Data for Decision-Making

Establishing and Using Data Standards in Health Workforce Information Systems

Human resources information systems are successful when they support policy and management decisions and when those decisions lead to better health care. However, success depends on the quality of the human resources for health data going into the system. The aim of this technical brief is to convey why data standards matter. The authors review organizational, national, and international data standards that can help ensure data quality, provide country examples, and discuss the key role of multisectoral stakeholder leadership groups in formulating and reaching consensus on standards.

Applying the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) Method in Namibia: Challenges and Implications for Human Resources for Health Policy

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the first-ever national application of the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) tool developed by the World Health Organization. The article describes the steps involved in implementing WISN, a human resources management tool, in Namibia, discusses software and data challenges, summarizes key findings relating to health worker shortages and inequities, and reviews the utility of the WISN findings for policy-makers in Namibia. The authors observe that the WISN method can offer credible workload-based evidence to improve the equity and distribution of health workers within a region or across similar types of facilities nationwide. Perhaps most importantly, the WISN tool allows policy-makers to consider the potential impact of decisions on staff requirements before actually making the decisions.

WHO Country Assessment Tool on the Uses and Sources for Human Resources for Health (HRH) Data

There is widespread recognition of the need for accurate, timely, and effective human resources for health (HRH) data to inform the development of policies on HRH. However, many countries have weak information systems that can generate these data. This diagnostic tool contains questions intended to gather information on the uses, type, and quality of data on HRH at the institutional level in countries. The resulting information can then be used to identify priorities and develop strategies to strengthen human resources information systems at the district, regional, or national level. CapacityPlus contributed to the development of this resource through the WHO Health Workforce Information Reference Group (HIRG).

Designing Evidence-Based Incentive Strategies for Health Worker Retention

Many countries struggle to attract and retain sufficient numbers and types of health workers to provide quality services in rural and remote areas. Ministries of health often rely on external partners to develop the evidence base for formulating retention strategies, use less rigorous methodologies, or forego data altogether when making policy decisions. Presented at the Second Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Beijing on November 1, 2012, this poster describes two new tools—the Rapid Retention Survey Toolkit and the iHRIS Retain costing tool for retention interventions—and related results from Ministry of Health surveys in Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Uganda.

Measuring the Success of the HRH Global Resource Center

In 2006, IntraHealth International, as implementer of the USAID-funded Capacity Project, developed and launched the HRH Global Resource Center, a digital library committed to reducing access barriers in developing countries to the best human resources for health information available. Since the launch, the HRH Global Resource Center has transformed in response to usage, feedback, and changes in the field. This article in Knowledge Management for Development shares IntraHealth’s experiences developing, using, and refining monitoring and evaluation methods and metrics for the HRH Global Resource Center.

Using Routine Human Resources Information Systems to Manage, Measure, and Monitor the Health Workforce

This paper examines the effectiveness of USAID’s and IntraHealth International’s approach to using routine HRIS to strengthen the health workforce in low-resource settings. It appears as a chapter in a book containing all the papers presented at the International Conference on Research in Human Resources for Health, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 9-11, 2010. The book, O trabalho em saude: Abordagens quantitativas e qualitativas (eds. Célia Regina Pierantoni, Mario Roberto Dal Poz, and Tania França), is available at http://www.obsnetims.org.br/adm/arq/livro/2141551.pdf (7 MB).

CapacityPlus au Mali

CapacityPlus collabore avec le ministère de la santé, les instituts de formation locaux ainsi que d’autres partenaires afin de remédier à la pénurie de prestataires de santé qualifiés au Mali et à leur mauvaise répartition.

CapacityPlus in Mali

Working with the Ministry of Health, local training institutions, and other partners, CapacityPlus is addressing Mali’s shortage and unequal distribution of qualified health workers. Also available in French.

Sistemas de información de recursos humanos para la salud

¿Cómo pueden los países recolectar y utilizar información sobre la fuerza laboral de salud para incrementar el acceso a servicios de salud?

Les systèmes d’information du personnel de santé

Comment les pays peuvent-ils recueillir et utiliser des données sur les effectifs sanitaires pour accroître l’accès aux soins ?

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