Master of PublicHealth
Introduction to Health Workforce Development
School ofPublic Health
Universityofthe Western Cape
South Africa
Introduction to Health Workforce Development
UWC Module Registration Number: SPH
Published in 2014
First published: 2002
Writing Team:Prof Uta Lehmann
License:Attribution: ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Copyright © 2002, SOPH School of Public Health, UWC.
Your use of this material constitutes acceptance of the above license and the conditions of use of materials on this site. Use of these materials is permitted only in accordance with license rights granted. Materials are provided “AS IS”; no representations or warranties are provided. Users assume all responsibility for use, and all liability related thereto, and must independently review all materials for accuracy. The module may contain materials owned by others, all of which are acknowledged. The user is responsible for obtaining permissions for use from third parties as needed
Readings:Readings are listed at the end of the Module Introduction. They were compiled for registered students in one or two Readers. Copyright permission was sought and paid for per reading per student. Readings are not included but their sources are indicated in the Module Guide.
Credit value of module:15 (150 notional learning hours).
Study Materials for this module: Module Guide, Module Reader (not supplied)
Target group: Health and allied health and welfare professionals with a four or more year degree (MPH)
Delivery:This module was offered as a distance learning module with optional contact sessions.
Masters of Public Health: Introduction to Health Workforce Development - Introduction 1
IMODULE INTRODUCTION
1LETTER OF WELCOME
School of Public Health
University of the Western Cape
Private Bag X17
Bellville
7535
South Africa
Dear colleague,
Welcome to the module Introduction to Health Workforce Development. Health Workforce Development or Human Resource Development (HRD)is concerned with heart and brain and engine of any health system: the people staffing the system; from the volunteer assisting sick people in her neighbourhood or teaching new mothers how to breastfeed to the heart specialist in an academic hospital; from the nurses staffing health posts, clinics hospital wards to district managers and officials in the Ministry of health; from the cleaners and general assistants to the general practitioners in private practice. Without all of these health workers there would be not health system and no health service. Yet, it is only very recently that international organisations and ministries of health have begun to pay systematic attention to Human Resource Development and HRD has become a central feature in health systems planning.
Even more than any of the other “resources” in the health system (as in any other system), human resources need to be very carefully planned for and managed. Not only is the workforce component the most expensive component of any health system. It also requires planning well ahead of time. And, most importantly, the “human resources” are our colleagues, our neighbours, our husbands and wives. While we entrust them with the health of our communities and expect them to be skilled, productive, compassionate and patient, we must not forget that they have families to look after, career aspirations, their own life histories. And if we want them to be skilled, productive and compassionate, we have to ensure that their work and life environment, their training and the support they receive allow them to be so.
Human Resource Development is a broad field of practice and of study. This module provides an introduction to and an overview of this field. There are three other modules in the course which look in more detail at different aspects of the field.
With the growing acknowledgement of the importance of HRD, there have been many debates and models which have suggested different ways of how to conceptually think about health workers and human resource development. For a long time the most common conceptualisation, reflected in the structural arrangements in many ministries, has been between human resource planning, human resource production, and human resource management. The 2006 World Health Report, which focussed on HRD, took a slightly different approach and has since influenced the discourse and the structure of debates. It talks about health workforce development and distinguishes between planning and preparing, managing and exiting the workforce. You will be introduced to these concepts in the first session of the module.
In presenting this module I have borrowed from and married both approaches:
Unit 1, Understanding Human Resource Development for Health,will introduce the subject, and place HRD in the context of health systems development and health sector transformation.
Units 2, Planning and Preparing the Health Workforce, introduces the “front end” of human resource processes: how to think about issues of distribution, skills mix, staffing and task shifting; capacity development, and understanding principles of adult education in the context of life-long learning or continuous education.
Unit 3, Managing and Supporting Health Workers, will provide an overview of the many and quite complex aspects of what is traditionally called human resource management, and will give an introduction to monitoring and evaluation in the field. All these topics will be picked up in more detail in subsequent modules.
This module can be taken as the first of several “specialised” human resource modules in the HRD stream, but it can also be chosen as an open elective by students in other streams.
Throughout the sessions of the module you will find tasks to complete. These may consist of readings with guiding questions, reflection about the application of module content to your own context and organisation, and participation in internet-based discussion groups. Some of these will be for self study, while you will hand others in for formal assessment. How this works is described further down.
With this module guide you receive a number of resources which will help you in your study, but will hopefully also prove to be a useful resource in your professional practice beyond this module and the course.
While you are expected to work independently and critically, I also encourage and, in fact, expect you to keep close communication with me, your mentors, and other students who are doing this module. Your mentors will be your first port of call for you. They are expected to assist with problems, give you feedback on your Assignments, and facilitate communication with other students and with the University. Do not only contact them when problems arise, but on a regular basis to exchange ideas, keep them up-to-date with your progress and to share drafts of your Assignment. In that way, problems can be ironed out as they occur, and your engagement with the module can be more productive.
I am looking forward to working with you on this module and I wish you well with your studies this year.
ProfUta Lehmann
Tel:021 9592633or082 2023189
e-mail:
Uta Lehmann
Module Convenor
2INFORMATION ABOUT THIS MODULE
2.1Module Aims and Rationale
As explained in the welcoming letter, the module aims to provide a contextual understanding of as well as practical skills is human resource management.
2.2 Module Outline
UNIT / TOPIC / PAGEUNIT 1
/UNDERSTANDING HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FOR HEALTH
/ 17Study Session 1
/Thinking about the health workforce
/ 19Study Session 2
/Health workforce challenges in Africa – past and present
/ 31Study Session 3
/Health workforce development in Cuba – a success story
/ 43UNIT 2
/PLANNING AND PREPARING THE HEALTH WORKFORCE
/ 47Study Session 1
/Mapping the HR landscape
/ 49Study Session 2
/Planning the health workforce
/ 57Study Session 3
/Addressing shortages and imbalances
/ 61Study Session 4
/Preparing the health workforce
/ 73Study Session 5
/Continuing education and workplace learning
/ 79UNIT 3
/MANAGING AND SUPPORTING HEALTH WORKERS
/ 83Study Session 1
/Issues in Human Resource Management Today
/ 85Study Session 2
/Establishing a Supportive Supervisory
System
/ 95Study Session 3
/Skills session: Writing a policy brief
/ 99Study Session 4
/Managing health workforce attrition
/ 103Study Session 5
/Introduction to monitoring and evaluation in HRD
/ 107The module consists of the following units and study sessions:
2.3Module Resources
This module guide is accompanied by three WHO publications which have been used as key texts in this module. These are the 2006 World Health Report which focuses on health workforce development; WHO’s Global Guidelines and Recommendations on Task Shifting; and the recently published Handbook on monitoring and evaluation of human resources for health. You will also receive a reader containing all key articles and texts used in this module. They are sorted according to the order in which they are used in the module. Lastly, you will receive two DVDs. One contains the film Salud! about the Cuban health system which you will use in several units of the module. The other one contains a BBC documentary called Doctors & Nurses, which focuses on thestruggles of health workers in both developed and developing countries and which you will use in the last unit.
2.4Learning Outcomes
This module is intended to assist you in developing skills and knowledge for developing human resources for the health system.
Remember that these outcomes are taught through the Study Sessions and assessed in the Assignments. At the same time, the module provides opportunities to improve a number of your academic learning skills which are integrated into the sessions.
2.5Module Evaluation
You will be asked to evaluate this module in the course of this semester and once you have completed it. Please let us know how you find it as this will help us to improve the module for future students.
3ASSESSMENT
3.1Information about Assessment
Throughout the study sessions of the module you will find tasks to complete. Some of these are marked as self study. You will easily recognise them by this label:
Self study tasks are obviously not compulsory, but are meant for your own learning. You may find that you don’t want to complete all of them, but we encourage you to engage with most of them.
Other tasks are for Assessment purposes, marked like this:
Assessment tasks will contribute to your overall grade in this module. Altogether they will make up your assessment portfolio.
There are altogether eight Assessment Tasks in this module. Three of these consist of participation in a Google Discussion Group and written summaries of these discussions which you will submit for marking. The five others consist of written tasks to be handed in for feedback and grading.
Below is a table with all tasks you will find in the three unit of the module. The ones on the left are the tasks for Self-study, i.e. they will NOT be marked. The tasks on the right are for marking, and the last column indicates the weighting of the task, making of a total of 100% for all tasks together.
Summary of tasks in moduleSelf-study / Tasks (Assignments) to be submitted for marking / Weighting of Assignment
Unit 1, Session 1
Task 1 (Assignment 1): Present a written introduction to an HRD-related website / 8
Task 2: Identify factors driving the workforce
Task 3: Health Workforce Development in your organisation
Unit 1, Session 2
Task 4 (Assignment 2): Answer questions on an academic text dealing with the historical context of health sector reform / 12
Task 5: Major health reform initiatives
Task 6: The role of colonialism and post-colonialism
Task 7: Decentralisation and human resources
Task 8: Identify key challenges in HRH
Task 9 : Locate your own country within the international debates
Unit 1, Session 3
Task 10 (Assignment 3): Watch and discuss the film ¡Salud! Submit summary of discussion to google group / 8
Unit 2, Session 1
TASK 11:The central role of policy analysis The central role of policy analysis
Task 12: Implementing policy
TASK 13: Analysing the policy environment in your organisation
Task 14: Think about conducting a situational analysis in your organisation
Unit 2, Session 2
TASK 15 (Assignment 4): Challenges in HR Planning: Answer questions on a reading and complete exercise / 18
Task 16: Reflect on Ghana’s HR planning experience
Unit 2, Session 3
Task 17 : Health worker density in your country
Task 18: Mid-level workers in Mozambique
Task 19 (Assignment 5): Task shifting – the answer to the HR crisis in Africa? / 8
Unit 2, Session 4
Task 20: Strategies for preparing the workforce
Task 21 (Assignment 6): Reflecting on innovations in Cuban medical education
You will be expected to discuss these and other questions in a GOOGLE group, i.e. on the internet. You will then submit a summary of the group discussion to the student administrator as an Assignment. / 8
Task 22: Your own learning experience
Task 23: The needs of adult learners
Task 24: Characterising adult learners
Unit 3, Session 1:
TASK 25: Reflecting on the application of New Management Sciences to HRH
TASK 26: Identify key HR management issues
TASK 27: Staffing the fight against HIV/AIDS
TASK 28: Assess your organisation in terms of motivational factors
TASK 29 - Analyse demotivating factors
TASK 30: Dealing with individual coping strategies
Unit 3, Session 2
TASK 31: Reflect on the corner stones of supportive supervision in the context of ‘new management sciences”.
Unit 3, Session 3
TASK 32: Study different guidelines for developing a policy brief
TASK 33: (Assignment 7): Write a policy brief / 30
Unit 3, Session 4
TASK 34: (Assignment 8): Watch BBC documentary on health worker brain drain.
You will be expected to discuss these and other questions in a GOOGLE group, i.e. on the internet. You will then submit a summary of the group discussion to the student administrator as an Assignment. / 8
Unit 3, Session 5
TASK 35 (Self-study): Getting and overview of M&E in health workforce development
3.2 Submitting Assignments
Please read the Guidelines for Presentation of Assignments in the Programme Handbook (page 26 - 30). When sending in your Assignments it is important to:
- Number the pages and staple them together.
- Attach an Assignment Cover Sheet, completed in full, to the front of each of your Assignments. Make sure you include your student number. The cover sheet should contain the following (you can also make use of the cover sheet below):
- Your name
- Your student number
- Module name: Introduction to Health Workforce Development
- Module code: SPH 871
- Convenor: Prof Uta Lehmann
- Name and number of Assignment (eg, Task 21: Reflecting on innovations in Cuban medical education)
- Student’s comments to lecturer
- …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
- ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
- Declaration by student:I understand what plagiarism is. This Assignment is my own work, and all sources of information have been acknowledged. I have taken care to cite/reference all sources as set out in the SOPH Academic Handbook 2012.
- Signed by you: …………………………………………………………………………………………
- E-mail the Assignment to the Student Administrator at the address below to arrive by the due date. Do not send Assignments directly to the lecturer. E-mail is preferred because the timing can be quicker.
- Type your Assignment.
- Use A4 paper and leave a margin of 3-4 cm for comments.
- Keep a copy of your Assignment.
Assignment deadlines will be sent to you by the Student Administrator.All Assignments must be submitted, i.e. postmarked, by the due date.
Faxed Assignments should be sent to:+ 27 21 959-2872 (Att Student Admin, SOPH)
Submissions by e-mail should be sent to:
Soph-asn@uwc.ac.za
3.3Draft Assignments: Please read this section carefully
As you are studying at a distance, your mentors or lecturers will provide feedback on Draft Assignments. However, Drafts will only be reviewed if they are received two or more weeks before the final submission date. If received less than two weeks before the submission date/deadline, they will not be accepted.
Take note that Drafts are expected to be drafts, i.e. work in progress. Use opportunities like these to check your understanding of the Assignment requirements, to try out difficult parts of the Assignment, and to ask questions. This feedback can be incorporated into your final version of the Assignment.
3.4Assignment Extensions
Assignments must be submitted by the dates indicated in the Assignment Schedule notification circulated by the Student Administrator. Extensions may be granted under special circumstances but will not normally be longer than two weeks. To request an extension, contact the Student Administrator as soon as a problem arises. No extensions will be given for Draft Assignments, and no late Assignments will be accepted in Semester 2.
Late submission of Assignments may result in reducing your time for the next Assignment, disrupting your lecturers’ marking schedules, late submission of marks and therefore having to repeat the module. Please try to manage your time effectively. You’ll find some guidance on doing so in the SOPH Academic Handbook, 2012.
There is further information about assessment in the SOPH Programme Handbook. Please refer to it before submitting your Assignment.
3.6Assignment Cover Sheet
School of Public Health – University of the Western Cape
An Assignment Cover Sheet should be attached to every Assignment. Please fill in all details clearly and staple this form to the front of your Assignment. Alternatively, please fax it as the first page of your Assignment, or develop a cover sheet like this one to e-mail with your Assignment.