This presentation was given at the First Forum on Human Resources for Health in Kampala. It details a study done to assess the feasibility and interest among stakeholders in the Netherlands, UK and US in facilitating recruitment and placement of foreign health care professionals to work in public sector health care in South Africa.
Human Resources
Recruitment and Placement of Foreign Health Care Professionals to Work in the Public Sector Health Care in South Africa: Assessment
Matsuyama R: International Organization for Migration; Global Health Workforce Alliance
Strengthening Health Leadership and Management: the WHO Framework
World Health Organization; Global Health Workforce Alliance
This presentation was given at the First Forum on Human Resources for Health in Kampala. It defines health leadership and management, why strengthening it is important, the lessons learned so far, and the main components and uses of the WHO framework.
Ten facts on health workforce crisis
World Health Organisation, 3 March 2008
WHO estimates the global health worker shortfall to be over 4.2 million. That shortage is impairing provision of essential, life-saving interventions such as childhood immunizations, safe pregnancy and childbirth services for mothers, and access to treatment for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. As a result, people are suffering and dying needlessly. Without prompt action, the shortage will worsen and health systems will be weakened further. As populations continue to grow in developing countries and grow older in the developed countries, health demand is on the rise virtually everywhere.
The crisis in human resources for health care and the potential of a ‘retired’ workforce: case study of the independent midwifery sector in Tanzania
Rolfe B, Leshabari S, Rutta F, Murray SF: Health Policy and Planning 23(2):137-149, 2008
The human resource crisis in health care is an important obstacle to attainment of the health-related targets for the Millennium Development Goals. One suggested strategy to alleviate the strain upon government services is to encourage new forms of non-government provision. Detail on implementation and consequences is often lacking, however. This article examines one new element of non-government provision in Tanzania: small-scale independent midwifery practices. A multiple case study analysis over nine districts explored their characteristics, and the drivers and inhibitors acting upon their development since permitted by legislative change. Because of their location and emphasis on personalized care, small-scale independent practices run by retired midwives could potentially increase rates of skilled attendance at delivery at peripheral level. The model also extends the working life of members of a professional group at a time of shortage. However, the potential remains unrealized. Successful multiplication of this model in resource-poor communities requires more than just deregulation of private ownership. Prohibitive start-up expenses need to be reduced by less emphasis on facility-based provision. On-going financing arrangements such as micro-credit, contracting, vouchers and franchising models require consideration.
Uganda Health Workforce Study: Satisfaction and Intent to Stay Among Health Workers in Public and PNFP Facilities
McQuide P, Kiwanuka-Mukiibi P, Zuyerduin A, Isabirye C: Capacity Project; Global Health Workforce Alliance
This presentation was given at the First Forum on Human Resources for Health in Kampala. It describes a study to identify the level of satisfaction and intent to stay among health workers, to inform strategies to improve retention.
Intent to migrate among nursing students in Uganda: measures of the brain drain in the next generation of health professionals
Nguyen L, Ropers S, Nderitu E, Zuyderduin A, Luboga S and Hagopian S: Human Resources for Health 6(5), 12 February 2008
There is significant concern about the worldwide migration of nursing professionals from low-income countries to rich ones, as nurses are lured to fill the large number of vacancies in upper-income countries. This study explores the views of nursing students in Uganda to assess their views on practice options and their intentions to migrate. Improving remuneration for nurses is the top priority policy change sought by nursing students in this study. Nursing schools may want to recruit students desiring work in rural areas or public practice to lead to a more stable workforce in Uganda.
Managerial competencies of hospital managers in South Africa: a survey of managers in the public and private sectors
Pillay R: Human Resources for Health 6(4), 8 February 2008
South Africa has large public and private sectors and there is a common perception that public sector hospitals are inefficient and ineffective while the privately owned and managed hospitals provide superior care and are more sustainable. The underlying assumption is that there is a potential gap in management capacity between the two sectors. This study aims to ascertain the skills and competency levels of hospital managers in South Africa and to determine whether there are any significant differences in competency levels between managers in the different sectors. The findings confirm the supposition that there is a lack of management capacity within the public sector in South Africa and that there is a significant gap between private and public sectors. It provides evidence that there is a great need for further development of managers, especially those in the public sector. The onus is therefore on administrators and those responsible for management education and training to identify managers in need of development and to make available training that is contextually relevant in terms of design and delivery.
Should active recruitment of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa be viewed as a crime?
Mills EJ, Schabas WA, Volmink J, Walker R, Ford N, Katabira E, Anema A, Joffres M, Cahn P: The Lancet Volume 371(9613): 685-688, 23 February 2008
Rich countries are poaching so many African health workers that the practice should be viewed as a crime, a team of international disease experts said. If one of these countries that is being systematically poached were to pursue it as a crime, contributing to unrest they would have some leg to stand on.
Strengthening management in low-income countries: Lessons from Uganda
Egger D, Ollier E, Tumusiime P: World Health Organization , 2007
This World Health Organization background paper reviews and summarises service delivery management at the district level in Uganda. Specifically, it looks at health sector management development approaches that have been recently implemented, changes in the management capacity and performance and links between management development and health service delivery outputs. The paper finds that significant effort has gone into developing managers using long and short courses and placing "technical advisers" with District Health Management Teams. The paper concludes that whilst opportunities exist for managers to develop skills, courses need to be better designed to produce the essential competencies needed. A health sector competency framework for managers will provide common performance objectives and standards in the sector.
What if we decided to take care of everyone who needed treatment? Workforce planning in Mozambique using simulation of demand for HIV/AIDS care
Hagopian A, Micek MA, Vio F, Gimbel-Sherr K and Montoyo P: Human Resources for Health 6(3), 7 February 2008
The growing AIDS epidemic in southern Africa is placing an increased strain on health systems, which are experiencing rising steadily patient loads. Health care systems are tackling the barriers to serving large populations in scaled-up operations. One of the most significant challenges in this effort is securing the health care workforce to deliver care in settings where the manpower is already in short supply. A demand-driven staffing model is presented in this study using simple spreadsheet technology, based on treatment protocols for HIV-positive patients that adhere to Mozambican guidelines. The model can be adjusted for the volumes of patients at differing stages of their disease, varying provider productivity, proportion who are pregnant, attrition rates, and other variables.