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Abstract #160478

Dykki Settle, IntraHealth International, 6340 Quadrangle Drive, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, 919-313-9100, dsettle@intrahealth.org and Pamela A. McQuide, PhD, RN, IntraHealth International, Capacity Project, 6340 Quandrangle Dr., Chapel Hill, NC 27517.

Lack of accurate and available data about health professionals contributes to the enormous challenge of training and supplying the health workforce in sub-Saharan Africa. Human resources information systems (HRIS) are needed for human resources planning, management and policy development so that the right number and type of providers are trained and deployed in the right places. The USAID-funded Capacity Project has developed a process for strengthening HRIS using a country-level participatory approach. The approach ensures ownership of the HRIS among stakeholders, empowers them to develop an HRIS that meets their needs and builds the necessary capacity for support, use and improvement of the system. The foundation for the approach is a Stakeholder Leadership Group composed of decision makers from diverse stakeholder groups like human resources, registrars and training institutions. The HRIS strengthening process consists of: defining the key human resources questions that will be answered by analyzing data collected in a HRIS; assessing and strengthening the information technology infrastructure to support the HRIS; implementing software using Open Source technologies to reduce costs; training policy makers in how to use data captured in the system to make HR management, planning and policy decisions; and ensuring sustainability and continuous use by training local teams to develop, deploy and maintain the software. Core software solutions developed by the Project address HRH needs to track students and licensed health workers at the national level; manage health professionals deployed at a national, regional, organizational or sector level; and plan for workforce needs in the future. In addition to providing an overview of the Capacity Project's approach and software solutions, this presentation will include key lessons learned from the Project's HRIS strengthening work in seven African countries.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the need for current, accurate health workforce data in low-resource countries in Africa.
• Describe the five-step process for strengthening human resources information systems in these countries.
• Discuss country-specific application of the HRIS strengthening methodology.

Keywords: Information Systems, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.