J Nepal Health Res Counc 2012 May;10(21):82-87
Welcome to the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training package. IPC is a major challenge for health care systems around the world and there is a significant opportunity to reduce avoidable morbidity and mortality through improvements to IPC.
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Health care-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can be significantly reduced through effective IPC. The guidelines cover a range of topics including the core components of IPC programmes, hand hygiene, and the prevention of surgical site infection.
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Social inequalities are perpetuating unhealthy living and working conditions and behaviours. These causes are commonly called ‘the social determinants of health’. Achieving greater equity in health will demand that the health sector assumes a greater leadership role in addressing social inequali
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ties. This requires equipping health and care workers to better understand how the social determinants of health impact patients and communities. Education of the health workforce is thus a key step to advancing action. Integration of the social determinants of health into education and training will prepare the workforce to adjust clinical practice, define appropriate public health programmes and leverage cross-sector policies and mechanisms.
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Report of a regional workshop, New Delhi, India, 29–30 September 2014
To reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and its subsequent problems, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia organized a regional workshop on sodium intake and iodized salt for Member States in the South-East Asi
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a Region. The general objective of the workshop was to strengthen an integrated approach for sodium reduction and salt iodization programmes in the Member States of the Region. The specific objectives included reviewing the current sodium reduction and salt iodization strategies in the Member States of South-East Asia, provide training to the participants in standardized approaches for dietary estimation of salt/sodium and urinary iodine estimation.
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- A Skills Building Program for Clinicians and Non-Clinicians. Adherence guidelines- slide deck- training course for health providers
The project was developed by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), in line with the Federation’s statement “a world in which students are equipped with knowledge, skills and value to take on health leadership roles locally and globally so to
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shape a sustainable future”. This was supported by an ongoing and vital engagement from the World Health Organization (WHO) and their work the United Nations Alliance on Climate Change Education, Training and Public Awareness. The overall objective was to create a “all in one” type of resource to bring together climate change, health and youth advocacy.
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based on the WHO Bench Aids for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites;
Tutor’s Guide: perform specific laboratory techniques; identify intestinal parasites by genus and species; quantify helminth eggs in faeces by Kato-Katz procedure.
Background: Community health worker (CHW) programmes are a valuable component of primary care in resource-poor settings. The evidence supporting their effectiveness generally shows improvements in disease-specific outcomes relative to the absence of
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a CHW programme. In this study, we evaluated expanding an existing HIV and tuberculosis (TB) disease-specific CHW programme into a polyvalent, household-based model that subsequently included non-communicable diseases (NCDs), malnutrition and TB screening, as well as family planning and antenatal care (ANC).
Methods: We conducted a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in Neno District, Malawi. Six clusters of approximately 20 000 residents were formed from the catchment areas of 11 healthcare facilities. The intervention roll-out was staggered every 3 months over 18 months, with CHWs receiving a 5-day foundational training for their new tasks and assigned 20–40 households for monthly (or more frequent) visits.
Findings: The intervention resulted in a decrease of approximately 20% in the rate of patients defaulting from chronic NCD care each month (−0.8 percentage points (pp) (95% credible interval: −2.5 to 0.5)) while maintaining the already low default rates for HIV patients (0.0 pp, 95% CI: −0.6 to 0.5). First trimester ANC attendance increased by approximately 30% (6.5pp (−0.3, 15.8)) and paediatric malnutrition case finding declined by 10% (−0.6 per 1000 (95% CI −2.5 to 0.8)). There were no changes in TB programme outcomes, potentially due to data challenges.
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Manual for Training in Cancer Control
The toolkit provides guidance on where to get started, including the structures and resources that should be put in place at the national and health-care facility level, through a stepwise approach in low-resource settings. As the ultimate goal of an AMS programme is sustainable behaviour change in
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physicians’ antibiotic prescribing practices, the toolkit also provides detailed guidance on how to plan, perform and assess AMS interventions – including feedback on antibiotic use over time. Finally, the toolkit provides an overview of the competencies an AMS team needs to guide health-care professionals in changing their antibiotic prescribing behaviours.
Please note that this course is part of a training package, so please register for the complementary course WHO Policy Guidance on Integrated Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities so that you can complete your learning journey.
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Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue
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s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
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Community health nurses have the potential to make significant contributions to meet the health care needs of various population groups in a variety of community settings. In order to assess the extent to which CHNs are achieving this potential, WHO conducted a study between 2010 and 2014 that exami
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ned the status of community health nursing in 22 countries, 13 of which were experiencing a critical shortage of health care workers. The study revealed that the countries surveyed had the basic and operational framework for optimizing CHN in their health systems as evidenced by the availability of PHC structures to guide interventions. However, challenges were identified related to the education, practice and management of CHNs in these countries. The major challenges identified were: Limited availability of career opportunities; poor worker retention; low recognition for CHNs; inadequate and unsupportive working conditions and environments; absence of educational standards; varying educational entry-level requirements for CHN programmes; and a lack of consensus on the scope of practice for CHNs.
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World Psychiatry. 2010 Jun;9(2):67-77.
The main recommendations are presented in relation to: the need for coordinated policies, plans and programmes, the requirement to scale up services for whole populations, the importance of promoting community
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awareness about mental illness to increase levels of help-seeking, the need to establish effective financial and budgetary provisions to directly support services provided in the community. The paper concludes by setting out a series of lessons learned from the accumulated practice of community mental health care to date worldwide, with a particular focus on the social and governmental measures that are required at the national level, the key steps to take in the organization of the local mental health system, lessons learned by professionals and practitioners, and how to most effectively harness the experience of users, families, and other advocates
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Results
Recommendations• NGOs should provide MHPSS services with a focus on empowerment and self-reliance
• Introduce interventions focusing on pain mechanisms, coping strategies and physical resilience
• Implement livelihood programmes
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Increase service accessibility and outreach activities
• Provide support groups for people who have lost a close family member
• Highlight the importance of supervision and training
• Ensure high quality service provisions by applying relevant outcome measures and to further contribute to the evidence base for MHPSS
• Diversify MHPSS activities to different target groups, including men and women, and address the needs of elderly and individuals with disabilities
This study provides evidence of a large gap between the need of MHPSS among Syrian refugees and provided services. Of the 1082 respondents in this study, 62% expressed that they needed assistance to deal with physical pain and distress. Almost 80% reported being in pain, of which 27% were in severe or very severe pain. Additionally, 55% suffer from distress and 56% rate their own health as fair or poor. Even among the 18-25-yearolds, the prevalence of reporting their overall health as fair was 30.7%. For functionality levels, 28.5% felt severely or extremely emotionally affected by their health problems, and more than 20% had serious difficulties in doing day-to-day work. On the other hand, the majority (72-74%) had no problems in maintaining friendships and participating in community activities
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Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among school-going adolescents worldwide. However, the burden of severe asthma is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of asthma care across six African countries. We conducted focus group discussions
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(FGDs) using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. FGDs were conducted in Kumasi(Ghana), Blantyre (Malawi), Lagos (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), and Harare (Zimbabwe) between 01 November 2020 and 30 June 2021. We identified two key themes related to asthma care; barriers to asthma care and suggestions to improve the care of adolescents with asthma. Barriers reported by teachers included a lack of knowledge and skills among themselves, adolescents, and caregivers. In addition, some traditional beliefs of teachers on asthma exacerbated challenges with asthma care in schools. Regarding suggestions, most teachers identified a need for all-inclusive asthma training programmes for teachers, adolescents and caregivers, focusing on acute episodes and mitigating triggers. Utilising teachers with personal experiences with asthma to advocate and support these initiatives was suggested. Further suggestions included the need for annual screening to enable early identification of adolescents with asthma and clarify restrictions on teachers administering asthma medications. Teachers across African schools identify multiple barriers to asthma care. Structured school education programs and annual asthma screening are key to addressing some barriers to care.
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Accessed on 29.01.2020
La volonté du CEA-SAMEF à développer des programmes de formation de qualité et des domaines de compétences ciblées a rendu nécessaire l’adoption de référentiels aux exigences internationales. Dans la mise en œ
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uvre de son programme d’accréditation, le CEA-SAMEF a procédé à l’alignement de son offre de formation aux référentiels nationaux, régionaux et internationaux, de façon à rendre éligibles les programmes à l’accréditation.
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Those who clean are the first line of defense against health care-associated infections (HAIs), and support efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Strengthening the training of this important group can contribute to resolving many of t
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oday’s public health challenges. This is important given that cleaning both surfaces and hands is vital to control the transmission of a number of HAIs.
This two-part training package targets those who clean heath care facilities.
The Trainer’s Guide takes the user through how to prepare, deliver and sustain an effective training for those who clean. The Modules and Resources provides instructions, definitions, photographs, posters and specific illustrations of recommended practices
The package can be used by those who deliver environmental cleaning training programmes and/or those with a background in IPC including ministries of health, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, experts working in Quality of care, IPC and environmental cleaning/ Water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Health facility IPC focal points and onsite cleaning supervisors
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o support and guide countries and partners to strengthen a health systems response to address violence against women, WHO has produced several tools, including:
• clinical and policy guidelines;
• implementation handbooks and manuals;
• trai
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ning curriculum;
• evidence-based policy, prevention and intervention strategy packages.
The resource package consolidates these documents to support countries to develop or update their national or subnational guidelines, protocols, standard operating procedures, health provider training materials, and multisectoral action plans to prevent and respond to violence against women.
The resource package is also intended to be used for training and sensitization of policy-makers, advocates, health care providers and managers of services and programmes to address violence against women.
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The GCF aims to support developing countries in achieving a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient pathways. This is achieved by funding innovative and transformative lowemission (mitigation) and climate-resilient (adaptation) projects and pr
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ogrammes developed by the public and private sectors to contribute to the implementation of national climate change priorities in developing countries. While it is relatively easy to tell what a mitigation project or programme is (i.e. its contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and/or whether it increases the capacity of an ecosystem to absorb them), the blurred line between a general development project and an adaptation project has been a contentious issue in the international climate finance debate. The relevant question is not whether a project is (also) a development project, but whether the project contributes to adaptation (i.e. what the adaptation/additionality argument is).
This toolkit helps governments and project developers understand how to fulfil the Green Climate Fund’s requirements when developing a fully-fledged funding proposal.
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