Health Workers

Partnering with African Faith-Based Organizations for a Strong Health Workforce

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) make immense contributions to the health sector in many parts of the world. Yet they are often not integrated into planning and resource allocations for national health systems, leading to service and system redundancies and gaps. FBOs also face numerous human resources for health (HRH) challenges, similar to other public- and private-sector institutions providing health services. The Africa Christian Health Associations Platform (ACHAP) has strengthened its members’ capacities to address HRH challenges with support from CapacityPlus. This technical brief presents examples from ACHAP members’ efforts to strengthen HRH and integrate FBOs into national health systems and the HRH community. The brief highlights achievements in selected areas, provides lessons learned, and offers seven key recommendations for furthering FBOs’ efforts.

Health Workforce Productivity: An Approach for Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement

Increasing health workers’ productivity will make service delivery more efficient and ensure that high-quality family planning, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, maternal and child health and other key services are accessible to the population. This free course on the Global Health eLearning Center, by CapacityPlus’s Rachel Deussom and Wanda Jaskiewicz of IntraHealth International, explores some basic concepts of health workforce productivity. It provides useful descriptions of a quantitative, formulaic approach for measuring productivity at the facility level; possible underlying causes of low productivity and methods to measure them; and potential interventions to improve productivity and strengthen health services. It takes approximately two hours to complete the course, after which each learner will receive a certificate.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative Compendium of Tools for Evaluating Community-Based Education Programs, and Pre-Workshop Activities Tool

This compendium of tools was disseminated to participants at the Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education Evaluation Workshop. Participants used the pre-workshop activities tool to prepare in advance. In collaboration with the MEPI community-based education technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center conducted the workshop, which was held on April 1–3, 2014, in Kampala, Uganda. The participants represented 11 MEPI-supported institutions and consortiums in seven countries. During the workshop they shared good practices for community-based education evaluation, drafted school-specific program evaluation plans, and strengthened the community-based education community of practice.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education Evaluation Workshop: Evaluation Plan Template, Logic Model Template, and Matrix of Tools

Participants at the Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education Evaluation Workshop used these tools to draft school-specific program evaluation plans, develop a logic model for the plans, and review approaches for evaluating community-based education programs. In collaboration with the MEPI community-based education technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center conducted the workshop, which was held on April 1–3, 2014, in Kampala, Uganda.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative eLearning Workshop: Strategic Plan and SWOT Analysis Templates

Participants at the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) eLearning Strategic Plan Development Workshop used these templates to draft school-specific eLearning strategic plans and to evaluate strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In collaboration with the MEPI eLearning technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center organized and conducted the workshop, which was held in Gaborone, Botswana, on February 24–27, 2014. The participants represented 11 MEPI-supported schools and one MEPI consortium.

Using Evidence for Human Resources for Health Decision-Making: An Example from Uganda on Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention

A strong and well-distributed health workforce is necessary for providing access to high-quality health care and achieving national and global health goals. Developing and implementing policies to effectively address health workforce challenges demands relevant data for evidence-based decision-making. This technical brief offers six recommendations to help national stakeholders transform evidence into policy decisions and subsequent action. Using an example from Uganda, the authors illustrate how the development and sharing of evidence can support decision-making for change in health workforce recruitment and retention policies, toward the aim of improving access to high-quality health care for the population.

Health Professional School Leadership and Health Sector Reform, Performance, and Practice

In the transition to the post-Millennium Development Goals era, many low and middle-income countries will be making significant shifts in their national health policies. The leadership that is drawn upon to make policy changes tends to be in ministries of health, flagship hospitals, physicians and nurses associations, and social protection entities. Health professional schools are an additional and valuable—yet often overlooked—source of leadership in health reform and health policy-making. This technical brief highlights some examples of how the education and research leadership of health professional schools has engaged, influenced, or obtained resources from national policy-makers and others with significant influence on the health sector. The brief also reviews instances in which different health educational institutions and professional associations have worked to shape national responses to health system needs.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative eLearning Workshop: Developing a Strategic Plan

This presentation was given by Chris Busang of the University of Botswana during the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) eLearning Strategic Plan Development Workshop, which was held in Gaborone, Botswana, on February 24–27, 2014. In collaboration with the MEPI eLearning technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center organized and conducted the workshop. Representatives from 11 MEPI-supported schools and one MEPI consortium completed draft eLearning strategic plans, shared knowledge and experiences, and built a supportive network of eLearning collaborators.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education Evaluation Workshop: Day 3

This presentation was given during the third day of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education (CBE) Evaluation Workshop, which was held on April 1–3, 2014, in Kampala, Uganda. In collaboration with the MEPI community-based education technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center conducted the workshop. Representatives from 11 MEPI-supported institutions and consortiums in seven countries shared good practices for CBE evaluation, drafted school-specific program evaluation plans, and strengthened the CBE community of practice.

Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education Evaluation Workshop: Day 2

This presentation was given during the second day of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative Community-Based Education (CBE) Evaluation Workshop, which was held on April 1–3, 2014, in Kampala, Uganda. In collaboration with the MEPI community-based education technical working group, CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center conducted the workshop. Representatives from 11 MEPI-supported institutions and consortiums in seven countries shared good practices for CBE evaluation, drafted school-specific program evaluation plans, and strengthened the CBE community of practice.

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