scholarly journals Safety of health workers: a key priority in COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhakta Bahadur K.C.
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Safety Equipment ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
The World ◽  
High Level

Although, the health workforce is one of the most significant building blocks of the health system, the preparation to ensure safety from COVID-19 remains inadequate across the world. Therefore, there is an increasingly growing number of health workers being infected from COVID-19 globally, making health workers the most vulnerable population to the pandemic. Most of the countries lack the safety equipment in place resulting in high exposure of health workers to this fatal SARS-COV2. Besides these, health workers' behaviour is also contributing infection to themselves. A high-level political commitment together with the investment in the health sectors to increase the supply of protective gears and capacity building of health workers is key to save and protect them from COVID-19 pandemic.

Preparedness for Mitigating Noncommunicable Diseases in Gaindakot Municipality, Nepal: Perspectives of Key informants

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1320-1324
Author(s):  
Narayan Sapkota ◽  
Damaru Prasad Paneru
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Health System Strengthening ◽  
High Morbidity ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Screening Services ◽  
And Control

Introduction: Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the major public health problem that leads to high morbidity and mortality in the world including Nepal. Government of Nepal has launched the Multi-sectoral NCD Action Plan in 2014 and established NCD and Injuries Poverty Commission in 2016 for the management and control of NCDs nevertheless the implementation status and its outcomes are not identified till date at the local level. Objectives: To explore the preparedness of the local government for the prevention and control of NCDs at Gaindakot, Nawalpur, Nepal. Methodology: A qualitative study was conducted in the Gaindakot municipality; Nawalpur to document the key informant's perspectives on health system's preparedness to prevent the potential impacts of NCDs. Face to face Indepth interview was performed using open-ended questions. Interview guidelines were prepared on the basis of building blocks of health system. Information was processed basis on thematic analysis. Result: The study revealed that health section has NCD preparedness structure but need to strengthening for the better delivery of health services. The study highlights that screening services and the medicine for major NCDs like hypertension and diabetes were available at local level. Limited budget was allocated and health workforce was not trained for NCDs prevention and control. There was no reporting mechanism for NCD related data from local level. Conclusion: Basic medicine and screening services were provided from the local level to the selected NCDs such as hypertension and diabetes. There was no provision of reporting NCD related information and health workforce were not trained to respond NCDs. Local level health system strengthening is an urgent need to address the increasing burden of NCDs.  

scholarly journals Towards universal health coverage: governance and organisational change in ministries of health

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. e001735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Berman ◽  
Azrina Azhar ◽  
Elizabeth J Osborn
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Universal Health Coverage ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Health Financing ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
High Level ◽  
Universal Health

Countries have implemented a range of reforms in health financing and provision to advance towards universal health coverage (UHC). These reforms often change the role of a ministry of health (MOH) in traditionally unitary national health service systems. An exploratory comparative case study of four upper middle-income and high-income countries provides insights into how these reforms in pursuit of UHC are likely to affect health governance and the organisational functioning of an MOH accustomed to controlling the financing and delivery of healthcare. These reforms often do not result in simple transfers of responsibility from MOH to other actors in the health system. The resulting configuration of responsibilities and organisational changes within a health system is specific to the capacities within the health system and the sociopolitical context. Formal prescriptions that accompany reform proposals often do not fully represent what actually takes place. An MOH may retain considerable influence in financing and delivery even when reforms appear to formally shift those powers to other organisational units. MOHs have limited ability to independently achieve fundamental system restructuring in health systems that are strongly subject to public sector rules and policies. Our comparative study shows that within these constraints, MOHs can drive organisational change through four mechanisms: establishing a high-level interministerial team to provide political commitment and reduce institutional barriers; establishing an MOH ‘change team’ to lead implementation of organisational change; securing key components of systemic change through legislation; and leveraging emerging political change windows of opportunity for the introduction of health reforms.

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

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 152 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Penguatan Kebijakan One Health dan Jejaring Laboratorium Dalam Deteksi Dini Leptospirosis di Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farida Dwi Handayani ◽  
Diana Andriyani Pratamawati ◽  
Wening Widjajanti ◽  
Muhidin Muhidin ◽  
Bernadus Yuliadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
One Health ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Health Service Providers ◽  
The World ◽  
Late Treatment

Abstract International Leptospirosis Society stated Indonesia as a country with high leptospirosis incidence and ranked third in the world for mortality. Rikhus Vektora, in 2015 - 2017 in 25 provinces in Indonesia, showed that positive leptospirosis rats were found in all regions. However, Health Service Providers (PPK) both at the basic and advanced levels stated that they were unable to carry out a diagnosis of leptospirosis cases. Meanwhile, the data also showed that in the provinces where no leptospirosis cases reported, there were Leptospira bacteria found in captured rats both in settlements and remote areas. This condition causes leptospirosis like the phenomenon of the iceberg that is seen as no cases while the facts in the field of many people infected with late treatment. One Health approach in cross-sector leptospirosis data integration from a related department is needed in determining priorities for the prevention of leptospirosis. It is necessary to establish a laboratory network to obtain faster information regarding the enforcement of the diagnosis of leptospirosis cases. The proposed policy recommendations are the discovery of leptospirosis cases with capacity building for doctors and health workers through clinical lectures, cross-sector joint surveillance, and strengthening of laboratory networks for early enforcement of leptospirosis diagnose. Keywords: leptospirosis, one-health, laboratory, early detection, Indonesia Abstrak International Leptospirosis Society menyatakan Indonesia sebagai negara dengan insidens leptospirosis tinggi dan peringkat ketiga dunia untuk mortalitas. Hasil Riset Khusus Vektor dan Reservoir Penyakit (Rikhus Vektora) pada tahun 2015 - 2017 di 25 provinsi di Indonesia menunjukkan bahwa di setiap provinsi ditemukan persentase tikus positif bakteri Leptospira. Namun, penyedia Pelayanan Kesehatan (PPK) baik yang ada di tingkat dasar maupun lanjutan menyatakan belum mampu untuk melakukan penegakkan diagnosa kasus leptospirosis. Sementara itu, data juga menunjukkan bahwa pada beberapa provinsi yang menyatakan tidak ada kasus leptospirosis ditemukan adanya bakteri Leptospira pada tikus yang ditangkap baik pada ekosistem yang dekat dengan pemukiman maupun yang jauh dari pemukiman. Kondisi ini menyebabkan leptospirosis seperti fenomena gunung es yaitu terlihat tidak ada kasus sementara fakta di lapangan banyak orang terjangkit yang terlambat diobati. Pendekatan ‘One Health’ dalam integrasi data leptospirosis lintas sektor (Dinas Kesehatan, Dinas Peternakan, Dinas Pertanian) diperlukan dalam penentuan prioritas penanggulangan leptospirosis. Selain itu, perlu dibuat jejaring laboratorium agar didapatkan informasi lebih cepat terkait penegakan diagnosis kasus leptospirosis. Rekomendasi kebijakan yang diusulkan adalah penemuan kasus leptospirosis dengan capacity building dokter dan tenaga kesehatan dengan cara ceramah klinis, surveilans bersama lintas sektor dan penguatan jejaring laboratorium untuk penegakan dini diganosa leptospirosis. Kata kunci: leptospirosis, one-health, laboratorium, deteksi dini, Indonesia

scholarly journals Workload pressure of nurses at an emergency satellite hospital in Peshawar Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
H M Khan
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Health System ◽  
Nursing Staff ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Planning And Management ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Efficient Planning

Abstract Introduction Health managers face challenges to respond to the demands of the population with limited resources. Balancing the health workforce is of high concern as the health workers are indispensable resource in a health system. The objective of this study was to determine the workload pressure of nurses working at an Emergency Satellite Hospital for efficient planning and management. Methods The Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method was used for this study which is a human resource management tool which determines the number of health workers required to cope with the workload and asses the workload pressure by using the available service statistics. It calculates the level of staff shortage or surplus in a facility and the ratio of actual to the required number of staff determines the workload pressure with which the staff is coping. Results According to the findings of the study there were 1966 available working hours for the nurses in a year. Out of this time 33.33% was taken by support activities of all nurses, 18.75% by additional activities of some of the nurses and 47.92% by health services activities of all the nurses. At the time of the study there were 4 nurses working in the in the hospital but according to the calculations based on WISN 3 nurses were required to carry out the activities identified by the experts working group. The study shows that there was no workload pressure on the nursing staff as the WISN ratio was 1.33 and one nurse was surplus. Conclusions The study found that there was no workload pressure on the nursing staff and one nurse was surplus who can be adjusted in any other unit where there is more need of nursing staff. This can increase the overall productivity and the demands of the population for health services can be responded to in an efficient way. Key messages Balancing the health workforce in any institution is of high concern as the health workers are the most costly, least readily available and indispensable resource in a health system. Efficient planning and management of health workforce is essential for better productivity.

scholarly journals Health workforce in India: opportunities and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 4596
Author(s):  
Kesavan Sreekantan Nair
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Political Commitments ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Workforce Density

Health system reforms in India during the past decade yielded an impressive growth of medical, dental and nursing education opportunities, but health workforce density remains low in comparison to the World Health Organization (WHO) norms. Apart from shortage, retaining qualified health workforce in the rural and underserved areas remains a huge challenge. This crisis is likely to persist until and unless health system addresses the fundamental requirements of health workers as envisaged in health policies. Concerted attention and long term political commitments are required to overcome health system barriers to achieve rural recruitment and retention across various cadres in states. As the major share of health workforce belongs to the private sector, their resources need to be harnessed to meet health system goals through partnerships and collaborations. There is an urgent need for better regulation and enforcement of standards in medical education and delivery of health services across the public and private sectors.

scholarly journals To grasp the world at a glance: The role of attention in visual and semantic associative processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurit Gronau
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Relational Processing ◽  
Associative Processing ◽  
Visual Background ◽  
The World ◽  
High Level

Associative relations among words, concepts and percepts are the core building blocks of high-level cognition. When viewing the world ‘at a glance’, the associative relations between objects in a scene, or between an object and its visual background are extracted rapidly. The extent to which such relational processing requires attentional capacity, however, has been heavily disputed over the years. In the present manuscript I review studies investigating scene-object and object-object associative processing. I then present a series of studies in which I assessed the necessity of spatial attention to various types of visual-semantic relations within a scene. Importantly, in all studies, the spatial and temporal aspects of visual attention were tightly controlled in an attempt to minimize unintentional attention shifts from ‘attended’ to ‘unattended’ regions. Pairs of stimuli - either objects, scenes, or a scene and an object - were briefly presented on each trial, while participants were asked to detect a pre-defined category of stimuli (e.g., an animal, a nonsense shape). Response times (RTs) to the target detection task were registered when visual attention spanned both stimuli in a pair vs. when attention was focused on only one of two stimuli. Findings consistently demonstrated rapid associative processing when stimuli were fully attended, i.e., shorter RTs to associated than unassociated pairs. Focusing attention on a single stimulus only, however, largely impaired this relational processing. The only exception to this result pattern was observed with the target stimuli that were prioritized by task demands: such stimuli continued to affect performance even when positioned at an unattended location, indicating that their relations with the attended items were well processed and analyzed. Our findings suggest that attention plays a critical role in processing visual-associative relations when these involve stimuli that are irrelevant to one's immediate goals.

scholarly journals Big data to support Indonesian health system recovery from the pandemic: potential and challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 02006
Author(s):  
Anis Fuad
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
Immediate Recovery ◽  
Second Wave

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the Indonesian health system. At the peak of the second wave, health care crises occurred in various regions, causing difficulties in accessing essential and emergency health services, accompanied by increased deaths in hospitals and self-isolation. Various efforts have been made to overcome the crisis, from providing field hospitals, adding facilities and infrastructure in hospitals, empowering health workers and volunteers, logistics, and implementing a massive digital system. In addition, strengthening in the upstream aspects starting from tracing, testing to health protocols is also continuously encouraged, along with the acceleration and expansion of vaccinations. The pandemic has encouraged massive utilization of digital systems in various aspects accompanied by an extraordinary increase in the volume of digital data in various types and quality. The critical question then is, what are the opportunities for big data to support the recovery of the health system affected by the pandemic? Likewise, what challenges must be overcome to make optimal use of big data so that the Indonesian health system can quickly recover, grow and become resilient again? To answer the questions above, we reviewed bibliographic databases, gray literature, media, and webinar recordings available online. Next, we group their potential based on the building blocks of the health system. Using the e-health framework from WHO-ITU, we categorize the main challenges of using big data into seven major groups: governance, strategy, data standards, interoperability, application, regulation, and human resources. We provide special notes on each aspect of these challenges along with priority follow-up steps. In the end, the Covid-19 pandemic provides essential lessons for the Indonesian health system to take advantage of digitalization, especially big data intelligently and creatively, to encourage the immediate recovery of the health system. However, several significant challenges need to be overcome so that big data can be utilized optimally to overcome this big global problem.

Two-facility longitudinal study on the effect of team medical education based on collaboration with WHO and development in Asia

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (8) ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Hideomi Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
World Health ◽  
High Coverage ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Birth Attendance ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The World

The Global Health Workforce Network (GHWN), formerly Global Health Workforce Aliance, is a broad term which challenges the problems surrounding a severe health workforce shortage. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) calculated that to attain a high coverage of skilled birth attendance, there was a minimum requirement of 2.28 physicians, nurses and midwives for every 1,000 people in a population. However, statistics prepared by WHO back over a decade ago suggested that 57 countries around the world fell below this threshold, this meant that an additional 4.3 million health workers were needed to fill the shortage. Fast forward to 2019 and there still appears to be a significant shortage. For that reason, there have been many investigations into how best to solve this problem – one that will only get worse as the global population continues to grow. One strategy that has been identified is interprofessional education (IPE), which is a pedagogical approach that aims to prepare health professions students by placing them in a collaborative team environment. The idea is relatively straightforward: improve the overall quality of healthcare by putting students from two or more professions in health and social care together, so that they can each learn from the others and cultivate collaborative practice (CP), which may also contribute to patient safety.

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