Christophe Lemiere

Assessing health workers’ revenues and coping strategies in Nigeria — a mixed-methods study

BackgroundThe setting of realistic performance-based financing rewards necessitates not just knowledge of health workers’ salaries, but of the revenue that accrues from their additional income-generating activities. This study examined the coping mechanisms of health workers in the public health sector of Nasarawa and Ondo states in Nigeria to supplement their salaries and benefits; it also estimated the proportionate value of the revenues from those coping mechanisms in relation to the health workers’ official incomes.MethodsThis study adopted a mixed-methods approach, consisting of semi-structured interviews, a review of policy documents, a survey using self-administered questionnaires, and the randomized response technique (RRT). In all, 170 health workers (86 in Ondo, 84 in Nasarawa) participated in the survey. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 health workers (12 per state) and nine policy makers from both states.ResultsThe health workers perceived their salaries as inadequate, though most policy makers differed in this assessment. There appeared to be a considerable expenditure–income disparity among the respondents. Approximately 56% (n = 93) of the study population reported having additional earning arrangements: most reported non-medical activities such as farming and trading, but private practice was also frequently reported.Half of the respondents with additional earning arrangements stated that their income from those activities was the equivalent of half or more of their monthly salaries. Specifically, 35% (n = 32) said that they earned about half of their official monthly salaries and 15% (n = 14) reported earning the same or more than their monthly salaries from these activities. Other coping mechanisms used by the health workers included prioritizing activities that enabled the earning of per diems, collecting informal payments and gifts from patients, and pilfering drugs from facilities.ConclusionsPredatory and non-predatory mechanisms accounted for the health workers’ additional income. It may be difficult for the health workers to meet their expenses with their salaries and financial incentives; this highlights the need for the regulation of additional earnings and to implement targeted accountability mechanisms. This study indicates the value of using mixed methods when investigating sensitive issues. Future studies of this type should employ mixed methods for triangulation purposes to provide better insight into health workers’ responses.

Towards Interventions in Human Resources for Health in Ghana : Evidence for Health Workforce Planning and Results

This chapter examines the performance of health workers in Ghana, distinguishing and reviewing evidence related to two types of performance issues: (1) health workers who do not possess the necessary skills, knowledge, or means to carry out their jobs sufficiently (they are not competent or able to provide services)—a situation often linked to the lack of necessary education and training or to difficult working environments; and (2) health workers who do not sufficiently or ethically apply themselves, their knowledge, or their skills (they are absent, unresponsive, unproductive, and engage in questionable behavior)—a situation often linked to a lack of motivation or lack of accountability arrangements.This book towards interventions in human resources for health in Ghana is a collaborative effort between the government of Ghana and the World Bank, was developed to assist the ministry of health to obtain an overview of the unique human resources for health (HRH) challenges that Ghana faces. Evidence on the stock, distribution, and performance of health workers in Ghana, as well as on some of the underlying determinants of these HRH outcomes, will help support the government resolve to develop strategies and interventions to address HRH concerns and ultimately strengthen its health system. The content of this book was developed, discussed, and validated by means of extensive consultations with the technical working group on (HRH) in Ghana. This book contents totally eight chapters: chapter one covers toward evidence-based interventions for HRH; chapter two covers the stock of health workers; chapter three covers the distribution of health workers; chapter four covers the performance of health workers; chapter five covers Ghana Agencies and their roles and responsibilities in HRH; chapter six covers interventions to increase stock and improve distribution and performance of HRH; chapter seven covers financing available for policy and interventions; and chapter eights covers the political economy of crafting policy.

A technical framework for costing health workforce retention schemes in remote and rural areas

BackgroundIncreasing the availability of health workers in remote and rural areas through improved health workforce recruitment and retention is crucial to population health. However, information about the costs of such policy interventions often appears incomplete, fragmented or missing, despite its importance for the sound selection, planning, implementation and evaluation of these policies. This lack of a systematic approach to costing poses a serious challenge for strong health policy decisions.MethodsThis paper proposes a framework for carrying out a costing analysis of interventions to increase the availability of health workers in rural and remote areas with the aim to help policy decision makers. It also underlines the importance of identifying key sources of financing and of assessing financial sustainability.The paper reviews the evidence on costing interventions to improve health workforce recruitment and retention in remote and rural areas, provides guidance to undertake a costing evaluation of such interventions and investigates the role and importance of costing to inform the broader assessment of how to improve health workforce planning and management.ResultsWe show that while the debate on the effectiveness of policies and strategies to improve health workforce retention is gaining impetus and attention, there is still a significant lack of knowledge and evidence about the associated costs. To address the concerns stemming from this situation, key elements of a framework to undertake a cost analysis are proposed and discussed.ConclusionsThese key elements should help policy makers gain insight into the costs of policy interventions, to clearly identify and understand their financing sources and mechanisms, and to ensure their sustainability.

Understanding Health Workers' Job Preferences to Improve Rural Retention in Timor-Leste: Findings from a Discrete Choice Experiment.

Background Timor-Leste built its health workforce up from extremely low levels after its war of independence, with the assistance of Cuban training, but faces challenges as the first cohorts of doctors will shortly be freed from their contracts with government. Retaining doctors, nurses and midwives in remote areas requires a good understanding of health worker preferences. Methods The article reports on a discrete choice experiment (DCE) carried out amongst 441 health workers, including 173 doctors, 150 nurses and 118 midwives. Qualitative methods were conducted during the design phase. The attributes which emerged were wages, skills upgrading/specialisation, location, working conditions, transportation and housing. Findings One of the main findings of the study is the relative lack of importance of wages for doctors, which could be linked to high intrinsic motivation, perceptions of having an already highly paid job (relative to local conditions), and/or being in a relatively early stage of their career for most respondents. Professional development provides the highest satisfaction with jobs, followed by the working conditions. Doctors with less experience, males and the unmarried are more flexible about location. For nurses and midwives, skill upgrading emerged as the most cost effective method. Conclusions The study is the first of its kind conducted in Timor-Leste. It provides policy-relevant information to balance financial and non-financial incentives for different cadres and profiles of staff. It also augments a thin literature on the preferences of working doctors (as opposed to medical students) in low and middle income countries and provides insights into the ability to instil motivation to work in rural areas, which may be influenced by rural recruitment and Cuban-style training, with its emphasis on community service.

Health labor market analyses in low- and middle-income countries : an evidence-based approach

The health workforce has received major policy attention over the past decade,driven in part by the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and more recently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and universal health coverage (UHC). There is wide acceptance that a health workforce sufficient in numbers, adequately distributed, and well performing is a central health systems input, and critical for the achievements of these goals. This book, produced by the World Bank in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, and World Health Organization (WHO), aims to provide decision makers at subnational, national, regional, and global levels with additional insights into how to better understand and address their workforce challenges rather than just describe them. This book is arranged as follows: Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the concepts, tools, and data sources that can be used to assess overall labor market dynamics. Chapter 3 discusses tools to capture demand- and needs-based forecasts of health workers. Chapter 4 discusses the tools to measure and analyze the production of health workers, and chapter 5 discusses the willingness and job choice that health workers have of entering and applying themselves in one labor market over another. Chapter 6 discusses the tools that can be used to assess the migration of health care professionals. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the conceptual framework and methodologies to assess health worker performance and the determinants of performance, while chapters 9 and 10 discuss assessments of health worker remuneration, including the use of sensitive survey techniques to obtain information often not provided by health workers.

What do health workers in Timor-Leste want, know and do? Findings from a national health labour market survey

BackgroundThe objectives of this study were to understand the labour market dynamics among health workers, including their preferences and concerns, and to assess the skills, competence and performance (i.e. the ‘know–do gap’) of doctors working in Timor-Leste.MethodsThis cross-sectional survey was implemented in all 13 districts of Timor-Leste in 2014. We surveyed 443 health workers, including 175 doctors, 150 nurses and 118 midwives (about 20% of the health workers in the country). We also observed 632 clinical consultations with doctors, including 442 direct clinical observations, and tested 190 vignettes.ResultsThe study highlights some positive findings, including the gender balance of health workers overall, the concentration of doctors in rural areas, the high overall reported satisfaction of staff with their work and high motivation, the positive intention to stay in the public sector, the feeling of being well prepared by training for work, the relatively frequent and satisfactory supervisions, and the good attitudes towards patients as identified in observations and vignettes. However, some areas require more investigations and investments. The overall clinical performance of the doctors was very good in terms of attitude and moderate in regard to history taking, health education and treatment. However, the average physical examination performance score was low. Doctors performed better with simulated cases than the real cases in general, which means they have better knowledge and skills than they actually demonstrated. The factors that were significantly associated with the clinical performance of doctors were location of the health facility (urban doctors were better) and consultation time (cases with more consultation time were better). Regression analysis suggests that lack of knowledge was significantly associated with lack of performance, while lack of motivation and equipment were not significant.ConclusionsThe survey provides essential information for workforce planning and for developing training policies and terms and conditions that will attract and retain health workers in rural service. Improving the work environment and performance of doctors working in rural health facilities and ensuring compliance with clinical protocols are two priority areas needed to improve the performance of doctors in Timor-Leste.