Informing the scale-up of Kenya's nursing workforce: a mixed methods study of factors affecting pre-service training capacity and production.

Background: Given the global nursing shortage and investments to scale-up the workforce, this study evaluated trends in annual student nurse enrolment, pre-service attrition between enrolment and registration, and factors that influence nurse production in Kenya.

Methods: This study used a mixed methods approach with data from the Regulatory Human Resources Information System (tracks initial student enrolment through registration) and the Kenya Health Workforce Information System (tracks deployment and demographic information on licensed nurses) for the quantitative analyses and qualitative data from key informant interviews with nurse training institution educators and/or administrators. Trends in annual student nurse enrolment from 1999 to 2010 were analyzed using regulatory and demographic data.

Kenya's health workforce information system: a model of impact on strategic human resources policy, planning and management.

Objective: Countries worldwide are challenged by health worker shortages, skill mix imbalances, and maldistribution. Human resources information systems (HRIS) are used to monitor and address these health workforce issues, but global understanding of such systems is minimal and baseline information regarding their scope and capability is practically non-existent. The Kenya Health Workforce Information System (KHWIS) has been identified as a promising example of a functioning HRIS.