Week 7 – Session 3 – Hazeeq's ePortfolio

Week 7: Human Resources

Table Of Content

What Factors Motivate a person to do their work well

Having a support system that checks their wellbeing
Having responsibilities, ie a child to take care or
Having insentives
Good Pay
Compliments (Being ‘hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise’ – Dale Carnegie, 1936)

Define and describe four important dimensions in understanding workforce performance: availability, competence, responsiveness, and productivity.
- - Availability: Ensures healthcare workers are adequately distributed, present, and sufficient in numbers to meet the demand
  - Competence: Involves the technical knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required for effective care.
  - Responsiveness: Treating all individuals fairly and respectfully, regardless of background or health outcome.
  - Productivity: Maximizing effective healthcare services and outcomes with existing staff, reducing resource waste.

Describe some of the challenges facing the Human Resources for Health in South Africa.
- - Availability Challenges: Shortages in certain disciplines, and healthcare workers are not always present where needed.
  - Competence Challenges: Skills mismatch between workers’ qualifications and community needs.
  - Responsiveness Challenges: Low morale, lack of supervision, unsafe working conditions, and high attrition.
  - Productivity Challenges: Inefficiencies, lack of supervision, and weak management.

Discuss various solutions to addressing the challenges facing Human Resources for Health in South Africa.
- - Availability Solutions: Train more mid-level workers (e.g., Clinical Associates), implement team-based care with Community Health Workers, promote task-sharing, and provide rural health training opportunities.
  - Competence Solutions: Address skills gaps by reorienting medical education and research, training in primary care, and enhancing supervision.
  - Responsiveness Solutions: Improve work environments (e.g., through initiatives like the Ideal Clinic), and increase compensation (e.g., Rural Health Allowance).
  - Productivity Solutions: Implement quality assurance (e.g., Office of Health Standards Compliance) and enhance protocols with a performance management framework.

Dimensions of Workforce Performance and Key Challenges in South Africa:

Availability: Ensures healthcare workers are adequately distributed, present, and sufficient in numbers to meet the demand.
- Challenges: Shortages in certain disciplines, and healthcare workers are not always present where needed.
- Solutions: Train more mid-level workers (e.g., Clinical Associates), implement team-based care with Community Health Workers, promote task-sharing, and provide rural health training opportunities.

Competence: Involves the technical knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required for effective care.
- Challenges: Skills mismatch between workers’ qualifications and community needs.
- Solutions: Address skills gaps by reorienting medical education and research, training in primary care, and enhancing supervision.

Responsiveness: Treating all individuals fairly and respectfully, regardless of background or health outcome.
- Challenges: Low morale, lack of supervision, unsafe working conditions, and high attrition.
- Solutions: Improve work environments (e.g., through initiatives like the Ideal Clinic), and increase compensation (e.g., Rural Health Allowance).

Productivity: Maximizing effective healthcare services and outcomes with existing staff, reducing resource waste.
- Challenges: Inefficiencies, lack of supervision, and weak management.
- Solutions: Implement quality assurance (e.g., Office of Health Standards Compliance) and enhance protocols with a performance management framework.