pandemic influenza. The findings will be used to estimate of the likely proportion of HCWs affected by each factor, and how likely it is that they would be willing and/or able to continue to work during an influenza pandemic. [adapted from abstract]

This paper describes Nepal’s efforts, starting from the mid-1980s, to develop and implement community-based management of pneumonia. [from abstract]

Early detection of smear positive tuberculosis (TB) cases by smear microscopy requires a high level of suspicion of TB among primary care physicians. The objective of this study is to measure TB suspicion and knowledge among private and public sector general practitioners using clinical vignette-based survey and structured questionnaire. [from abstract]

This article describes the experience of the Family Life Education Programme, a reproductive health program that provides community-based health services through 40 clinics in five districts of Uganda, in improving retention and performance by using the Human Resource Management Rapid Assessment Tool. [adapted from abstract]

Despite rising attention to the acute shortage of health care workers, solutions to the human resource crisis are difficult to achieve, especially in the poorest countries. Although we are aware of the issues and have developed HR strategies, the problem is that some old systems of leading and managing human resources for health do not work in today's context. In these cases and others, a more appropriate mode of leadership, linked to reforming management systems and committed to moving beyond planning to implementation, is essential to the solution. [from abstract]

This document evaluates the expected change in the reproductive preferences of women due to the presence of volunteers and community health workers providing health service delivery in the communities through the Community Health and Family Planning project. In the communities where there is intervention, women seem to show that their fertility preferences are generally shifting towards small family sizes although the fertility levels are still high. [adapted from author]

This study was implemented to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a home based intervention in reducing caregiver burden, promoting caregiver mental health and reducing behavioural problems in elderly persons with dementia. [from abstract]

This study details the costs and personnel requirements for the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to patients with AIDS in Haiti. [from abstract]

The overall objective of this study was to analyse the challenges which family caregivers encountered in home-based care when they tried to access medical treatment for home-based AIDS patients in the context of confidentiality and limited medical care. [from abstract]

This paper is a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. [adapted from abstract]

Balancing medical workforce supply with demand requires good information about factors affecting retention. Overseas qualified doctors comprise 30% of the National Health Service workforce in England yet little is known about the impact of country of qualification on length of stay. We aimed to address this need. [from abstract]

Interprofessional education (IPE) has been suggested as an answer to improving the effectiveness of health professional teamwork, which in turn is regarded as a key strategy for improving the delivery and outcomes of increasingly complex healthcare approaches. There is a strong theoretical base to support the implementation of IPE for all health professionals, and in response many training programs now do this. This article presents some theory-based but practical advice for how to develop effective IPE activities. [from abstract]

The aim of this study was to assess adequacy of HR of local public health agencies to meet the needs emerging from health care reforms in Georgia. [from abstract]

The aim of this paper is to review the share of the medical sector in the higher education enhancement project fund (HEEPF), its outcomes, sustainability, and to provide recommendations for keeping the momentum of reform pursuit in the future. [from abstract]

This article builds on a recent publication on the capacity of the existing health workforce in Africa to expand through increasing production of its non-physician clinicians and by suggesting that there are four further issues to be urgently addressed if NPCs are to realize their full potential. [adapted from author]

Malaria over-diagnosis in Africa is widespread and costly both financially and in terms of morbidity and mortality from missed diagnoses. An understanding of the reasons behind malaria over-diagnosis is urgently needed to inform strategies for better targeting of antimalarials. [from abstract]

Throughout Africa, the private retail sector has been recognised as an important source of antimalarial treatment, complementing formal health services. However, the quality of advice and treatment at private outlets is a widespread concern, especially with the introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). This research aimed at assessing the performance of the retail sector in rural Tanzania. Such information is urgently required to improve and broaden delivery channels for life-saving drugs. [from abstract]

The so-called brain drain is a complex phenomenon with a web of push-pull factors determining final outcomes. There are no quick fixes. Yet, those on the front lines addressing the critical personnel shortages in South Africa’s public health system - especially in rural areas - have pointed to approaches that could slow the exodus and eventually turn the situation around. [from author]

Field epidemiology training programs have been successful models to address a country’s needs for a skilled public health workforce, partly due to their responsiveness to the countries’ unique needs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has partnered with ministries of health to strengthen their workforce through customized competency-based training programs. The standard curriculum has supported the development and expansion of programs while still allowing for adaptation.

In light of pharmacy workforce shortages in Great Britain, the profession’s regulatory body commissioned a programme of longitudinal work to explore pharmacy career decision-making in relation to influences on career choice and intended career paths. Our objective was to gather data on career intentions that could be used to produce robust predictions about pharmacist supply. [from abstract]

Drawing upon a combination of complementary data sources, both new and existing, can result in useful and rich information for measuring and monitoring health workforce stock and flows, and the impact on health and health systems. [from author]

Gender analysis of the health workforce may reveal that health systems themselves can reflect or even exacerbate many of the social inequalities they are meant to address and be immune from.

Measuring and monitoring the whole education and training pipeline is essential to the planning, management and quality control of the health workforce in a country. This requires timely and reliable data on each of its phases. [from author]

The government of Indonesia launched the village-based midwife program to place a skilled birth attendant in every village to provide antenatal and perinatal care, family planning, other reproductive health services, and nutrition counseling. The attendants were also to facilitate basic primary health-care services, including immunization and nutrition interventions.

A questionnaire survey was conducted on 50 primary health care physicians in Iraq to assess their knowledge and identify misperceptions about breastfeeding. Basic knowledge about the main processes of breastfeeding was good (when to start feeding, frequency of feeding, relactation, importance of psychological factors), but there were deficiencies in their ability to deal with some practical problems related to breastfeeding. Steps for improving the knowledge and training are addressed. [from abstract]