The Human Resources for Health Effort Index: a tool to assess and inform Strategic Health Workforce Investments.

Background: Despite its importance, the field of human resources for health (HRH) has lagged in developing methods to measure its status and progress in low- and middle-income countries suffering a workforce crisis. Measures of professional health worker densities and distribution are purely numerical, unreliable, and do not represent the full spectrum of workers providing health services. To provide more information on the multi-dimensional characteristics of human resources for health, in 2013-2014, the global USAID-funded CapacityPlus project, led by IntraHealth International, developed and tested a 79-item HRH Effort Index modeled after the widely used Family Planning Effort Index.

Can the Perinatal Information System in Peru be used to measure the proportion of adverse birth outcomes attributable to maternal syphilis infection?

Objective: To describe the capacity of Peru's Perinatal Information System (Sistema Informático Perinatal, SIP) to provide estimates for monitoring the proportion of stillbirths and other adverse birth outcomes attributable to maternal syphilis.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted to assess the quality and completeness of SIP data from six Peruvian public hospitals that used the SIP continuously from 2000 - 2010 and had maternal syphilis prevalence of at least 0.5% during that period.

Pregnancy outcomes associated with Cesarean deliveries in Peruvian public health facilities.

A continuous rise in the rate of cesarean deliveries has been reported in many countries over recent decades. This trend has prompted the emergence of a debate on the risks and benefits associated with cesarean section. The present study was designed to estimate cesarean section rates over time during the period between 2000 and 2010 in Peru and to present outcomes for each mode of delivery.

Coverage of post-partum and post-natal care in Egypt in 2005-2008 and Bangladesh in 2004-2007: levels, trends and unmet need.

Maternal and neonatal mortality in the post-partum period remain high in many countries because of the limited provision of care. This study uses demographic & health survey data for Egypt in 2005 and 2008 and Bangladesh in 2004 and 2007 to analyse levels and trends in post-partum and post-natal care by place of delivery. Improvements were found in levels and timing of post-partum care following institutional deliveries in both countries, especially within 24 hours post-partum.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes in second hemoglobin measurement in nonanemic women at first booking: effect of altitude of residence in peru.

Objective. To determine changes in hemoglobin concentration at second measurements after a normal hemoglobin concentration was detected at first booking during pregnancy at low and at high altitudes. Methods.

Association of hemoglobin values at booking with adverse maternal outcomes among Peruvian populations living at different altitudes.

Objective: To determine hemoglobin values associated with adverse maternal outcomes among Peruvian populations at different altitudes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Perinatal Information System. Adverse maternal outcomes were assessed.

Factors affecting the performance of maternal health care providers in Armenia.

BACKGROUND: Over the last five years, international development organizations began to modify and adapt the conventional Performance Improvement Model for use in low-resource settings. This model outlines the five key factors believed to influence performance outcomes: job expectations, performance feedback, environment and tools, motivation and incentives, and knowledge and skills. Each of these factors should be supplied by the organization in which the provider works, and thus, organizational support is considered as an overarching element for analysis.