Resources from ReBUILD’s work on health worker incentives in Sierra Leone, and on health worker experiences during the Ebola outbreak

Below are details of all outputs from ReBUILD’s work on health worker incentives and remuneration in Sierra Leone, including on health worker experiences during the Ebola outbreak.

For more information on ReBUILD’s work on human resources for health in Sierra Leone, contact Professor Sophie Witter.

Introduction: ReBUILD’s research on human resources for health in post-conflict Sierra Leone

Human resources development, a critically important part of health systems rebuilding after conflict or crisis, has received relatively little attention in the literature (see the paper Human resource management in post-conflict health systems: review of research and knowledge gaps). and there has been consequently little to inform decision-makers and donors. ReBUILD’s overall work on human resources for health (HRH) therefore focused on how the decisions made, or not made, in the post-conflict period can affect the longer term pattern of attraction, retention, distribution and performance of health workers, and thus ultimately the performance of the sector.

ReBUILD worked in Sierra Leone in 2011-18, with research primarily focusing on health worker incentives and on health financing. The large body of work on health worker incentives in Sierra Leone was complemented by additional work looking at the effects on the Ebola outbreak on health workers and the health system, and also by one of ReBUILD’s affiliate research partners on Health Workers’ Remuneration, Incentives and Accountability in Sierra Leone.

ReBUILD’s work in Sierra Leone also focused on close-to-community health workersperformance-based financing, and household demographics and healthcare access after conflict.

Running through all ReBUILD’s research was a focus on gender and equity, and outputs from much of the specific work on gender had relevance for human resources.

 

Resources specifically on HRH in Sierra Leone:

Health worker incentives in Sierra Leone

Journal articles and working papers:

Briefs:

Presentations:

 

Health workers and Ebola in Sierra Leone

Journal articles and Working Papers:

Video:

Blog posts:

 

Cross-cutting resources from ReBUILD’s HRH research which includes material from Sierra Leone

Journal articles and Working Papers:

  • Witter, S, Wurie, H, Namakula, J, Mashange, W, Chirwa, Y and Alonso‐Garbayo, A (2018) Why do people become health workers? Analysis from life histories in 4 post‐conflict and post‐crisis countries. Int J Health Plann Mgmt. 2018; 1–11http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpm.2485/epdf
  • Witter, S., Namakula, J., Wurie, H., Chirwa, Y., So, S., Vong, S., Ros, B., Buzuzi, S. and Theobald, S; The gendered health workforce: mixed methods analysis from four fragile and post-conflict contexts, Health Policy and Planning, 32, suppl 5, 1 December 2017 pp. v52–v62, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx102
  • Witter, S., Wurie, H., Chandiwana, P., Namakula, J., Sovannarith, S., Alonso-Garbayo, A., Ssengooba, F and Raven, J. (2017) How do health workers experience and cope with shocks? Learning from four fragile and conflict-affected health systems in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Cambodia. Health Policy and Planning, Volume 32, Issue suppl_3, 1 November 2017, pp. iii3–iii13, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx112
  • Witter, S. et al. (2017) The Free Health Care Initiative in Sierra Leone – evaluating a health system reform, 2010-2015. International Journal of Health Planning and Management, pp.1-15.
  • Witter, S., Namakula, J., Alonso-Garbayo, A., Wurie, H., Theobald, S., Mashange, W., Ros, B., Buzuzi, S., Mangwi, R and Martineau, T. (2017) Experiences of using life histories with health workers in post-conflict and crisis settings: methodological reflections. Health Policy Plan 2017, pp.1–7 https://academic.oup.com/heapol/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/heapol/czw166
  • Witter, S., Bertone, M., Chirwa, Y., Namakula, J., So, S and Wurie, H. (2017) Evolution of policies on human resources for health: opportunities and constraints in four post-conflict and post-crisis settings. Conflict and Health 2017 10:31 http://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-016-0099-0
  • Bertone, M. and Witter, S. (2015) The complex remuneration of Human Resources for Health in low income settings: policy implications and a research agenda for designing effective financial incentives. Human Resources for Health, 13; 62. http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/pdf/s12960-015-0058-7.pdf
  • Witter, S. Falisse, J-B., Bertone, M, Alonso-Garbayo, A., Martins, J., Salehi, A., Pavignani, E. and Martineau, T. (2015) State-building and human resources for health in fragile and conflict-affected states: exploring the linkages http://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12960-015-0023-5

Briefs:

Presentations:

 

ReBUILD’s background, cross-cutting and general resources on HRH in conflict and crisis affected settings

Background literature reviews on health worker incentives and deployment

Journal articles and Working Papers:

Briefs:

Cross-cutting and general health systems articles:

Journal articles and Working Papers:

  • Martineau, T., McPake, B., Theobald, S., Raven, J., Ensor, T., Fustukian, S., Ssengooba, F., Chirwa, Y., Vong, S., Wurie, H, Hooton, N and Witter, S. (2017) Leaving no one behind: lessons on rebuilding health systems in conflict and crisis-affected states. BMJ Global Health Jul 2017, 2 (2) http://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000327
  • McPake, B., Witter, S., Ssali, S., Wurie, H., Namakula, J. and Ssengooba, F. (2015) Ebola in the context of conflict affected states and health systems: case studies of Northern Uganda and Sierra Leone. Conflict and Health; 9; 23. http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/9/1/23
  • McPake, B., Witter, S., Ensor, T., Fustukian, S., Newlands, D., Martineau, T. and Chirwa, Y. (2013) Removing financial barriers to access reproductive, maternal and newborn health services: the challenges and policy implications for human resources. Human Resources for Health, 11(1):46. http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/11/1/46/abstract

Presentations:

Blog posts: