Building on the EGIPPS performance assessment: the multipolar framework as a heuristic to tackle the complexity of performance of public service oriented health care organisations.

Background: Performance of health care systems is a key concern of policy makers and health service managers all over the world. It is also a major challenge, given its multidimensional nature that easily leads to conceptual and methodological confusion. This is reflected by a scarcity of models that comprehensively analyse health system performance.

How does capacity building of health managers work? A realist evaluation study protocol.

Introduction: There has been a lot of attention on the role of human resource management interventions to improve delivery of health services in low- and middle-income countries. However, studies on this subject are few due to limited research on implementation of programmes and methodological difficulties in conducting experimental studies on human resource interventions. The authors present the protocol of an evaluation of a district-level capacity-building intervention to identify the determinants of performance of health workers in managerial positions and to understand how changes (if any) are brought about.

Perceptions of growth monitoring and promotion among an international panel of district medical officers.

The growth chart has been proposed as an educational tool to make the child's growth visible to both health workers and caregivers and to enhance communication between them. In the case of growth faltering, this would trigger timely corrective measures. Although the relevance of growth monitoring and promotion (GMP) has often been questioned in the literature, opinions of District Medical Officers responsible for local implementation of GMP are unknown.

Effects of separate delivery of zinc or zinc and vitamin A on hemoglobin response, growth, and diarrhea in young Peruvian children receiving iron therapy for anemia.

Introduction: Anemia is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency in the world. Attempts to improve iron indexes are affected by deficiency of and interaction between other micronutrients.

Objective: Our goal was to assess whether zinc added to iron treatment alone or with vitamin A improves iron indexes and affects diarrheal episodes.

Integrating adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy into children's daily lives: a qualitative study.

Objective: To acquire a deeper understanding of factors that influence adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in a pediatric population.

Methods: We performed a qualitative study of adherence in children who receive HAART in a Belgian pediatric acquired immune deficiency syndrome referral center. Eleven primary caregivers were interviewed to assess their child's adherence and influencing factors.

[Management of malnutrition in preschool children: the role of primary health care services].

Although the prevalence of malnutrition in developing countries is decreasing, it is still a major problem for many children under five. As socio-economic conditions are the main determinants, a final solution for this problem can only be envisaged in the long run. Still, short-term strategies need to be defined in order to relieve the sufferings of individual children and their families.