scholarly journals Factors influencing recruitment and retention of healthcare workers in rural and remote areas in developed and developing countries: an overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisèle Irène Claudine Mbemba ◽  
Marie-Pierre Gagnon ◽  
Louise Hamelin-Brabant
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Retention Factors ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

Shortage of healthcare workers in rural and remote areas remains a growing concern both in developed and developing countries. This review aims to synthesize the significant factors impacting healthcare professionals’ recruitment and retention in rural and remote areas, and to identify those relevant for developing countries. This paper included the following steps: exploring scientific literature through predetermined criteria and extracting relevant information by two independents reviewers. The AMSTAR tool was used to assess the methodological quality. Of the 224 screened publications, 15 reviews were included. Four reviews focused on recruitment factors, and another four reviews focused on retention factors. The remaining focused both on recruitment and retention factors. The most important factors influencing recruitment were rural background and rural origin, followed by career development. Opportunities for professional advancement, professional support networks and financial incentives were factors impacting retention. While the main factors influencing recruitment and retention have been largely explored in the literature, the evidence on strategies to reduce the shortage of healthcare workers in rural area, particularly in developing countries, is low. Further research in this field is needed.

Needs, Challenges, and Opportunities in Establishing and Maintaining Medical Education in Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-80
Author(s):  
Kiran Regmi ◽  
Kapil Amgain
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Health Report ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
The World ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

 The constitution of Nepal (2015), article 35 (Right relating to health) stated that every citizen shall have the right to free basic health services from the State, and no one shall be deprived of emergency health services. According to the World Bank report (collection of development indicators compiled from various official sources, 2016), Nepal has 81% rural and remote populations. Health service delivery is a complex reality for the rural and remote populations and faces enormous challenges. One of them is insufficient and uneven distribution of health workforce. The World Health Report concluded that "the severity of the health workforce crisis is in some of the world's poorest countries, of which 6 are in South East Asia out of 57 countries having critical shortages of health workforce."1Even after 13 years situation has not much improved. Nepal faces a critical shortage of trained health workforce, especially in rural and remote areas. Health workforce recruitment and retention in rural and remote areas is a difficult task challenged by the preferences and migration of health workforce to urban areas in country, or even abroad for better life and professional development.2 One of the most effective strategies for health workforce recruitment and retention for rural and remote areas could be that of establishing and maintaining Medical Education in rural and remote areas decentralized from urban academic medical centers.

scholarly journals A Discrete Choice Experiment on Factors Influencing Attrition and Motivation of Frontline Health Workers in Remote and Rural Areas in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny C Okoroafor ◽  
Chukwuemeka Nwachukwu ◽  
Martin Osubor
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Choice ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Frontline Health Workers ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

Abstract Background The current policy thrust in Nigeria is to ensure that there exists qualified, skilled, and adequate health workforce for the achievement of universal health coverage. To achieve this, evidence combination of strategies/interventions on factors influencing attraction, retention, and motivation of the health workforce is needed to ensure the equitable distribution of the health workforce across the country.Methods We conducted a discrete choice experiment study to determine the combinations of incentives that may increase the retention of frontline health workers in rural and remote areas in Nigeria. The study was undertaken across rural and urban locations in Bauchi State between August and October 2018 amongst 145 students and practicing health workers. Results Health workers are 14.6 and 14.4 times more likely to take up a rural posting or continue to stay in their present rural posts if there was basic housing and improvement of the quality of the facilities respectively. The preference for rural job location increased by 6.17 times if good schools for children's education were provided. The highest willingness-to-pay was for the provision of basic housing or housing allowance with a high utility of 0.609 followed by improved quality of facility with sufficient staff number and type, equipment, drugs, and medical supplies with a utility value of 0.607. Conclusion Improving the working conditions of health workers will support retention in rural health posts. Based on the findings, we recommend the introduction of housing incentives in rural and remote areas to support the retention of health workers. This should be accompanied by deliberate interventions to improve the quality of the health facilities ensuring adequate and functional equipment and uninterrupted supplies.

scholarly journals Assessment of factors influencing retention of health workforce in rural and remote areas of Odisha, India

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (S5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shridhar Kadam ◽  
Sanghamitra Pati ◽  
Mohammad Akhtar Hussain ◽  
Srinivas Nallala ◽  
Nayan Chakravarty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Workforce ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

scholarly journals Increasing access to health workers in rural and remote areas: what do stakeholders’ value and find feasible and acceptable?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Onyema Ajuebor ◽  
Mathieu Boniol ◽  
Michelle McIsaac ◽  
Chukwuemeka Onyedike ◽  
Elie A. Akl
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
World Health ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Outcome Indicators ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

Abstract Background The primary aim of this study is to assess stakeholders’ views of the acceptability and feasibility of policy options and outcome indicators presented in the 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) global policy recommendations on increasing access to health workers in remote and rural areas through improved retention. Methods A survey on the acceptability, feasibility of recruitment and retention policy options, and the importance of their outcome indicators was developed. It followed a cross-sectional approach targeting health workers in rural and remote settings as well as policy- and decision-makers involved in the development of recruitment and retention policies for such areas. Respondents were asked their perception of the importance of the policy outcomes of interest, as well as the acceptability and feasibility of the 2010 WHO guidelines’ policy options using a 9-point Likert scale. Results In total, 336 participants completed the survey. Almost a third worked in government; most participants worked in community settings and were involved in the administration and management of rural health workers. Almost all 19 outcomes of interests assessed were valued as important or critical. For the 16 guideline policy options, most were perceived to be "definitely acceptable" and "definitely feasible", although the policy options were generally considered to be more acceptable than feasible. Conclusion The findings of this study provide insight into the revision and update of the 2010 WHO guideline on increasing access to health workers in remote and rural areas. Stakeholders’ views of the acceptability, feasibility of policy options and the importance of outcomes of interest are important for the development of relevant and effective policies to improve access to health workers in rural and remote areas.

scholarly journals Factors contributing to the recruitment and retention of rural pharmacist workforce: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Terry ◽  
Hoang Phan ◽  
Blake Peck ◽  
Danny Hills ◽  
Mark Kirschbaum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Rural Practice ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Recruitment And Retention ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas ◽  
Pharmacist Workforce

Abstract Background Recruiting and retaining medical, nursing, and allied health professionals in rural and remote areas is a worldwide challenge, compromising continuity of care and population health outcomes in these locations. Specifically, pharmacists play an essential and accessible frontline healthcare role, and are often the first point of contact for health concerns. Despite several incentives, there remains a maldistribution and undersupply of pharmacists in rural and remote areas across many parts of the world. Although current systematic reviews have focussed on factors affecting pharmacists’ retention generally, literature specifically focused on rural pharmacist workforce in a global context remains limited. The aim of this systematic review is to identify factors associated with recruitment and retention of the pharmacist workforce in rural and remote settings. Better understanding of these contributors will inform more effective interventional strategies to resolve pharmacist workforce shortages. Methods A systematic search of primary studies was conducted in online databases, including Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO, and by hand-searching of reference lists. Eligible studies were identified based on predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria and methodological quality criteria, utilising the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Good Reporting of A Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) checklists. Results The final review included 13 studies, with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods research design. Study-specific factors associated with recruitment and retention of pharmacists in rural practice were identified and grouped into five main themes: geographic and family-related, economic and resources, scope of practice or skills development, the practice environment, and community and practice support factors. Conclusions The results provide critical insights into the complexities of rural recruitment and retention of pharmacists and confirms the need for flexible yet multifaceted responses to overcoming rural pharmacist workforce challenges. Overall, the results provide an opportunity for rural communities and health services to better identify key strengths and challenges unique to the rural and remote pharmacist workforce that may be augmented to guide more focussed recruitment and retention endeavours.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the initial implementation of a nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme in primary care: a multimethod study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e044805
Author(s):  
Vincent Khou ◽  
Muhammad Azaan Khan ◽  
Ivy Wei Jiang ◽  
Paula Katalinic ◽  
Ashish Agar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Primary Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Screening Programme ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Visual Outcomes ◽  
Diabetic Retinopathy Screening ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas ◽  
Retinopathy Screening

ObjectivesThe Australian Government funded a nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme to improve visual outcomes for people with diabetes. This study examined the benefits and barriers of the programme, image interpretation pathways and assessed the characteristics of people who had their fundus photos graded by a telereading service which was available as a part of the programme.DesignMultimethod: survey and retrospective review of referral forms.SettingTwenty-two primary healthcare facilities from urban, regional, rural and remote areas of Australia, and one telereading service operated by a referral-only eye clinic in metropolitan Sydney, Australia.ParticipantsTwenty-seven primary healthcare workers out of 110 contacted completed a survey, and 145 patient referrals were reviewed.ResultsManifest qualitative content analysis showed that primary healthcare workers reported that the benefits of the screening programme included improved patient outcomes and increased awareness and knowledge of diabetic retinopathy. Barriers related to staffing issues and limited referral pathways. Image grading was performed by a variety of primary healthcare workers, with one responder indicating the utilisation of a diabetic retinopathy reading service. Of the people with fundus photos graded by the reading service, 26.2% were reported to have diabetes. Overall, 12.3% of eyes were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. Photo quality was rated as excellent in 46.2% of photos. Referral to an optometrist for diabetic retinopathy was recommended in 4.1% of cases, and to an ophthalmologist in 6.9% of cases.ConclusionsThis nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme was perceived to increase access to diabetic retinopathy screening in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. The telereading service has diagnosed diabetic retinopathy and other ocular pathologies in images it has received. Key barriers, such as access to ophthalmologists and optometrists, must be overcome to improve visual outcomes.

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