International Journal of Health Planning and Management最新文献

{"title":"Medical deserts in Spain—Insights from an international project","authors":"Katarzyna Dubas-Jakóbczyk,&nbsp;Ana Isabel Gonzalez,&nbsp;Alicja Domagała,&nbsp;Maria Pilar Astier-Peña,&nbsp;Veronica Casado Vicente,&nbsp;Antonia-Gema Planet,&nbsp;Agueda Quadrado,&nbsp;Rosa Mari Serrano,&nbsp;Isabel Serafina Abellán,&nbsp;Alba Ramos,&nbsp;Marta Ballester,&nbsp;Laura Seils,&nbsp;Sorin Dan,&nbsp;Linda Flinterman,&nbsp;Robert Likic,&nbsp;Ronald Batenburg","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3782","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3782","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Introduction</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Medical deserts are a growing phenomenon across many European countries. They are usually defined as (i) rural areas, (ii) underserved areas or (iii) by applying a measure of distance/time to a facility or a combination of the three characteristics. The objective was to define medical deserts in Spain as well as map their driving factors and approaches to mitigate them.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A mixed methods approach was applied following the project “A Roadmap out of medical deserts into supportive health workforce initiatives and policies” work plan. It included the following elements: (i) a scoping literature review; (ii) a questionnaire survey; (iii) national stakeholders' workshop; (iv) a descriptive case study on medical deserts in Spain.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Medical deserts in Spain exist in the form of mostly rural areas with limited access to health care. The main challenge in their identification and monitoring is local data availability. Diversity of both factors contributing to medical deserts and solutions applied to eliminate or mitigate them can be identified in Spain. They can be related to demand for or supply of health care services. More national data, analyses and/or initiatives seem to be focused on the health care supply dimension.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Addressing medical deserts in Spain requires a comprehensive and multidimensional approach. Effective policies are needed to address both the medical staff education and planning system, working conditions, as well as more intersectoral approach to the population health management.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"708-721"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3782","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139742310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementing coaching programmes for healthcare professionals—A review of the barriers and facilitators","authors":"E. J. Jansen,&nbsp;K. Czabanowska,&nbsp;A. P. J. de Pagter,&nbsp;R. J. de Koeijer","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3761","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3761","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The European Union faces severe and worsening personnel shortages in healthcare. Coaching has emerged as a human-centred strategy to enhance sustainable employment and retention. While the number of efficacy studies on coaching continues to grow, knowledge about the barriers and facilitators to implementing coaching interventions among healthcare professionals (HCPs) remains scarce.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This systematic review aimed to describe common barriers and facilitators to the implementation of coaching interventions for HCPs.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In April 2023, five databases were searched for eligible articles. Barriers and facilitators were systematically identified and mapped onto the constructs of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Directed content analysis yielded thematic areas and a reporting frequency.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of thirty (<i>n</i> = 30) studies were included in this review, representing twenty-five (<i>n</i> = 25) distinct coaching programmes. Implementation determinants were clustered under two CFIR domains: the <i>Inner Setting</i> (8 facilitators, 5 barriers) and <i>Implementation Process</i> (6 facilitators, 1 barrier). Barriers included (i) limited organisational capacity, (ii) lack of psychological safety, (iii) competing work demands, and (iv) insufficient leadership buy-in, while facilitators were the (i) allocation of protected time for participants and coaches, (ii) promotion through opinion leaders, (iii) embeddedness in existing Continuous Professional Development programmes, and (iv) programme co-creation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The findings of this study provide practical insights to guide the future implementation of coaching interventions at an organisational level. In particular, the identified barriers and facilitators suggest, for optimal efficacy and sustainment, coaching interventions must be implemented within a safe, supportive organisational climate.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"860-878"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3761","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139736383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of interprofessional practice on nursing workload in hospitals: A systematic review","authors":"Danielle Fabiana Cucolo,&nbsp;João Lucas de Campos Oliveira,&nbsp;Rosana Aparecida Salvador Rossit,&nbsp;Vivian Aline Mininel,&nbsp;Marcia Galan Perroca,&nbsp;Jaqueline Alcântara Marcelino da Silva","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3779","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3779","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objective</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To synthesise scientific evidence on interprofessional practice in hospital care and the effects on nursing workload.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Systematic mixed method review, registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021225627) and conducted in the following databases: CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science and Scopus, with no restrictions on the publication period of the studies. Primary studies were recruited on nurses' interprofessional practice (actions and interactions with other professional categories) in hospitals and the effects on one or more dimensions of nursing workload (quantitative, qualitative, physical, cognitive, emotional, time and variation). Scientific articles available in open access, in English, Spanish or Portuguese, were included. The searches were carried out in January 2021. The studies were evaluated by pairs of independent researchers to verify methodological quality, through the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool, and data extraction. To summarise the studies, thematic analysis was adopted.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of 1774 publications were assessed for eligibility and 17 studies were included. Of these, two were mixed methods, four were qualitative, and 11 were quantitative, published between 2011 and 2020. The main scenarios investigated were Intensive Care Units and/or Inpatient Units. During data analysis, three thematic categories emerged: Interprofessional practice in coping with emotional overload; Time dedicated by nurses to professional communication; and Working conditions and patient care. The third category consisted of three subthemes: Conflict and flexibility in the context of practice; Working conditions and interprofessional practice; and Effects on patient care.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The evidence points to the emotional overload of nurses in the face of uncooperative practices. Interprofessional actions, especially communicative ones, demand nurses' time and impact the care provided. The results contribute to political decisions and health work management.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"824-843"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139730651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Raising the issue of quality in implementation science reporting in global health: Implications for health planning and practice","authors":"Alexandra L. Rose,&nbsp;Helen E. Jack,&nbsp;Muneera A. Rasheed,&nbsp;Jessica F. Magidson","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3788","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3788","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Implementation outcomes, which focus on the barriers to, and facilitators and processes of healthcare delivery, are critical to translating research evidence to health planning and practice and to improving healthcare delivery. This article summarises key quality issues in reporting of implementation science outcomes within global health and describes the ways in which this presents a challenge for shifting health planning and practice across low-resource health systems. This article also suggests that the wider use of reporting guidelines for implementation outcomes could help address this issue.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 4","pages":"1183-1187"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3788","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139736384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Healthcare workforce equity for health equity: An overview of its importance for the level of primary health care","authors":"M. Santric Milicevic,&nbsp;C. D. P. Scotter,&nbsp;A. Bruno-Tome,&nbsp;C. Scheerens,&nbsp;K. Ellington","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3790","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3790","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Healthcare workforce crises often stem from healthcare workers' inequities. This study provides an overview of the main PHC workforce policy questions related to health equity, offering examples of evidence necessary to support the implementation of policies and strategies that increase equity in the health workforce and access to the PHC workforce and services.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The equity-related policies in PHC and workforce were linked with the indicators listed in the Global Health Workforce Network Data and Evidence Hub and guidelines for health workforce management.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The policy-relevant questions in PHC cover many workforce issues such as the optimal size, equitable distribution, relevant competencies to ensure equitable healthcare access, and equitable approaches for retention, training, recruitment, benefits and incentive schemes and governance. This will require intersectionality evidence of the optimised staffing to PHC workload, that PHC practitioners' training demonstrates evidence-based knowledge aligned with locally relevant expertise.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Critical for equitable PHC access and health equity is the establishment of efficient measurement of PHC workforce equity and its implications for population health. Using indicators that measure health and workforce equity in research, policy, and practices may improve recruitment and retention, and respond more effectively to the PHC workforce crises.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"945-955"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Building capacity for equitable healthcare workforce policy, learning from migrant healthcare workers: A qualitative study with Romanian physicians working in Germany during COVID-19","authors":"Ellen Kuhlmann,&nbsp;Marius-Ionuț Ungureanu,&nbsp;Nancy Thilo,&nbsp;Leonie Mac Fehr,&nbsp;Nicoleta-Carmen Cosma,&nbsp;Monica Georgina Brînzac,&nbsp;Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3789","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3789","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Attention to the healthcare workforce has increased, yet comprehensive information on migrant healthcare workers is missing. This study focuses on migrant healthcare workers' experiences and mobility patterns in the middle of a global health crisis, aiming to explore the capacity for circular migration and support effective and equitable healthcare workforce policy.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Romanian physicians working in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic served as an empirical case study. We applied a qualitative explorative approach; interviews (<i>n</i> = 21) were collected from mid of September to early November 2022 and content analysis was performed.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results and Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Migrant physicians showed strong resilience during the COVID-19 crisis and rarely complained. Commitment to high professional standards and career development were major pull factors towards Germany, while perceptions of limited career choices, nepotism and corruption in Romania caused strong push mechanisms. We identified two major mobility patterns that may support circular migration policies: well-integrated physicians with a wish to give something back to their home country, and mobile cosmopolitan physicians who flexibly balance career opportunities and personal/family interests. Health policy must establish systematic monitoring of the migrant healthcare workforce including actor-centred approaches, support integration in destination countries as well as health system development in sending countries, and invest in evidence-based circular migration policy.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 4","pages":"1081-1096"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3789","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"‘Government don't know me and if I stop, they won't know’: A qualitative study on the lived experiences of volunteer health workers in the Nigerian health system and their implications for the sustainable development goals","authors":"Aloysius Odii,&nbsp;Eleanor Hutchinson,&nbsp;Obinna Onwujekwe,&nbsp;Pamela Adaobi Ogbozor,&nbsp;Prince Agwu,&nbsp;Charles T. Orjiakor,&nbsp;Dina Babalanova,&nbsp;Martin McKee","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3783","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3783","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Volunteer health workers play an important, but poorly understood role in the Nigerian health system. We report a study of their lived experiences, enabling us to understand their motivations, the nature of their work, and their relationships with formally employed health workers in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Nigeria, the role of institutional incentives, and the implications for attaining the health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) targets.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The study used ethnographic observation of PHCs in Enugu State, supplemented with in-depth interviews with volunteers, formally employed health workers and health managers. The analysis employed a combination of narrative and reflexive thematic approaches.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Findings</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The lived experiences of most volunteers unfold in four stages as they move into and out of their volunteering status. The first stage signifies hope, arising from the ease with which they are accepted and integrated into the PHC space. The anger stage emerges when volunteers confront the marked disparity in their treatment compared to formal staff, despite their substantial contributions to healthcare. Then, the bargaining stage sets in, where they strive for recognition and respect by pursuing formal employment and advocating for fair treatment and improved stipends. A positive response, such as improved stipends, can reignite hope among volunteers. If not, most volunteers transition to the acceptance stage – the acknowledgement that their status may never be formalised, prompting many to lose hope and disengage.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>There should be a clear policy on recruitment, compensation, and protection of volunteers in the health systems, to enhance the contribution they can make to the achievement of the health-related SDG targets.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"689-707"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139730652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implications for the specialty board system: The struggle of young doctors in Japan's rigid healthcare framework","authors":"Yudai Kaneda,&nbsp;Akihiko Ozaki,&nbsp;Akika Ando,&nbsp;Lorrance Majewski,&nbsp;Michioki Endo","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3787","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3787","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 4","pages":"1192-1194"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Job crafting as retention strategy: An ethnographic account of the challenges faced in crafting new nursing roles in care practice","authors":"Martijn Felder,&nbsp;Syb Kuijper,&nbsp;Davina Allen,&nbsp;Roland Bal,&nbsp;Iris Wallenburg,&nbsp;RN2Blend consortium","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3780","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3780","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nursing shortages in the global north are soaring. Of particular concern is the high turnover among bachelor-trained nurses. Nurses tend to leave the profession shortly after graduating, often citing a lack of appreciation and voice in clinical and organisational decision-making. Healthcare organisations seek to increase the sustainability of the nursing workforce by enhancing nursing roles and nurses' organisational positions. In the Netherlands, hospitals have introduced pilots in which nurses craft new roles. We followed two pilots ethnographically and examined how nurses and managers shaped new nursing roles and made sense of their (expected) impact on workforce resilience. Informed by the literature on professional ecologies and job crafting, we show how managers and nurses defined new roles by differentiating between training levels and the uptake of care-related organisational responsibilities beyond the traditional nursing role. We also show how, when embedding such new roles, nurses needed to negotiate specific challenges associated with everyday nursing practice, manifested in distinct modes of organising, work rhythms, embodied expertise, socio-material arrangements, interprofessional relationships, and conventions about what is considered important in nursing. We argue that our in-depth case study provides a relational and socio-material understanding of the organisational politics implicated in organising care work in the face of workforce shortages.</p>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"722-739"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3780","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mapping and analysing community health worker programmes in the Eastern Mediterranean region","authors":"Uta Lehmann,&nbsp;Gulin Gedik,&nbsp;Arooj Jalal","doi":"10.1002/hpm.3772","DOIUrl":"10.1002/hpm.3772","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Community health worker (CHW) programmes are increasingly being recognized as an important strategy that can help to strengthen comprehensive primary health care (PHC), as the foundation of work towards achieving universal health care (UHC) and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean undertook a situational analysis of CHW programmes in the Region to better understand the current situation and the issues involved.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A two-step process was employed: a review of available literature on CHWs in the Region was conducted, followed by a survey of CHW programmes in the region, focussing on programmes that were country-led and country-wide.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Thirteen countries were found to have community health worker programmes with varying governance and programmatic structures. Broadly, two categories can be distinguished: (a) several countries have well established and mature national CHW programmes that are in most cases supported by external donors but driven and coordinated by national governments; (b) a greater number of countries that have smaller, emerging government or partner led projects and programmes. A few countries have deliberately opted for other models to strengthen primary care and community outreach, for example, through community nursing.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>CHW programmes play an increasingly important role in primary health care in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, providing promotive, preventive, and emergency services. This bodes well for efforts to strengthen and embed comprehensive primary health care as the foundation of national health systems, to improve health emergency preparedness, achieve UHC and meet the SDGs. Nonetheless, all but a few programmes face challenges of weak governance, fragmentation and unreliable support, similar to those in other countries. However, the main finding of the analysis was that the role of CHWs in countries' health service delivery is woefully under-researched in almost all countries in the region, and more research to better understand and support programmes in the context of local health system contexts is urgently needed.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47637,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Health Planning and Management","volume":"39 3","pages":"637-652"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hpm.3772","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139713194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}