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BackgroundHuman resources for rehabilitation are often a neglected component of health services strengthening and health workforce development. This may be partly related to weaknesses in the available research and evidence to inform advocacy and programmatic strategies. The objective of this study was to quantitatively describe the global situation in terms of supply of and need for human resources for health-related rehabilitation services, as a basis for strategy development of the workforce in physical and rehabilitation medicine.MethodsData for assessing supply of and need for rehabilitative personnel were extracted and analyzed from statistical databases maintained by the World Health Organization and other national and international health information sources. Standardized classifications were used to enhance cross-national comparability of findings.ResultsLarge differences were found across countries and regions between assessed need for services requiring health workers associated to physical and rehabilitation medicine against estimated supply of health personnel skilled in rehabilitation services. Despite greater need, low- and middle-income countries tended to report less availability of skilled health personnel, although the strength of the supply-need relationship varied across geographical and economic country groupings.ConclusionThe evidence base on human resources for health-related rehabilitation services remains fragmented, the result of limited availability and use of quality, comparable data and information within and across countries. This assessment offered the first global baseline, intended to catalyze further research that can be translated into evidence to support human resources for rehabilitation policy and practice.

Introduction. Hypertension is an important public health challenge in both economically developing and developed countries. It is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular mortality. Data is available on hypertension in urban population but few studies are reported in rural areas. Materials and Methods. It was a community based cross-sectional study conducted in two rural areas in Delhi among 1005 subjects selected using systematic random sampling method. WHO STEPS approach was used to collect data. Blood pressure, body mass index, and blood sugar were measured. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16. Odds of hypertension among subjects with risk factors were calculated. p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results. The prevalence of hypertension was 14.1% among study subjects. Hypertension was significantly higher in individuals more than 35 years than those less than 35 years. Hypertension was significantly higher in those who take alcohol and in subjects with raised total cholesterol level but in multivariate analysis only age, education, and cholesterol levels were independently associated with hypertension. Conclusion. There is significant burden of hypertension in rural areas in Delhi. Age, education, and cholesterol levels were independent risk factors of hypertension.

Background: Despite the undoubted importance of human resources to the functions of health systems, there is little consistency between countries in how human resource strategies are monitored and evaluated. This paper presents an integrated approach for developing an evidence base on human resources for health (HRH) to support decision-making, drawing on a framework for health systems performance assessment.

This study examines the associations between multimedia behavior change communication (BCC) campaigns and women's and men's use of and intention to use modern contraceptive methods in target areas of Uganda. Data are drawn primarily from the 1997 and 1999 Delivery of Improved Services for Health (DISH) evaluation surveys, which collected information from representative samples of women and men of reproductive age in the districts served by the DISH project. Additional time-trend analyses rely on data from the 1995 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. Logistic regressions are used to assess the associations between BCC exposure and family planning attitudes and practices, controlling for individuals' background characteristics. To minimize the biases of self-reported exposure, the analyses also explore cluster-level indexes of the penetration of BCC messages in the community. Results indicate that exposure to BCC messages was associated with increased contraceptive use and intention to use. Some evidence of self-reported bias is found, and the pathways to fertility-related behavioral change appear different for women and men.

Background: Contraceptive prevalence is relatively high in Brazil (55% among women of reproductive age). However, reversible methods account for less than half of the method mix and widespread differences persist across regions and social groups. This draws attention to the need for monitoring family planning service-related outcomes that might be linked with quality of care. The present study examines the factors associated with method discontinuation, failure and switching among current contraceptive users, with a focus on sub-national assessment.