Allopathic Doctors in India

India is a country of 1.32 billion. The World Health Organization recommends, one doctor to serve 1,000 people, across all levels of care. This implies, we need a total of 1.2 million doctors to serve our population. India plans to establish 200 new medical colleges in the next 10 years to meet a projected shortage of 600,000 doctors. However, the information available on allopathic doctors have largely been fragmented and unreliable. A comprehensive search was undertaken to find out the estimates, norms and projections for allopathic doctors provided by the various health committees and experts in India. The Bhore, Sokhey & Mudaliar Committees, Five-year Planning Commission Reports, MCI Vision 2015 document and High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) report on Universal Health Coverage in have yielded estimates, norms and projections for allopathic doctors. The targeted doctor population ratio of 1:1000 could be achieved by 2027 as per HLEG and by 2031 as per MCI Vision 2015. This study emphasizes the estimates and norms of doctors as reported by the Government and allied agencies need strengthening for comprehensiveness and reliability to report information on the allopathic doctors. An important recommendation for the state professional councils is to maintain a live register of health workers.

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Scarcity of Nurses in India

Journal of Health Management ◽

10.1177/0972063416665932 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 509-522 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Reema Gill

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Health Workers ◽

Human Resources For Health ◽

Economic Status ◽

World Health ◽

Political Commitment ◽

Health Related ◽

The Government ◽

Population Ratio ◽

Health Organization

The human resources for health (HRH), especially nurses, constitute an important part of health systems. It is difficult to ascertain comprehensive information on the availability of health workers globally due to irregular reporting of data from the countries. However, experts have proposed minimum thresholds for achieving certain health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These thresholds have been used as yardsticks by others for determining HRH shortages in their nations. As per the minimum threshold developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), not enough health workers are available in India, especially in the rural areas. The nurse to population ratio in India is even lower than some of the other developing countries in Asia. Various factors, such as low professional and socio-economic status, gender issues, lack of political will on part of the government and unregulated private sector, have led to scarcity of nurses in numbers as well as qualitatively in India. To overcome the dismal working and social conditions, many Indian nurses are migrating to developed nations, further exacerbating the nursing shortages in the country. Inclusive planning, adequate financing and political commitment on the part of all stakeholders are required for overcoming the shortage of health personnel existing in India.

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Prepayment schemes

10.1093/oso/9780198794837.003.0011 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Jan Abel Olsen

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Social Health Insurance ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Public And Private ◽

Revenue Collection ◽

Otto Von Bismarck ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

This chapter considers two different ways of organizing revenue collection in statutory healthcare schemes: social health insurance and taxation. The two models are commonly referred to as ‘Bismarck vs Beveridge’ after the men associated with the origin of these systems: the first German chancellor Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898), and the British economist Lord William Beveridge (1879–1963). The differences between these two compulsory prepayment schemes are discussed and compared with private health insurance. Based on a simple diagram introduced by the World Health Organization, three dimensions of coverage are illustrated. Some policy dilemmas are highlighted when attempting to achieve universal health coverage. Finally, various combinations of public and private prepayment schemes are discussed.

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Burden, Access, and Disparities in Kidney Disease

Blood Purification ◽

10.1159/000497498 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 32-39

Author(s):

Deidra C. Crews ◽

Aminu K. Bello ◽

Gamal Saadi ◽

Keyword(s):

Kidney Disease ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

Kidney Injury ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Health Organization ◽

Basic Infrastructure ◽

Universal Health

Kidney disease is a global public health problem, affecting over 750 million persons worldwide. The burden of kidney disease varies substantially across the world. In many settings, rates of kidney disease and the provision of its care are defined by socioeconomic, cultural, and political factors leading to significant disparities. World Kidney Day 2019 offers an opportunity to raise awareness of kidney disease and highlight disparities in its burden and current state of global capacity for prevention and management. Here, we highlight the need for strengthening basic infrastructure for kidney care services for early detection and management of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease across all countries and advocate for more pragmatic approaches to providing renal replacement therapies. Achieving universal health coverage worldwide by 2030 is a World Health Organization Sustainable Development Goal. While universal health coverage may not include all elements of kidney care in all countries, understanding what is locally feasible and important with a focus on reducing the burden and consequences of kidney disease would be an important step towards achieving kidney health equity.

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Examining the Multilevel Barriers and Facilitators to Iron Folic Acid Supplement Use and Anemia Reduction in Rural India (OR25-07-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz051.or25-07-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Erica Sedlander ◽

Rajiv Rimal ◽

Michael Long ◽

Ashita Munjral ◽

Hagere Yilma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Folic Acid ◽

Health Workers ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

World Health ◽

Women Of Reproductive Age ◽

Individual Level ◽

Supplement Use ◽

The Government ◽

Iron Folic Acid ◽

Health Organization

Abstract Objectives Over half of women of reproductive age in India are anemic so the World Health Organization recommends daily iron folic acid (IFA) for all women of reproductive age. The government has distributed free IFA for over four decades but initial uptake and adherence remain inadequate. Objectives 1) to understand the multilevel factors that hinder IFA use and adherence; and 2) to inform a behavioral intervention to increase IFA use to reduce anemia. Methods We conducted this study in four rural villages in the state of Odisha, India. We held 25 key informant interviews with front-line health workers, 16 focus groups with women of reproductive age, husbands, and mothers-in-law (n = 148) and 18 direct observations in health centers, pharmacies and women's groups. We purposively sampled key informants and randomly sampled focus group participants from an enumeration of all eligible residents of each village, and stratified them by sex, age and relation to a woman of reproductive age. We analyzed the data using applied thematic analysis and Nvivo software. Results At the individual level, we found that most people knew that IFA prevents anemia, but they did not recognize its widespread prevalence, believing instead that it was rare in their community. They also believed that taking too many IFA supplements during pregnancy would “make your baby big” causing a painful birth and possibly the need for a cesarean section. At the interpersonal level, mothers-in-law were not supportive of their daughters-in-law taking IFA too often because they themselves did not take them when they were younger. Husbands were more supportive. At the policy level, frontline health workers distribute IFA but are not incentivized to follow up on adherence. Finally, state and national policies are not consistent around which sub-populations should take IFA (e.g., whether all non-pregnant women of reproductive age should take them). Conclusions To address these multilevel barriers to IFA use and adherence, interventions should take a normative approach that includes a woman's social network and targets both descriptive norms (ideas about how many women in the community have anemia and are taking IFA) and injunctive norms around who should be taking IFA (e.g., all women of reproductive age). Funding Sources The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs

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Is health workforce sustainability in Australia and New Zealand a realistic policy goal?

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah10897 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 152 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

James M. Buchan ◽

Lucio Naccarella ◽

Peter M. Brooks

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Health Workforce ◽

Health Workers ◽

World Health ◽

Home Based ◽

Self Sufficiency ◽

Policy Direction ◽

Health Organization ◽

High Level ◽

Agreed Definition

This paper assesses what health workforce ‘sustainability’ might mean for Australia and New Zealand, given the policy direction set out in the World Health Organization draft code on international recruitment of health workers. The governments in both countries have in the past made policy statements about the desirability of health workforce ‘self-sufficiency’, but OECD data show that both have a high level of dependence on internationally recruited health professionals relative to most other OECD countries. The paper argues that if a target of ‘self-sufficiency’ or sustainability were to be based on meeting health workforce requirements from home based training, both Australia and New Zealand fall far short of this measure, and continue to be active recruiters. The paper stresses that there is no common agreed definition of what health workforce ‘self-sufficiency’, or ‘sustainability’ is in practice, and that without an agreed definition it will be difficult for policy-makers to move the debate on to reaching agreement and possibly setting measurable targets or timelines for achievement. The paper concludes that any policy decisions related to health workforce sustainability will also have to taken in the context of a wider community debate on what is required of a health system and how is it to be funded.

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Monitoring Frameworks for Universal Health Coverage: What About High-Income Countries?

International Journal of Health Policy and Management ◽

10.15171/ijhpm.2019.21 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 387-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nicole Bergen ◽

Arne Ruckert ◽

Ronald Labonté

Keyword(s):

Universal Health Coverage ◽

High Income ◽

World Health ◽

Future Research ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Middle Income ◽

The Sustainable Development ◽

Development Goals ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

Implementing universal health coverage (UHC) is widely perceived to be central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and is a work program priority of the World Health Organization (WHO). Much has already been written about how low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can monitor progress towards UHC, with various UHC monitoring frameworks available in the literature. However, we suggest that these frameworks are largely irrelevant in high-income contexts and that the international community still needs to develop UHC monitoring framework meaningful for high-income countries (HICs). As a first step, this short communication presents preliminary findings from a literature review and document analysis on how various countries monitor their own progress towards achieving UHC. It furthermore offers considerations to guide meaningful UHC monitoring and reflects on pertinent challenges and tensions to inform future research on UHC implementation in HIC settings.

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Fiscal space for Health in the Americas: is economic growth sufficient?

Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública ◽

10.26633/rpsp.2019.321 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Camilo Cid Pedraza ◽

Mauricio Matus-López ◽

Ernesto Báscolo

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Latin American ◽

Universal Access ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Political Dialogue ◽

Access To Health ◽

Fiscal Space ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

Objective. In 2014, the member countries of the Pan American Health Organization signed the Strategy for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage. In it, they committed to increasing public expenditure on health until reaching the benchmark of 6% of gross domestic product (GDP). The objective of this paper is to determine, for each country in the Region, whether they can reach this target through economic growth alone and, if so, how long it would take. Methods. Using World Bank and World Health Organization data, elasticity of public health expenditure (PHE) with respect to GDP was estimated for each country. Real economic growth and International Monetary Fund projections for 2016–2021 were used to project the expenditure series and determine the year each country would reach 6% of GDP. Results. Six countries have already reached the 6% target. The Latin American and Caribbean countries that have achieved it are those that have single health systems, based on universal access and coverage. If current prioritization of PHE is maintained, three countries could reach the target in the next decade. Four more countries would reach it before mid-century, 10 in the second half of the century, and one would have to wait until the next century. Finally, 13 countries would never reach the proposed target. Conclusions. This analysis demonstrates the limitations of economic growth as a source of fiscal space. Other sources will need to be tapped, such as increased tax collection, specific health taxes, and greater efficiency in public spending, which will require social and political dialogue in the countries regarding their commitment to universal health principles.

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Investigation of the Level of Public Awareness Outcome of COVID -19 Pandemic among Nigerians

10.47363/jvrr/2020(1)106 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Azuonwu Obioma ◽

◽

Ihua Nnenna ◽

Ahiakwo Christian ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Public ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Secondary Data ◽

World Health ◽

Global Public Health ◽

The Public ◽

The Government ◽

Health Organization ◽

Associated Risk Factors ◽

High Level

The COVID-19 pandemic has been considered to be very phenomenal as the period is marked with some unimaginable Health crises across the globe. COVID-19 has been a global Public Health threat widely affecting the entire populace irrespective of the class and sex across the region of the world. This has attracted lots of sensitization and interventions from the appropriate approved Health agencies such as World Health Organization, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and others to better inform the general public about the nature and mode of operandi of the pandemic virus in the absence of an accepted therapeutics and vaccines as at the time of this study. However, the media is flooded with information; not excluding some misconceptions about COVID-19 pandemic. These conflicting information are taken by the general public without reservation, hence, the study investigated the level of awareness of the public about COVID-19 virus, in relation to general knowledge, signs/symptoms, associated risk factors, transmission/spread and misconceptions. The study was delimited to Nigerians who had access to the internet. The study instrument was a self-structured questionnaire, validated by experts in this area. A Cronbach Alpha revealed a reliability index of 0.92. The online descriptive survey on the awareness level of the public, utilized Google form technique to create the questionnaire which was sent through emails and links to various social media and private platforms. Five research questions and hypothesis guided the study. A combination of primary and secondary data sources aided the study. Modified Likert scale (four points) was used and a criterion mean of 2.5 was used as the cut-off for either aware/agree (>2.5) or not aware/disagree (<2.5). Statistical Package for Social Science version 21 was used to estimate descriptive and inferential statistics at 5% alpha level for deduction. A response rate of 99.1% was obtained and a sample size of 347 was used. The study outcome suggests many interesting phenomena concerning public awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a high level of awareness of COVID-19. However, there is a need for the government and media platforms to curtail the spread of fake news and correct the misconceptions about COVID-19 among her citizens in the region.

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Community participation and private sector engagement are fundamental to achieving universal health coverage and health security in Africa: reflections from the second Africa health forum

BMC Proceedings ◽

10.1186/s12919-019-0170-0 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (S9) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olushayo Olu ◽

Pamela Drameh-Avognon ◽

Emil Asamoah-Odei ◽

Francis Kasolo ◽

Thomas Valdez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Private Sector ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Universal Health Coverage ◽

World Health ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Health Security ◽

Cabo Verde ◽

Health Organization ◽

Universal Health

Abstract Background Inadequate access to quality health care services due to weak health systems and recurrent public health emergencies are impediments to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage and health security in Africa. To discuss these challenges and deliberate on plausible solutions, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, in collaboration with the Government of Cabo Verde, convened the second Africa Health Forum in Praia, Cabo Verde on 26–28 March 2019, under the theme Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Health Security: The Africa We Want to See. Methods The Forum was conducted through technical sessions consisting of high-level, moderated panel discussions on specific themes, some of them preceded by keynote addresses. There were booth exhibitions by Member States, World Health Organization and other organizations to facilitate information exchanges. A Communiqué highlighting the recommendations of the Forum was issued during the closing ceremony. More than 750 participants attended. Relevant information from the report of the Forum and notes by the authors were extracted and synthesized into these proceedings. Conclusions The Forum participants agreed that the role of community engagement and participation in the attainment of Universal Health Coverage, health security and ultimately the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be overemphasized. The public sector of Africa alone cannot achieve these three interrelated goals; other partners, such as the private sector, must be engaged. Technological innovations will be a key driver of the attainment of these goals; hence, there is need to harness the comparative advantages that they offer. Attainment of the three goals is also intertwined – achieving one paves the way for achieving the others. Thus, there is need for integrated public health approaches in the planning and implementation of interventions aimed at achieving them. Recommendations To ensure that the recommendations of this Forum are translated into concrete actions in a sustainable manner, we call on African Ministers of Health to ensure their integration into national health sector policies and strategic documents and to provide the necessary leadership required for their implementation. We also call on partners to mainstream these recommendations into their ongoing support to World Health Organization African Member States.

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