Browsing by Person "Witter, Sophie"

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A scoping review of the residual barriers to skilled birth attendance in Ghana: A conceptual framework and a fish bone analysis
(Public Library of Science, 2024-02-12) Abredu, Juliet; Dwumfour, Catherine K.; Alipitio, Boo; Alordey, Mawusi; Dzomeku, Veronica Millicent; Witter, Sophie
The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.1 is strongly dependent on the effective utilization of skilled birth services. Despite advancements made in Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) in Ghana, there are still instances of unassisted childbirths taking place. The aim of this study was to explore the residual barriers of SBA such as community- and health system-related factors affecting SBA in Ghana and to identify strategies for addressing them. An electronic search was done using PubMed, Popline, Science direct, BioMed Central, Scopus and Google scholar for peer reviewed articles as well as grey articles from other relevant sources, published between 200 and 2022 on community- and health system related factors influencing SBA in Ghana. Out of the 89 articles retrieved for full screening, a total of 52 peer-reviewed articles and 1 grey article were selected for the final review. The study revealed that cultural practices (community factors), low quality of service delivery due to the inappropriate behaviors, lack of competency of skilled birth attendants (SBAs) as well as the inefficient distribution of SBAs contribute to ineffective uptake of SBA (health system factors). Also, indirect costs are associated with the utilization of skilled delivery care even with the existence of ‘free’ delivery care policy under the national health insurance (policy factor). For Ghana to achieve the SDGs above and improve SBA, it is essential to enhance the quality of skilled delivery care by addressing the attitude and competencies of skilled birth professionals, while plans are put in place to expand and develop the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) strategy to help address the access barriers to SBA. More so, the ‘free’ delivery care policy should absorb all the costs associated with skilled delivery for pregnant women as it is intended for.
A theory-based evaluation of the Leadership for Universal Health Coverage Programme: insights for multisectoral leadership development in global health.
(2022-09-29) Witter, Sophie; Brikci, Nouria; Scherer, David
Leadership to manage the complex political and technical challenges of moving towards universal health coverage (UHC) is widely recognized as critical, but there are few studies which evaluate how to expand capacities in this area. This article aims to fill some of this gap by presenting the methods and findings of an evaluation of the Leadership for UHC (L4UHC) programme in 2019-2020. Given the complexity of the intervention and environment, we adopted a theory-driven evaluation approach that allowed us to understand the role of the programme, amongst other factors. Data from a range of sources and tools were compared with a programme theory of change, with analysis structured using an evaluation matrix organized according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) criteria. Data sources included key informant (KI) interviews (89 in total); surveys of the 80 workshop participants; a range of secondary data sources; case studies in two countries; and observation of activities and modules by the evaluator. Participants and KIs at the global and country levels reported high relevance of the programme and a lack of alternatives aiming at similar goals. In relation to effectiveness, at the individual level, there was an increase in some competencies, particularly for those with less experience at the baseline. Less change was observed in commitment to UHC as that started at a relatively high level. Understanding of UHC complexity grew, particularly for those coming from a non-health background. Connections across institutional divides for team members in-country increased, although variably across the countries, but the programme has not as yet had a major impact on national coalitions for UHC. Impacts on health policy and practice outcomes were evident in two out of seven countries. We examined factors favouring success and explanatory factors. We identified positive but no negative unintended effects. While noting methodological constraints, the theory-based evaluation approach is found suitable for assessing and learning lessons from complex global programmes. We conclude that L4UHC is an important addition to the global and national health ecosystem, addressing a relevant need with some strong results, and also highlight challenges which can inform other programmes with similar objectives. [Abstract copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).]
A window of opportunity for reform in post-conflict settings? The case of Human Resources for Health policies in Sierra Leone, 2002-2012
(2014-07-23) Bertone, Maria Paola; Samai, Mohamed; Edem-Hotah, Joseph; Witter, Sophie
Background: It is recognized that decisions taken in the early recovery period may affect the development of health systems. Additionally, some suggest that the immediate post-conflict period may allow for the opening of a political 'window of opportunity' for reform. For these reasons, it is useful to reflect on the policy space that exists in this period, by what it is shaped, how decisions are made, and what are their long-term implications. Examining the policy trajectory and its determinants can be helpful to explore the specific features of the post-conflict policy-making environment. With this aim, the study looks at the development of policies on human resources for health (HRH) in Sierra Leone over the decade after the conflict (2002-2012). Methods. Multiple sources were used to collect qualitative data on the period between 2002 and 2012: a stakeholder mapping workshop, a document review and a series of key informant interviews. The analysis draws from political economy and policy analysis tools, focusing on the drivers of reform, the processes, the contextual features, and the actors and agendas. Findings. Our findings identify three stages of policy-making. At first characterized by political uncertainty, incremental policies and stop-gap measures, the context substantially changed in 2009. The launch of the Free Health Care Initiative provided to be an instrumental event and catalyst for health system, and HRH, reform. However, after the launch of the initiative, the pace of HRH decision-making again slowed down. Conclusions: Our study identifies the key drivers of HRH policy trajectory in Sierra Leone: (i) the political situation, at first uncertain and later on more defined; (ii) the availability of funding and the stances of agencies providing such funds; (iii) the sense of need for radical change - which is perhaps the only element related to the post-conflict setting. It also emerges that a 'windows of opportunity' for reform did not open in the immediate post-conflict, but rather 8 years later when the Free Health Care Initiative was announced, thus making it difficult to link it directly to the features of the post-conflict policy-making environment. 2014 Bertone et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Access to maternal and perinatal health services: lessons from successful and less successful examples of improving access to safe delivery and care of the newborn.
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2010-08) Witter, Sophie; Richard, Fabienne; De Brouwere, Vincent
Summary The huge majority of the annual 6.3 million perinatal deaths and half a million maternal deaths take place in developing countries and are avoidable. However, most of the interventions aiming at reducing perinatal and maternal deaths need a health care system offering appropriate antenatal care and quality delivery care, including basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care facilities. To promote the uptake of quality care, there are two possible approaches: influencing the demand and/or the supply of care. Five lessons emerged from experiences. First, it is difficult to obtain robust evidence of the effects of a particular intervention in a context, where they are always associated with other interventions. Second, the interventions tend to have relatively modest short-term impacts, when they address only part of the health system. Third, the long-term effects of an intervention on the whole health system are uncertain. Fourth, because newborn health is intimately linked with maternal health, it is of paramount importance to organise the continuum of care between mother and newborn. Finally, the transfer of experiences is delicate, and an intervention package that has proved to have a positive effect in one setting may have very different effects in other settings. L'accs aux services de sant maternelle et prinatale: leons tires d'exemples russies et moins russies de l'amlioration de l'accs un accouchement et des soins srs pour le nouveau-n L'immense majorit des 6,3 millions de dcs prinataux et du demi-million de dcs maternels surviennent dans les pays en dveloppement et sont vitables. Cependant, la plupart des interventions visant rduire la mortalit prinatale et maternelle ont besoin d'un systme de soins de sant offrant des prestations de soins prnataux appropris et de qualit, y compris des services complets de soins obsttriques d'urgence de base. Afin de promouvoir l'adoption de soins de qualit, il y a deux approches possibles: influencer la demande et/ou l'offre de soins. Cinq leons ont t dgages de certaines expriences. D'abord, il est difficile d'obtenir des preuves solides des effets d'une intervention particulire dans un contexte o_ ils sont toujours associs d'autres interventions. Deuximement, les interventions ont tendance avoir des impactes relativement modestes court terme quand elles ne visent qu'une partie du systme de sant. Troisimement, les effets long terme d'une intervention sur l'ensemble du systme de sant sont incertains. Quatrimement, comme la sant du nouveau-n est intimement lie celle de la mre, il est d'une importance primordiale d'organiser la continuit des soins entre la mre et le nouveau-n. Enfin, le transfert d'expriences est dlicat et une trousse d'intervention qui s'est avre positive dans un contexte peut avoir des effets trs diffrents dans d'autres contextes. Punto de vista Acceso a servicios maternos y perinatales: lecciones de ejemplos exitosos y menos exitosos en la mejora del acceso a un parto seguro y cuidados neonatales La gran mayor_a de las 6.3 millones de muertes perinatales y el medio mill_n de muertes maternas suceden en pa_ses en v_as de desarrollo y son inevitables. Sin embargo, la mayor_a de las intervenciones que buscan reducir las muertes maternas y perinatales requieren de un sistema sanitario que ofrezca unos cuidados prenatales apropiados y unos cuidados de calidad durante el parto, incluyendo el acceso a instalaciones obsttricas bsicas y de emergencia. A la hora de promover la mejora del servicio hay dos posibilidades: influenciar la demanda y/o la oferta de cuidados. Se obtuvieron cinco lecciones como resultado de las diferentes experiencias. Primero, es dif_cil obtener una evidencia robusta de los efectos que tiene una intervenci_n en particular dentro de un contexto en el cual siempre hay otras intervenciones asociadas. Segundo, las intervenciones tienden a tener impactos con ventanas de tiempo relativamente cortas cuando solo han sido dirigidas hacia una parte del sistema sanitario. Tercero, los efectos a largo plazo de una intervenci_n, sobre todo en el sistema de salud, son inciertos. Cuarto, puesto que la salud neonatal est_ntimamente ligada a la salud materna, es muy importante ligar los cuidados continuos de la madre y del neonato. Finalmente, la transferencia de experiencias es delicada y un tipo de intervenci_n que ha tenido un efecto positivo en un lugar puede tener efectos muy diferentes en otro.
Achieving sustainability, quality and access - lessons from the world's largest revolving drug fund.
(WHO, 2007) Witter, Sophie
Ensuring a reliable and affordable supply of essential drugs to health facilities is one of the main challenges facing developing countries. This paper describes the revolving drug fund in Khartoum, which was set up in 1989 to improve access to high quality drugs across the State. An evaluation in 2004 showed that the fund has successfully managed a number of threats to its financial sustainability and has expanded its network of facilities, its range of products and its financial assets. It now supplies essential drugs to 3 million out of the 5 million population of Khartoum each year, at prices between 40% and 100% less than alternative sources. However, results illustrated the tension between achieving an efficient cost-recovery system and access for the poorest.
Adapting and implementing training, guidelines and treatment cards to improve primary care-based hypertension and diabetes management in a fragile context: Results of a feasibility study in Sierra Leone
(BMC, 2020-07-29) Zou, Guanyang; Witter, Sophie; Caperon, Lizzie; Walley, John; Cheedella, Kiran; Senesi, Reynold G. B.; Wurie, Haja
Background: Sierra Leone, a fragile country, is facing an increasingly significant burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Facilitated by an international partnership, a project was developed to adapt and pilot desktop guidelines and other clinical support tools to strengthen primary care-based hypertension and diabetes diagnosis and management in Bombali district, Sierra Leone between 2018 and 2019. This study assesses the feasibility of the project through analysis of the processes of intervention adaptation and development, delivery of training and implementation of a care improvement package and preliminary outcomes of the intervention.
Addressing challenges in tuberculosis adherence via performance-based payments for integrated case management: Protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial in Georgia
(BMC, 2019-08-28) Chikovani, Ivdity; Diaconu, Karin; Duric, Predrag; Sulaberidze, Lela; Uchaneishvili, Maia; Mohammed, Nuredin Ibrahim; Zoidze, Akaki; Witter, Sophie
Background: Tuberculosis is one of the greatest global health concerns and disease management is challenging particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Despite improvements in addressing this epidemic in Georgia, tuberculosis remains a significant public health concern due to sub-optimal patient management. Low remuneration for specialists, limited private-sector interest in provision of infectious disease care and incomplete integration in primary care are at the core of this problem.
An analysis of policy and funding priorities of global actors regarding noncommunicable disease in low- and middle-income countries
(BMC, 2021-06-29) Jailobaeva, Kanykey; Falconer, Jennifer; Loffreda, Giulia; Arakelyan, Stella; Witter, Sophie; Ager, Alastair
Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including mental health, have become a major concern in low- and middle-income countries. Despite increased attention to them over the past decade, progress toward addressing NCDs has been slow. A lack of bold policy commitments has been suggested as one of the contributors to limited progress in NCD prevention and management. However, the policies of key global actors (bilateral, multilateral, and not-for-profit organisations) have been understudied. Methods: This study aimed to map the key global actors investing in action regarding NCDs and review their policies to examine the articulation of priorities regarding NCDs. Narrative synthesis of 70 documents and 31 policy papers was completed, and related to data collated from the Global Health Data Visualisation Tool. Results: In 2019 41% of development assistance for health committed to NCDs came from private philanthropies, while that for other global health priorities from this source was just 20%. Through a range of channels, bilateral donors were the other major source of NCD funding (contributing 41% of NCD funding). The UK and the US were the largest bilateral investors in NCDs, each contributing 8%. However, NCDs are still under-prioritised within bilateral portfolios – receiving just 0.48% of US funding and 1.66% of the UK. NGOs were the key channels of funding for NCDs, spending 48% of the funds from donors in 2019. The reviewed literature generally focused on NCD policies of WHO, with policies of multilateral and bilateral donors given limited attention. The analysis of policies indicated a limited prioritisation of NCDs in policy documents. NCDs are framed in the policies as a barrier to economic growth, poverty reduction, and health system sustainability. Bilateral donors prioritise prevention, while multilateral actors offer policy options for NCD prevention and care. Even where stated as a priority, however, funding allocations are not aligned. Conclusion: The growing threat of NCDs and their drivers are increasingly recognised. However, global actors’ policy priorities and funding allocations need to align better to address these NCD threats. Given the level of their investment and engagement, more research is needed into the role of private philanthropies and NGOs in this area.
An exploration of the political economy dynamics shaping health worker incentives in three districts in Sierra Leone
(Elsevier, 2015) Bertone, Maria Paola; Witter, Sophie
The need for evidence-based practice calls for research focussing not only on the effectiveness of interventions and their translation into policies, but also on implementation processes and the factors influencing them, in particular for complex health system policies. In this paper, we use the lens of one of the health system's 'building blocks', human resources for health (HRH), to examine the implementation of official policies on HRH incentives and the emergence of informal practices in three districts of Sierra Leone. Our mixed-methods research draws mostly from 18 key informant interviews at district level. Data are organised using a political economy framework which focuses on the dynamic interactions between structure (context, historical legacies, institutions) and agency (actors, agendas, power relations) to show how these elements affect the HRH incentive practices in each district. It appears that the official policies are re-shaped both by implementation challenges and by informal practices emerging at local level as the result of the district-level dynamics and negotiations between District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). Emerging informal practices take the form of selective supervision, salary supplementations and per diems paid to health workers, and aim to ensure a better fit between the actors' agendas and the incentive package. Importantly, the negotiations which shape such practices are characterised by a substantial asymmetry of power between DHMTs and NGOs. In conclusion, our findings reveal the influence of NGOs on the HRH incentive package and highlight the need to empower DHMTs to limit the discrepancy between policies defined at central level and practices in the districts, and to reduce inequalities in health worker remuneration across districts. For Sierra Leone, these findings are now more relevant than ever as new players enter the stage at district level, as part of the Ebola response and post-Ebola reconstruction.
An exploratory study of the policy process and early implementation of the free NHIS coverage for pregnant women in Ghana
(2013-02) Witter, Sophie; Garshong, Bertha; Ridde, Valry
Background Pregnant women were offered free access to health care through National Health Insurance (NHIS) membership in Ghana in 2008, in the latest phase of policy reforms to ensure universal access to maternal health care. During the same year, free membership was made available to all children (under-18). This article presents an exploratory qualitative analysis of how the policy of free maternal membership was developed and how it is being implemented. Methods The study was based on a review of existing literature - grey and published - and on a key informant interviews (n-=-13) carried out in March-June 2012. The key informants included representatives of the key stakeholders in the health system and public administration, largely at national level but also including two districts. Results The introduction of the new policy for pregnant women was seen as primarily a political initiative, with limited stakeholder consultation. No costing was done prior to introduction, and no additional funds provided to the NHIS to support the policy after the first year. Guidelines had been issued but beyond collecting numbers of women registered, no additional monitoring and evaluation have yet been put in place to monitor its implementation. Awareness of the under-18 s policy amongst informants was so low that this component had to be removed from the final study. Initial barriers to access, such as pregnancy tests, were cited, but many appear to have been resolved now. Providers are concerned about the workload related to services and claims management but have benefited from increased financial resources. Users still face informal charges, and are reported to have responded differentially, with rises in antenatal care and in urban areas highlighted. Policy sustainability is linked to the survival of the NHIS as a whole. Conclusions Ghana has to be congratulated for its persistence in trying to address financial barriers. However, many themes from previous evaluations of exemptions policies in Ghana have recurred in this study - particularly, the difficulties of getting timely reimbursement to facilities, of controlling charging of patients, and of reaching the poorest. This suggests that providing free care through a national health insurance system has not solved systemic weaknesses. The wider concerns about raising the quality of care, and ensuring that all supply-side and demand-side elements are in place to make the policy effective will also take a longer term and bigger commitment.
An unnecessary evil? User fees for healthcare in low-income countries
(Save the Children, 2005) Witter, Sophie
This paper gives an account, based on published and unpublished papers, of the development of user fees for healthcare in low-income countries. It discusses how and why user fees were developed; their impact on health services and households; how donor policy evolved in relation to them and what happened when some countries removed them (either fully or in part) as a financing mechanism. The paper draws conclusions on whether it is desirable and feasible to abolish user fees.
Appraising pay‐for‐performance in healthcare in low‐ and middle‐income countries through systematic reviews: Reflections from two teams [Editorial]
(Wiley, 2022-05-20) Diaconu, Karin; Witter, Sophie; Binyaruka, Peter; Borghi, Josephine; Brown, Garrett W.; Singh, Neha; Herrera, Cristian A.
Approaches, enablers and barriers to govern the private sector in health in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review
(2024-11-13) Goodman, Catherine; Witter, Sophie; Hellowell, Mark; Allen, Louise; Srinivasan, Shuchi; Nixon, Swapna; Burney, Ayesha; Bhattacharjee, Debrupa; Cocozza, Anna; Appleford, Gabrielle; Thabet, Aya; Clarke, David
Supplementary datasets for eResearch item: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14033 Goodman, C., Witter, S., Hellowell, M., Allen, L., Srinivasan, S., Nixon, S., Burney, A., Bhattacharjee, D., Cocozza, A., Appleford, G., Thabet, A. and Clarke, D. (2024) ‘Approaches, enablers and barriers to govern the private sector in health in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review’, BMJ Global Health, 8(Suppl 5), p. e015771. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015771.
Approaches, enablers and barriers to govern the private sector in health in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review
(BMJ Publishing Group, 2024-11-13) Goodman, Catherine; Witter, Sophie; Hellowell, Mark; Allen, Louise; Srinivasan, Shuchi; Nixon, Swapna; Burney, Ayesha; Bhattacharjee, Debrupa; Cocozza, Anna; Appleford, Gabrielle; Thabet, Aya; Clarke, David
Introduction: The private sector plays a substantial role in delivering and financing healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Supporting governments to govern the private sector effectively, and so improve outcomes across the health system, requires an understanding of the evidence base on private health sector governance. This paper reports on a scoping review, which synthesised evidence on the approaches used to govern private sector delivery and financing of healthcare in LMICs, the effectiveness of these approaches and the key enablers and barriers to strengthening governance. Methods: We undertook a systematic search of databases of published articles and grey literature to identify eligible papers published since 2010, drawing on WHO’s governance definition. Data were extracted into a pretested matrix and analysed using narrative synthesis, structured by WHO’s six governance behaviours and an additional cross-cutting theme on capacities. Results: 107 studies were selected as relevant, covering 101 LMICs. Qualitative methods and document/literature review were predominant. The findings demonstrate the relevance of the WHO governance behaviours, but the lack of robust evidence for approaches to implementing them. Valuable insights from the literature include the need for a clear vision around governance aims; the importance of ensuring that policy dialogue processes are inclusive and transparent, avoiding interest group capture; the benefits of exploiting synergies between governance mechanisms; and the need to develop capacity to enact governance among both public and private actors. Conclusion: Governance choices shape not just the current health system, but also its future development. Common barriers to effective governance must be addressed in policy design, stakeholder engagement, public and private sector accountability, monitoring and capacity. Achieving this will require in-depth explorations of governance mechanisms and more rigorous documentation of implementation and outcomes in diverse contexts.
Assessing communities of practice in health policy: a conceptual framework as a first step towards empirical research
(2013-10) Bertone, Maria Paola; Meessen, Bruno; Clarysse, Guy; Hercot, David; Kelley, Allison; Kafando, Yamba; Lange, Isabelle; Pfaffmann, Jrme; Ridde, Valry; Sieleunou, Isidore; Witter, Sophie
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups of people that interact regularly to deepen their knowledge on a specific topic. Thanks to information and communication technologies, CoPs can involve experts distributed across countries and adopt a 'transnational' membership. This has allowed the strategy to be applied to domains of knowledge such as health policy with a global perspective. CoPs represent a potentially valuable tool for producing and sharing explicit knowledge, as well as tacit knowledge and implementation practices. They may also be effective in creating links among the different 'knowledge holders' contributing to health policy (e.g., researchers, policymakers, technical assistants, practitioners, etc.).CoPs in global health are growing in number and activities. As a result, there is an increasing need to document their progress and evaluate their effectiveness. This paper represents a first step towards such empirical research as it aims to provide a conceptual framework for the analysis and assessment of transnational CoPs in health policy.The framework is developed based on the findings of a literature review as well as on our experience, and reflects the specific features and challenges of transnational CoPs in health policy. It organizes the key elements of CoPs into a logical flow that links available resources and the capacity to mobilize them, with knowledge management activities and the expansion of knowledge, with changes in policy and practice and, ultimately, with an improvement in health outcomes. Additionally, the paper addresses the challenges in the operationalization and empirical application of the framework.
Assessing the role of non-state actors in health service delivery and health system resilience in Myanmar
(BioMed Central, 2024-10-24) Than, K.; Bertone, Maria Paola; La, T.; Witter, Sophie
Background: Due to the weaknesses of the public health system and its low reach, especially in border areas, provision of health services by non-state actors (NSAs) has historically played an important role in Myanmar. NSAs include local and international NGOs and civil society organisations (CSOs), but also Ethnic Health Organisations (EHOs) in the border areas, as well as the private (for profit) sector. This study aims to understand the changing role of NSAs in the shifting political environment of Myanmar between 2010 and 2022, and to explore their contribution to health system resilience. Methods: Our study includes three main components: a documentary review (n = 22), key informant interviews (KIIs) at central level (n = 14) and two township-level case studies (13 KIIs, 4 FGDs). Mostly qualitative data were collected in 2022 and synthesized, using a health system resilience framework to structure the analysis. Results: During the transition period (2010–2014) and the new political era (2015–2020), while the country gradually transitioned to a democratic system, the government increasingly recognized NSAs. Initially, engagement with NSAs remained focused on disease-specific activities and government oversight was limited, but later it expanded to health system strengthening, including the start of a “convergence” with ethnic health systems. Progress was relatively slow, but defined by a clear vision and plans. The military coup of February 2021 brought a halt to this progress. Collaboration between government and NSAs was interrupted, and NSAs restored previous practices and parallel systems. Initially, most health service provision stopped, but with time coping strategies emerged, which showed the capacity of NSAs to absorb the shocks (focusing on basic services; using informal communication channels; maintaining buffer stocks of supplies) and adapt (changing modes of delivery and supply chains, and adjusting HRH training). Conclusions: The study highlights the role of NSAs during crises, and provides insights on how the resilience capacities built over time by NSAs to provide services in adverse circumstances have informed the response to the latest crisis. While strategies of absorption and adaptation are noted in the study, we did not identify any transformation strategy – which might indicate the difficulty of NSAs to introduce radical changes when subjected to multiple shocks and a hostile political environment.
Assessment of the SC (US) performance-based incentive mechanism and economic analysis of the project Revitalizing and Improving Primary Health Care in Battagram District-.
(Save the Children (US), 2010) Zulfiqur, T.; Witter, Sophie; Javeed, S.
Attracting doctors and medical students to rural Vietnam: insights from a Discrete Choice Experiment
(HNP Discussion Paper. Washington, DC: World Bank., 2010-12) Vujicic, Marko; Alfano, Marco; Shengalia, Bakhuti; Witter, Sophie
Persuading medical doctors to work in rural areas is one of the main challenges facing health policy makers, in both developing and developed countries. Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) have increasingly been used to analyze the preferences of health workers, and how they would respond to alternative incentives associated with working in a rural location. Previous DCE studies focusing on the rural recruitment and retention problem have sampled either in-service health workers or students in the final year of their training program. This study is the first to sample both of these groups in the same setting. We carry out a DCE to compare how doctors and final-year medical students in Vietnam value six job attributes, and use the results to simulate the impact of alternative incentive packages on recruitment in rural areas. Results show significant differences between the two groups. The location of workplace (rural or urban) was by far the most important attribute for doctors; for medical students it was long-term education. More surprising, however, was the magnitude of the differences: there were fivefold differences in willingness-to-pay estimates for some job attributes. These differences strongly suggest that policy makers in Vietnam should consider moving away from the current uniform approach to rectifying rural shortages and tailor separate incentive packages to students and doctors. Our results also suggest that future DCE studies should carefully consider the choice of sample if results are to be used for policy making.
Barriers and Opportunities for WHO ‘Best Buys’ Non-Communicable Disease Policy Adoption and Implementation From a Political Economy Perspective: A Complexity Systematic Review
(Maad Rayan Publishing Company, 2023-12-31) Loffreda, Giulia; Arakelyan, Stella; Bou-Orm, Ibrahim; Holmer, Hampus; Allen, Luke N.; Witter, Sophie; Ager, Alastair; Diaconu, Karin
Background: Improving the adoption and implementation of policies to curb noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is a major challenge for better global health. The adoption and implementation of such policies remain deficient in various contexts, with limited insights into the facilitating and inhibiting factors. These policies have traditionally been treated as technical solutions, neglecting the critical influence of political economy dynamics. Moreover, the complex nature of these interventions is often not adequately incorporated into evidence for policymakers. This study aims to systematically review and evaluate the factors affecting NCD policy adoption and implementation. Methods: We conducted a complex systematic review of articles discussing the adoption and implementation of WHO's ‘best buys' NCD policies. We identified political economy factors and constructed a causal loop diagram (CLD) program theory to elucidate the interplay between factors influencing NCD policy adoption and implementation. A total of 157 papers met the inclusion criteria. Results: Our CLD highlights a central feedback loop encompassing three vital variables: 1) the ability to define, (re)shape and pass appropriate policy into law; 2) the ability to implement the policy (linked to the enforceability of the policy and to addressing NCD local burden); 3) ability to monitor progress, evaluate and correct the course. Insufficient context-specific data impedes the formulation and enactment of suitable policies, particularly in areas facing multiple disease burdens. Multisectoral collaboration plays a pivotal role in both policy adoption and implementation. Effective monitoring and accountability systems significantly impact policy implementation. The commercial determinants of health (CDoH) serve as a major barrier to defining, adopting, and implementing tobacco, alcohol, and diet-related policies. Conclusion: To advance global efforts, we recommend focusing on the development of robust accountability, monitoring, and evaluation systems, ensuring transparency in private sector engagement, supporting context-specific data collection, and effectively managing the CDoH. A system thinking approach can enhance the implementation of complex public health interventions.
Building cooperative learning to address alcohol and other drug abuse in Mpumalanga, South Africa: A participatory action research process
(Taylor & Francis, 2020-03-02) Oladeinde, Oladapo; Mabetha, Denny; Twine, Rhian; Hove, Jennifer; van der Merwe, Maria; Byass, Peter; Witter, Sophie; Kahn, Kathleen; D'Ambruoso, Lucia; Wall, Stig
Background: Alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse is a major public health challenge disproportionately affecting marginalised communities. Involving communities in the development of responses can contribute to acceptable solutions.