Journal Articles

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.

In low-income countries, failure to attract and retain health workers in rural areas reduces population access to health services and undermines facility performance, resulting in poor health outcomes. This article in BMC Health Services Research presents findings from CapacityPlus’s study on preferences for job characteristics among final-year medical, nursing, pharmacy, and laboratory students at select universities in Uganda. The findings contribute to mounting evidence that salary is not the only important factor health workers consider when deciding where to work.

This article in Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública by CapacityPlus’s deputy director for HRH and health systems strengthening provides guidance for putting health workforce tools into action.

The global human resources for health (HRH) challenge remains persistent. In 2006, the World Health Report identified 57 crisis countries, and, despite increased attention and investment in strengthening the workforce, those countries are still in crisis. While many countries have HRH plans, this paper asserts that a major reason countries remain in crisis is the lack of sustained implementation to achieve concrete workforce strengthening results. It is critical for HRH leaders to take action to ensure that already available tools are disseminated, adapted, and used to foster effective implementation at the country level. The paper highlights four such tools as examples that can be used to build implementation capacity, and offers recommendations to support more results-oriented implementation.