Benchmarking is a strategic process often used by businesses and institutes to standardize performance in relation to the best practices of their sector. The World Health Organization (WHO) and part...ners have developed a tool with a list of benchmarks and corresponding suggested actions that can be applied to implement the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) and strengthen health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience capacities.
The first edition of the benchmarks was published in 2019 to support countries in developing, implementing and documenting progress of national IHR or health security plans (e.g. national action plan for health security (NAPHS), national action plan for emerging infectious diseases, public health emergencies and health security and other country level plans for health emergencies). The tool has been updated to incorporate lessons from COVID-19 and other health emergencies, to align with the updated IHR monitoring & evaluation framework (IHR MEF) tools and the health systems for health security framework, and to support strengthening health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR) capacities and the Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) initiative.
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Empowering Health Workers to Improve Service Delivery. This training program is designed to build the capacity of program managers and health provi...ders in quality management, and improve the provision of high-quality health services.
Please download the chapters directly from the website: https://www.usaidassist.org/resources/kenya-quality-model-health-training-course-health-sector
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2018 monitoring report: current status and strategic priorities
The report sets out the status of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and on ...edbox">health systems and social and environmental determinants. Regional dashboards on 16 key indicators highlight where progress is being made or lagging. There is progress overall, but not at the level required to achieve the 2030 goals. There are some areas where progress has stalled or is reversing, namely neonatal mortality, gender inequalities and health in humanitarian settings.
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Universal health coverage ensures everyone has access to the health services they need without suffering financial hardship as a result. In Decembe...r 2012, a UN resolution was passed encouraging governments to move towards providing universal access to affordable and quality health care services. As countries move towards it, common challenges are emerging -- challenges to which research can help provide answers.
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Frontline health workers (FHWs) provide services directly to communities where they are most needed, especially in remote and rural areas. Many are community ...ox">health workers and midwives, though they can also include local emergency responders/paramedics, pharmacists, nurses, and doctors who serve in community clinics.
The growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on low- and middle-income countries threatens many health systems that are already weakened. In many countries, health systems—and health workers—are not prepared to address the complex nature of NCDs. Health systems are often fragmented, and designed to respond to single episodes of care or long-term prevention and control of infectious diseases.1 Many countries also continue to face shortages and distribution challenges of trained and supported health workers. As most NCDs are multifactorial in origin and are detected later in their evolution, health systems face significant challenges to provide early detection as well as affordable, effective, and timely treatment, particularly in underserved communities.
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BMC Health Services Research (2019) 19:458 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4315-7
Primary care represents the first level of personal health care services in the community, which ensures accessible, continual,
whole-person care for...an> health needs throughout an individual’s lifespan. Primary care professionals work with patients and
their families to address their immediate and long-term health needs and not just for a set of specific diseases with an
approach that addresses the broader determinants of health and the interrelated aspects that influence people’s physical,
mental, and social well-being.
Nurses have a key role to play in primary care in expanding, connecting and coordinating care. Through their training and
work, they are well placed and have been shown to provide safe and effective care in disease prevention, diagnosis,
treatment, management and rehabilitation. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and inspiration for
policymakers, instructors, managers and clinicians
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Background paper 8
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response
May 2021
The HEARTS technical package provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health in countries. It comprises six modules and an implementation guide. This package supports Ministries of ...Health to strengthen CVD management in primary health care settings. The practical, step-by step modules are supported by an overarching technical document that provides a rationale and framework for this integrated approach to the management of NCDs.
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Burns are a global public health problem, accounting for close to 200,000 deaths annually. The majority of these occur in low- and middle-income countries, where a number of constraints complicate t...he public health task of addressing burns. While the primary prevention of burns in low- and middle-income countries is a pressing need, the World Health Organization (WHO) also actively encourages further development of burn-care systems, including the training of health-care providers in the appropriate triage and management of people with burns.
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Providing community-based mental health services position paper
This Eye health strategic plan presents the Ministry of Health’s five
year proposed strategies...> for eye care in Kenya. It sets the strategic
direction for the National Eye Health Care System and presents
information on the priorities, objectives and indicators that the
Ministry has adopted especially with regard to the main eye diseases
and conditions in the country and health system strengthening.
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A module from the suite of health service capacity assessments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Interim guidance 20 October 2020. This assessment tool covers the following aspects:
ar...ea distribution;
surface availability versus foreseen occupancy rate;
patient and staff flows;
ventilation requirement per specific areas;
visitors’ area and visitor flow; and
surge capacity.
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- Module 1: Understanding modelling approaches for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, and nutrition
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a wide range of docume...nted effects. It directly causes death and disability for some people infected. However, disruption to essential health services, resources allocated to mitigation and therefore away from essential health service delivery, and the overall impact on the economy and society must also be considered within the response to COVID-19. Understanding the magnitude of all of these effects is an essential part of developing mitigation polices.
Several epidemiological models have been created to assess the potential impact of disruptions to essential health services caused by COVID-19 on morbidity and mortality from conditions other than COVID-19 illness. This guide presents models that have been used to assess these indirect impacts. The effects have been studied in various settings, using a variety of models.
The guide is intended for people who need to understand what the models say, their construction and their underlying assumptions, or need to use models and their outcomes for planning and programme development and to support policy decisions for a country or region.
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The Government of Malawi’s Health Sector Strategic Plan II highlights the importance of service integration; however, in practice, this has not b...een fully realized. We conducted a mixed methods evaluation of efforts to systematically implement integrated family planning and immunization services in all health facilities and associated community sites in Ntchisi and Dowa districts during June 2016–September 2017. Methods included secondary analysis of service statistics (pre- and postintervention), focus group discussions with mothers and fathers of children under age one, and in-depth interviews with service providers, supervisors, and managers. Results indicate statistically significant increases in family planning users and shifts in use of family planning services from health facilities to community sites. The intervention had no effect on immunization doses administered or dropout rates. According to mothers and fathers, benefits of service integration included time savings, convenience, and improved understanding of services. Provision and use of integrated services were affected by availability of human resources and commodities, community linkages, data collection procedures and availability, sociocultural barriers, organization of services, and supervision and commitment of health surveillance assistants. The integration approach was perceived to be feasible and beneficial by clients and providers.
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In health emergencies as in periods of stability, restoring access to primary health-care services is a priority in so far as many ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">health problems can be dealt with by means of preventive care and
conventional therapy. Depending on the context, the ICRC must often take action in this area, taking into account the level of emergency, the involvement of other actors, the possible evolution of the situation and the organization's operational strategies.
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Integration of mental health (MH) and HIV programs has the potential to significantly improve health outcomes for people living with HIV (PLHIV). T...his training package, which is comprised of a training-of-trainers manual, an accompanying presentation, and a standard operating procedure, was developed to support a pilot project for MH and HIV integration at the community level such that
health facilities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and traditional medical practitioners (TMPs) can collaborate to support MH screening and service provision for PLHIV in Zimbabwe
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The Third Rwandan Health Sector Strategic Plan (HSSP III) provides strategic guidance to the health...an> sector for six years, between July 2012 and June 2018. HSSP III has been inspired and guided by the VISION 2020, which will make Rwanda a lower-middle-income country by 2020; the Rwandan Health Policy of 2004; and the priorities set out by the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS 2008–2012).
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Full eHandbook under: http://www.msh.org/resources/health-systems-in-action-an-ehandbook-for-leaders-and-managers
Effective supply management has the potential to make a powerful contribution to th...e reliable availability of essential medicines, which are a crucial part of the delivery of highquality health care services. Because medicines are costly and poor management so often results in waste, good supply management is also crucial to the cost-effectiveness of providing medicines.
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