New Publication Spotlight: Using Evidence for Human Resources for Health Decision-Making: An Example from Uganda on Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention

A strong and well-distributed health workforce is essential for achieving national and global health goals. Effective policies to address workforce challenges, such as retention, should be informed by relevant data; however, the availability of evidence does not guarantee that it will be used for decision-making. A new CapacityPlus technical brief shows national stakeholders how to transform evidence into policy decisions and subsequent action.

In Using Evidence for Human Resources for Health Decision-Making: An Example from Uganda on Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention, authors Rachel Deussom and Wanda Jaskiewicz of IntraHealth International explain how countries can build interest, momentum, and political will to make policy decisions for retention strategies to strengthen the health workforce. Based on a literature review and the authors’ experience in Uganda, they describe six recommendations to help stakeholders turn evidence into effective policy decisions and subsequent action:

• Ensure that evidence generation informs and drives a country-owned mandate.

• Assess the costs of implementing the evidence-based policy intervention.

• Involve relevant stakeholders, including technical experts and those with decision-making authority, in evidence dissemination and review.

• Once agreement on the need for policy change has been reached, maximize momentum so that evidence is converted into action.

• Ensure that an accountable stakeholder leadership group oversees a defined process for bringing an evidence-based policy decision to action.

• Mitigate the effects of stakeholder turnover.

Using an example from Uganda, the authors illustrate how the development and sharing of evidence can support decision-making for change in health workforce recruitment and retention policies.

To learn more, read the new publication, available as a PDF and an interactive online version. Please let us know what you think; we welcome your feedback.

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Related items:

• Using Evidence for Human Resources for Health Decision-Making: An Example from Uganda on Health Workforce Recruitment and Retention

• Determining Priority Retention Packages to Attract and Retain Health Workers in Rural and Remote Areas in Uganda

• Preferences for Working in Rural Clinics among Trainee Health Professionals in Uganda: A Discrete Choice Experiment