A substantial shortage of qualified healthcare professionals in Africa continues, but it is now apparent that professionally trained healthcare managers are an equally important need. Health facilities in Africa typically promote physicians into the role of general manager, but physicians and their lay counterparts routinely admit to being ill-prepared for roles as leaders of health systems, healthcare facilities and other services. Few, if any, degree programmes for healthcare management—be they master's in hospital administration or specialized MBA programmes— are available in these regions. And while many master's in public health programmes exist, inclusion of healthcare management content is often an afterthought. This article presents a prototype programme that was designed to address this gap. This comprehensive healthcare management MBA programme that was established at the Business School of Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 was built around the “Leadership Competencies for Health Care Managers” as promulgated by the International Hospital Federation. The article further presents the development, structure and innovations of the programme, thus providing a blueprint for the development of similar programmes throughout the continent, aimed at addressing the substantial shortage of professionally trained healthcare managers.
Epidemics and disease outbreaks are the occurrence of cases of disease in excess of what would be normally expected. Epidemic-prone diseases, including emerging and re-emerging diseases, constitute the greatest threat to public health security and disruption of social and economic development. When cases of epidemics are diagnosed in specific areas, an outbreak response is triggered to stop the spread swiftly, keeping as few people as possible from being infected. In the past 20 years, the sub-Saharan region has witnessed a marked increase in the number of outbreaks in pandemics, such as cholera, dengue, A/H5N 1 influenza, and rift valley fever, among others. And while many of the efforts toward containment have been individually studied, we have no recent studies that examine them collectively in order to draw appropriate comparisons, no recent studies that have especially focused on hard-to-reach areas, and none that have applied a health systems lens. This study thus details a scoping review of short-term health system responses to epidemics across hard-to-reach areas in sub-Saharan Africa.
Background: There has been a decline in childhood vaccination uptake, with reports indicating that 25 million children missed out on one or more doses in 2021 . There is a need to understand the socio-behavioural drivers of vaccination uptake and to identify contextual and emerging factors that can inform demand-creation interventions. Objective: This review examined the social and behavioural factors influencing childhood vaccination intentions and uptake globally. Methods: A comprehensive search was carried out for published studies that presented data on patterns of association between socio-behavioural factors and vaccination intentions and uptake in children under five years. Studies were screened for eligibility by two reviewers, and information was collected using a standard data abstraction form. Findings: Out of 4462 records identified in the search, 82 studies were included. Emerging factors influencing vaccination uptake included gender-based factors like the mother’s financial autonomy, the number of social and formal messengers recommending vaccination, the proportion of non-conforming social network members, and the role of decisional balance and conflict as a moderator of the vaccination intention and action pathway. Conclusion: The review identified multiple behavioural and social constructs influencing vaccination intentions and uptake. The diversity of influences underscores the complexity of relationships between social-behavioural factors and vaccination uptake, which may be contributing to low vaccination uptake. More context-specific research is required to extend the geographical base and depth of evidence and to evaluate highly localised socio-behavioural interventions.
Learning outcomes The case will be useful in helping learners: to appreciate concepts in and develop the necessary understanding to apply relevant theories in crisis communications; to identify communications issues along with the evolution of a crisis; to understand the importance and role of a crisis communications team; and to develop skills in writing a crisis communications plan. Case overview/synopsis The case is a narration of the experiences of the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) as it launched the Kenya drought appeal in March 2019, and the unexpected media and public backlash that ensued. The background is that of an unusual-yet-previously-predicted dry spell, consequent drought and famine, alleged famine-related deaths, mixed signals from the national and county government and a hitherto well-regarded institution (the KRCS) coming in to launch an appeal aimed at raising funds to help alleviate the effects of the prolonged drought and consequent famine in the northern parts of the country. Unfortunately, a major media and public backlash that was not foreseen by KRCS ensued, and it threatened the reputation and very existence of the organization. Drawing on interviews and secondary material in the public domain, the case focuses on how the KRCS navigates the media and public backlash that ensued following the funding appeal. The case is interesting because of the type of organization involved (a not-for-profit institution set up as auxiliary to the government and of good repute), the nature of the problem (reputational crisis and attendant risk management), the setting (a LMIC in sub-Saharan Africa) and the level of analysis (organizational rather than individual decision-making).[AQ1] Complexity academic level Masters level – MBA, Executive MBA, Master’s in Public Management, Master’s in Communication and/or similar courses. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.
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