scholarly journals Production, Recruitment, and Retention of Health Workers in Rural Areas in the Philippines

2021 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. Guevarra ◽  
Paolo Victor N. Medina ◽  
Michelle D. Avelino ◽  
Ma. Rhenea Anne M. Cengca ◽  
Mikko Anthony L. Ting ◽  
...  

Objectives. The study aimed to determine the perception of program administrators and students on the implementation of return service agreement (RSA) in the Philippines. It examined the different components of, and opportunities, and challenges in the implementation of RSA of selected institutions. Methods. Key informant interviews using a topic guide were conducted with ten program administrators and student representatives from selected institutions implementing a return service policy. Interviews were transcribed and responses in Filipino were translated to English. Open coding and focused coding were performed to identify categories and themes from the interview transcripts. Results. Addressing human resource for health (HRH) needs of the country is a common rationale behind RSA implementation among the institutions sampled for the study. A notable difference in implementation arrangements is the manner of rendering service. Majority of RSA programs require promisors to be employed in any part of the Philippines in need of health workers, while other RSA programs recruit students from rural areas in order to deploy them later on in their hometowns. There is also an apparent lack of institutionalized mechanisms for job placement for students to fulfill their return service obligations. One challenge in most institutions is the need for a formal monitoring and evaluation scheme for the policy. Conclusion. Integration of the voice of stakeholders is critical in the conceptualization, development, and implementation of RSA policies. This will ensure that issues attendant to operationalization are mitigated if not outrightly avoided.


Author(s):  
Michelle Smith-Tamaray ◽  
Sarah Verdon ◽  
Laura Hoffman

BACKGROUND: Recruitment and retention of skilled health workers into rural areas is a major challenge to achieving equity in health between rural and urban populations. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the impact of rurally-based tertiary education in promoting the recruitment and retention of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in non-metropolitan areas and intention to remain in the profession. METHODS: Participants in this cohort study were 133 graduates from a rurally-based speech and language therapy course in Australia who completed the course between 1998 and 2018. Data were collected via an online survey. Data were analysed using inferential statistics, ArcGIS mapping software and content analysis in NVivo. RESULTS: 65.0% of the graduates practiced in rural or remote areas with just 21.1% practicing in major cities. Most participants’ ideal work location was in a rural area. Benefits of rural practice included seeing a mixed caseload, living near family, work/life balance and loving their location. Challenges of rural practice included limited opportunities for specialist caseloads and career progression. In total, 93.2% of the rural graduates intended to remain in the speech and language therapy profession for the next 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that SLTs who are trained in rural areas with a focus on servicing rural populations are highly likely to enter and remain in rural practice, consistent with the rural pipeline model.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0253518
Author(s):  
Leslie Berman ◽  
Levison Nkhoma ◽  
Margaret Prust ◽  
Courtney McKay ◽  
Mihereteab Teshome ◽  
...  

Background Inadequate and unequal distribution of health workers are significant barriers to provision of health services in Malawi, and challenges retaining health workers in rural areas have limited scale-up initiatives. This study therefore aims to estimate cost-effectiveness of monetary and non-monetary strategies in attracting and retaining nurse midwife technicians (NMTs) to rural areas of Malawi. Methods The study uses a discrete choice experiment (DCE) methodology to investigate importance of job characteristics, probability of uptake, and intervention costs. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with NMTs and students to identify recruitment and retention motivating factors. Through policymaker consultations, qualitative findings were used to identify job attributes for the DCE questionnaire, administered to 472 respondents. A conditional logit regression model was developed to produce probability of choosing a job with different attributes and an uptake rate was calculated to estimate the percentage of health workers that would prefer jobs with specific intervention packages. Attributes were costed per health worker year. Results Qualitative results highlighted housing, facility quality, management, and workload as important factors in job selection. Respondents were 2.04 times as likely to choose a rural job if superior housing was provided compared to no housing (CI 1.71–2.44, p<0.01), and 1.70 times as likely to choose a rural job with advanced facility quality (CI 1.47–1.96, p<0.01). At base level 43.9% of respondents would choose a rural job. This increased to 61.5% if superior housing was provided, and 72.5% if all facility-level improvements were provided, compared to an urban job without these improvements. Facility-level interventions had the lowest cost per health worker year. Conclusions Our results indicate housing and facility-level improvements have the greatest impact on rural job choice, while also creating longer-term improvements to health workers’ living and working environments. These results provide practical evidence for policymakers to support development of workforce recruitment and retention strategies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Onyema Ajuebor ◽  
Mathieu Boniol ◽  
Michelle McIsaac ◽  
Chukwuemeka Onyedike ◽  
Elie A. Akl

Abstract Background The primary aim of this study is to assess stakeholders’ views of the acceptability and feasibility of policy options and outcome indicators presented in the 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) global policy recommendations on increasing access to health workers in remote and rural areas through improved retention. Methods A survey on the acceptability, feasibility of recruitment and retention policy options, and the importance of their outcome indicators was developed. It followed a cross-sectional approach targeting health workers in rural and remote settings as well as policy- and decision-makers involved in the development of recruitment and retention policies for such areas. Respondents were asked their perception of the importance of the policy outcomes of interest, as well as the acceptability and feasibility of the 2010 WHO guidelines’ policy options using a 9-point Likert scale. Results In total, 336 participants completed the survey. Almost a third worked in government; most participants worked in community settings and were involved in the administration and management of rural health workers. Almost all 19 outcomes of interests assessed were valued as important or critical. For the 16 guideline policy options, most were perceived to be "definitely acceptable" and "definitely feasible", although the policy options were generally considered to be more acceptable than feasible. Conclusion The findings of this study provide insight into the revision and update of the 2010 WHO guideline on increasing access to health workers in remote and rural areas. Stakeholders’ views of the acceptability, feasibility of policy options and the importance of outcomes of interest are important for the development of relevant and effective policies to improve access to health workers in rural and remote areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deesha Deepak Ghorpade ◽  
Anchala Raghupathy ◽  
Jyoti Deepak Londhe ◽  
Sapna Jitendra Madas ◽  
Nisha Vijay Kale ◽  
...  

AbstractCOPD is the second leading cause of death and disability adjusted life years (DALYs) in India, yet, it remains poorly recognized. We aimed to study the level of awareness of COPD in urban slums of Pune city in India and its neighboring rural areas. All male and female subjects above the age of 30 years residing in 13 randomly selected slums of Pune city (total population of 3000) and 7 randomly selected neighboring rural villages (total population of 3000) were invited to participate in this cross-sectional community survey. After obtaining written informed consent, 13 trained community health workers (CHWs) administered a questionnaire that captured their level of awareness of COPD. Of the 6000 subjects approached, 5420 residents (mean age ± SD = 48.0 ± 13.5 years; 38% males) consented and answered all questions. The number of people who had ever heard the word COPD was 49/5420 [0.9% (0.6–1.1%); 0.7% (0.5–1.3%) of the urban slum dwellers and 1.15% (0.5–1.3%) of rural residents]. Among those who had never heard the word COPD (n = 5371), when asked what was the name of the disease caused by long-term tobacco smoking, 38% said cancer, 16.7% said asthma, and 4.4% said TB. Among those who had heard the word COPD (n = 49), 6.1% said it was a disease of the heart, and 61% attributed COPD to smoke and dust pollution and 20% to tobacco smoking. The level of awareness of COPD in the Indian community is extremely low, highlighting the need to have nationwide mass awareness programs in India.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Shah ◽  
Q Jamali ◽  
F Aisha

Abstract Background Unsafe practices such as cutting umbilical cord with unsterilized instruments and application of harmful substances, are in practice in many rural areas of Pakistan, and associated with high risk of neonatal sepsis and mortality. Methods We conducted an implementation research in 2015 in Tharparkar district, in Sindh province of Pakistan to understand the feasibility and acceptability of community-based distribution of chlorhexidine (CHX) in rural Pakistan. For this cohort group-only study, 225 lady health workers (LHWs) enrolled 495 pregnant women. Enrolled women received 4% CHX gel and user’s instructions for newborn cord care. The LHWs also counseled women on the benefits and correct use of CHX. Study enumerators collected data from CHX receiving women 3 times: at around 2 weeks before delivery, within 24 hours after delivery, and on the 8th day after delivery. We implemented this study jointly in collaboration with Ministry of Health in Sindh province, Pakistan. Results Among enrolled participants, 399 women (81%) received only the first visit, 295 women (60%) received first two visits and 261 women (53%) received all three visits by enumerators. Among 399 women, who received CHX gel, counseling on its use and were respondent to the first round data collection, 78% remembered that the CHX gel to be applied to cord stump and surrounding areas immediately after birth; but less than a third (29%) forgot the need to keep the cord clean and dry. Among 295 respondents in the first two rounds of data collection, who delivered at home, 97% applied CHX to cord stump on the first day. Conclusions Community-based CHX distribution by LHWs, along with counseling to recipient women, resulted in a high rate of cord care with CHX among newborn delivered at home. Results from this study may help program implementers to consider expanding this intervention for improving newborn cord care on the first day of life in Pakistan. Key messages Community-based distribution of chlorhexidine for newborn cord care appears as highly acceptable and feasible in rural communities in Pakistan. Relevant program policy supporting community-based CHX distribution along with counseling by LHW may help expanding coverage of newborn cord care in rural communities in Pakistan.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Chiodi ◽  
◽  
Verónica Escudero

What works to reduce child labor in agriculture? In this paper, we evaluate two randomized livelihood intervention programs, aimed to reduce child labor, particularly in its most exploitative forms, in rural areas of Peru and the Philippines. In the first randomized experiment, we evaluate a livelihood intervention provided to farmers in Peru that use the labor of their children on their family farms, accompanied by an education intervention aimed to improve the quality of schools and an awareness-raising intervention. In the second randomized experiment, we evaluate the incremental effect of the livelihood intervention implemented within a similar program in the Philippines, focused on the sugarcane agricultural sector. We find that when livelihood interventions were provided alone, they did not manage to improve economic conditions, and hence generally failed to reduce child labor rates in rural areas. However, when the livelihood intervention was combined with measures to improve the quality of education in Peru, we see a reduction in hazardous child labor and child labor overall. Awareness-raising interventions, aimed at changing the perceptions of parents through community interaction, appear to have also had an effect in the reduction of child labor, and these effects were reinforced by education interventions. Results indicate that a comprehensive approach including livelihood support with education and awareness-raising components is a more effective way to reduce child labor and hazardous labor for children in the agricultural sector.


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