SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Capacity Building”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

A generative response to palliative service capacity in Canada.

PURPOSE: This paper situates a large-scale learning and service development capacity-building initiative for hospice palliative care services within the current Canadian policy context for use by international readers. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In 2000 a national initiative using action research as its design was crafted to support continuing professional development and knowledge management in primary-health care environments. FINDINGS: The Canadian health policy context is complex and requires innovative solutions to achieve desired changes in response to emerging population health demands for quality end-of-life care. Employment of educational and social science constructs, including complexity theory, communities of practice, transformative learning theory, and workplace learning methods, has proven helpful in supporting the creation of national capacity for hospice palliative care. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: There is a significant contribution for social scientists to make in aiding a better understanding of the complexity in health systems. At the same time, an aging population in industrial countries demands more active engagement of legal and bioethical scholars in a range of emerging policy and legislative questions about quality end-of-life care. Educational research is also required to understand better and reform curricula to prepare an emerging generation of health science practitioners for the demands of an aging population. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Changing health service delivery environments demand rethinking of the knowledge and skills leaders require to influence desired change. A broader understanding of where and how learning takes place is essential for enhancing the quality of patient care. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The Pallium Project represents a generative response to facilitating learning and building longer-term system capacity. The journey of project development to date illustrates some important lessons that can be adopted from hospice palliative care to inform other primary-health care initiatives, including, potentially, mental health, cardiology, diabetes, geriatrics, where productive change can result from productively linking specialists and primary-care colleagues.

Canada↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Canadian Heart Health Initiative: dissemination perspectives.

The Canadian Heart Health Initiative is a country-wide strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Initiated with a 15-year horizon, it has resulted in extensive networks and coalitions involving Health Canada, the 10 provincial departments of health and over 1,000 organizations. There are five phases: policy development through country-wide consultations (1986-88); provincial heart health surveys (1986-91); research demonstration programs (1989-97); and evaluation (1994-97). The dissemination research phase studies the adoption of interventions by communities and health systems. As a paradigm for dissemination of health policy, some key features of the Initiative are translation of the science base in prevention into community programs; consensual policy development; federal and provincial co-funding arrangements; key role played by the public health system; capacity building; organization and management model linking activities at the national, provincial and community levels. The methodologies and capacities developed are applicable to other health promotion and disease prevention areas.

Canada↗

PubMed2005

Engendering the bureaucracy? Challenges and opportunities for mainstreaming gender in Ministries of Health under sector-wide approaches.

The increasing ascendancy of 'gender mainstreaming' as the central approach to improving gender equity has largely determined strategies to integrate a gender focus in sector-wide approaches (SWAps). This paper explores the impetus for and process of gender mainstreaming in SWAps in the Ministries of Health in Uganda, Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique, and outlines some achievements and challenges. The shifting and contested relationships between the Ministry of Health, donors and other government ministries (such as Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Women's Affairs/Gender) are important in shaping the opportunities and constraints faced in gender mainstreaming. The refocusing of resource allocation to different sectors has led to changes in the balance of power between the various actors at the national level, with diverse implications for promoting gender equity in health. Some of the achievements to date and ongoing challenges are explored through concrete examples from different countries. These include: the development of structures for mainstreaming, including the dilemmas of the 'focal points' approach and the role of national gender mainstreaming machinery; the need for training and building capacity to identify and address gender issues, which involves engaging with new languages and concepts, and developing new skills; building alliances, consensus and momentum; integrating gender concerns into policy and planning documents; and promoting gender equity in human resources in the health sector. Cross-cutting themes underlying these challenges are the need for gender-specific information and ways to finance mainstreaming strategies. Implications are drawn for ways forward, without losing sight of the challenge of translating discourses of gender mainstreaming, and its central ideal of social transformation, into pragmatic strategies in the bureaucratic environment.

Africa↗

PubMed2003

Evaluating health care interventions in the European Union.

This paper examines the current state of evaluations of health care interventions in the European Union, from the identification and commissioning of research through to its impact on policy and practice. Material is drawn from a survey conducted for the ASTEC project as well as a review of literature. Although the use of evaluative research has increased substantially in the last decade, both the pace of change and preferred research methodologies employed differ markedly. Much research still concentrates on issues of safety, efficacy and effectiveness, although there is evidence of an increasing emphasis on cost-effectiveness. Many countries are beginning to introduce systems linking economic evaluation to the decision-making process, while networks for the exchange of information continue to evolve. Research capacity in the public sector, although improving, is uneven, in part due to the uncertainty over long term career prospects and competition from industry. Capacity building measures should in particular ensure that dissemination expertise is strengthened, and that more emphasis is placed on developing receptor capacity within different stakeholder groups. Linking knowledge production to changes in practice remains a key challenge. Further research on implementation and impact assessment is required, to help demonstrate the value of evaluations on both policy and practice.

Delivery of Health Care↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Panel 2.2: surveillance, early warning alert, and response: communicable and vector-borne diseases.

This is a summary of the presentations and discussion of Surveillance, Early Warning Alert and Response at the Conference, Health Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Phuket, Thailand, 04-06 May 2005. The topics discussed included issues related to the surveillance, early warning alert, and response to communicable and vector-borne diseases as pertaining to the responses to the damage created by the Tsunami. It is presented in the following major sections: (1) key questions; (2) needs assessment; (3) coordination; (4) gap filling; and (5) capacity building. The key questions section is presented in six sub-sections: (1) communicable diseases; (2) early warning; (3) laboratory capacity and referral networking; (4) coordination of disease surveillance, early warning, and response; (5) health infrastructure rebuilding; and (6) using existing national surveillance plans to enhance disease surveillance and early warning systems.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Formerly incarcerated women create healthy lives through participatory action research.

The specific purpose of the participatory action research study was to facilitate formerly incarcerated women who participate in Welcome Home Ministries (WHM) to develop their own plans and specific strategies, and to take action to build their own healthy futures. The research had a duel purpose of joint generation of knowledge and intervention relative to women's capacity building. The research intervention was the creation, implementation, and follow-up of a future search conference. The outcomes, conclusions, and implications for practice are discussed.

Congresses as Topic↗

PubMed2005

Impediments to integrated urban stormwater management: the need for institutional reform.

It is now well established that the traditional practice of urban stormwater management contributes to the degradation of receiving waterways, and this practice was more recently critiqued for facilitating the wastage of a valuable water resource. However, despite significant advances in alternative "integrated urban stormwater management" techniques and processes over the last 20 years, wide-scale implementation has been limited. This problem is indicative of broader institutional impediments that are beyond current concerns of strengthening technological and planning process expertise. Presented here is an analysis of the institutionalization of urban stormwater management across Sydney with the objective of scoping institutional impediments to more sustainable management approaches. The analysis reveals that the inertia with the public administration of urban stormwater inherently privileges and perpetuates traditional stormwater management practices at implementation. This inertia is characterized by historically entrained forms of technocratic institutional power and expertise, values and leadership, and structure and jurisdiction posing significant impediments to change and the realization of integrated urban stormwater management. These insights strongly point to the need for institutional change specifically directed at fostering horizontal integration of the various functions of the existing administrative regime. This would need to be underpinned with capacity-building interventions targeted at enabling a learning culture that values integration and participatory decision making. These insights also provide guideposts for assessing the institutional and capacity development needs for improving urban water management practices in other contexts.

Cities↗

PubMed2006

An approach to designing a national climate service.

Climate variability and change are considerably important for a wide range of human activities and natural ecosystems. Climate science has made major advances during the last two decades, yet climate information is neither routinely useful for nor used in planning. What is needed is a mechanism, a national climate service (NCS), to connect climate science to decision-relevant questions and support building capacity to anticipate, plan for, and adapt to climate fluctuations. This article contributes to the national debate for an NCS by describing the rationale for building an NCS, the functions and services it would provide, and how it should be designed and evaluated. The NCS is most effectively achieved as a federal interagency partnership with critically important participation by regional climate centers, state climatologists, the emerging National Integrated Drought Information System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Regional Integrated Sciences Assessment (RISA) teams in a sustained relationship with a wide variety of stakeholders. Because the NCS is a service, and because evidence indicates that the regional spatial scale is most important for delivering climate services, given subnational geographical/geophysical complexity, attention is focused on lessons learned from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group's 10 years of experience, the first of the NOAA RISA teams.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Sri Lankan Twin Registry.

Sri Lanka is an island with genetic diversity between the five main population groups. Our twin registry is the first in the developing world. Initially, we established a volunteer cohort of 4600 twin pairs through a competition advertised in the media. In addition, we have volunteer cohorts, birth registration-based cohorts through hospitals, and community-based cohorts. There is also a nationwide population-based younger twin cohort (1992-1997) traced through the Department of Birth and Death Registration. Additionally, we have adapted a Zygosity determination questionnaire and validated it. Establishing ethical guidelines for twin research was a priority because the field of bio-ethics is at an early stage of development in Sri Lanka. These guidelines were from a developing world perspective. A sister organization, the Multiple Birth Foundation, was formed to cater to twins and their special needs and to represent their interests, and several branches have been formed. We intend to build capacity by establishing a genetic lab and through crosscultural collaboration. Our vision is to establish a multidisciplinary research foundation. Based on our research findings, we plan to build services to cater to needs of twins by working with professionals, statutory services and government policy makers.

Birth Certificates↗

PubMed2006

Diffusion of effective HIV prevention interventions--lessons from Maryland and Massachusetts.

This article describes, compares, and contrasts the contexts, processes, and results of the experiences of Maryland and Massachusetts in diffusing evidence-based interventions. The evolution of first Maryland's, then Massachusetts's, diffusion of effective interventions is described. Both states have extensive experience planning, developing and evaluating individual-, group-, and community-level interventions promoted in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Interventions (DEBI) initiative, as well as overcoming many barriers to translate research to practice. This article describes the processes whereby effective interventions were diffused from the planning to evaluation stages. This includes the role of community-planning groups and other local stakeholders in planning, procurement methods, and capacity building approaches. Specific milestones in increasing the evidence basis of program implementation, management, and evaluation are presented. For jurisdictions considering implementing DEBI, the article illustrates core programmatic and infrastructure capacities at the state and vendor level important to success in Maryland and Massachusetts. It also describes how each state's approach to the management and evaluation of prevention programs contributed to the effective diffusion of the behavioral interventions. Finally, this article provides recommendations about remaining gaps in evidence-based interventions to meet "real-world prevention needs" and ways to improve prevention targeting and effectiveness. This article recommends strategies to improve the dissemination of DEBI and other evidence-based interventions nationally.

Diffusion of Innovation↗

PubMed1999

A framework for developing evaluation capacity in health care settings.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for developing an effective evaluation practice within health care settings. Three features are reviewed; capacity building, the application of evaluation to program activities and the utilization of evaluation recommendations. First, the organizational elements required to establish effective evaluation practice are reviewed emphasizing that an organization's capacity for evaluation develops over time and in stages. Second, a comprehensive evaluation framework is presented which demonstrates how evaluation practice can be applied to all aspects of a program's life cycle, thus promoting the scope of evidence-based decision making within an organization. Finally, factors which influence the adoption of evaluation recommendations by decision makers are reviewed accompanied by strategies to promote the utilization of evaluation recommendations in organization decision making.

Canada↗

PubMed1995

Developing decentralized capacity for disaster prevention: lessons from food security and nutrition monitoring in Malawi.

Lack of sufficient analytical capacity in most of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa has been frequently mentioned as a major factor limiting the effectiveness of drought management interventions. In this article we describe an approach used in Malawi for the past three years to develop a decentralized capacity to analyse drought management and disaster prevention programmes. A conceptual framework is presented which identifies the areas in which capacity strengthening is required and lessons from the Malawi experience are presented. Various issues relating to the efficiency of capacity building programmes are discussed. We argue that continuous dialogue between development researchers and decision-makers, and between trainers in academic institutions and donor agencies, is essential for achieving the goals of improved capacity for drought management and disaster prevention.

Disaster Planning↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Executive summary.

The Canadian health system is at a crossroads. Significant health services restructuring is occurring across the country. This restructuring process provides a unique opportunity for Public Health and others to reorient the system away from illness to a focus on health--the health of individuals and communities. The purpose of this paper is to motivate and equip Public Health workers to take leadership in the restructuring, to outline key responses and strategies for Public Health associations, to raise public awareness about restructuring, and to challenge decision makers to integrate the Public Health perspective into the restructured health system. This Issue Paper describes the unique contributions Public Health has to offer health services restructuring, outlines the Public Health response to specific restructuring issues, and identifies some successful strategies for influencing change. Two key messages are explored in the paper: 1. Restructuring will be successful if it is based on an investment in health. The health of the public can be maintained and improved through changes to the institutional sector and support for health promotion, disease prevention and health protection services. 2. Public Health must be a full partner in the restructuring of health services. The Public Health perspective includes a broad understanding of the issues that are relevant to the health of individuals and communities. The skills and knowledge base offered through Public Health provide balance and equity in decision making, by ensuring full and representative involvement of community workers and the public. The uniqueness of Public Health is manifested in three distinct ways: its approach within an organized system of practice; its historical contribution; and its purposeful combination of perspectives, skills and knowledge. In partnership with communities, other health professionals and other health-determining sectors, Public Health works to protect, maintain and improve the health of Canadians. While other sectors undertake some of the functions outlined below, what makes Public Health unique is that these contributions are offered collectively through an organized system of practitioners to create a synergistic effect. Eight contributions of Public Health are identified in this paper. Specifically Public Health: Focuses on individuals and communities in a societal and global context. Builds capacity in individuals and communities to improve health. Facilitates community mobilization through community participation. Embraces promotion, prevention, protection. Influences the orientation of the health system toward health outcomes. Provides disease surveillance and control. Builds partnerships among sectors at the local level. Advocates for the health of the public. In addition to describing these contributions, the Issue Paper addresses the major trends in health services restructuring by providing an overview of the issues and outlining the Public Health response. While there is no one single model of restructuring occurring in the provinces and territories, many common themes exist. This paper highlights four categories of restructuring issues: I. Making a Difference in Health II. Skills and Knowledge Base III. Allocation of Financial Resources IV. Governance and Management.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Canada↗

PubMed2006

Cultivating systemic capacity: the Rhode Island tobacco control enhancement project.

This paper describes the Rhode Island Tobacco Control Enhancement Project (TCEP), a state-university-community technical assistance system. TCEP was developed under the auspices of the Rhode Island Department of Health's Tobacco Control program and was designed to build capacity among nine community-based organizations to mount comprehensive tobacco control interventions in five diverse communities within the state. This paper: (1) provides a description of community mobilization; (2) presents a logic model for planning and decision making used by state-university-community partners; (3) describes training, technical assistance services and implementation; and, (4) describes the evaluation and program improvement activities used to support on-going project development.

Comprehensive Health Care↗

PubMed2004

Achieving the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's potential by investing in national capacity.

May 2003 marked a critical achievement in efforts to stem the global tobacco epidemic, as the member states of the World Health Organization unanimously endorsed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). However, the adoption of the FCTC signifies only the end of the beginning of effective global action to control tobacco. Over the next several years the utility of the FCTC process and the treaty itself will be tested as individual countries seek to ratify and implement the treaty's obligations. Significant barriers to the treaty's long term success exist in many countries. It is crucial that the international tobacco control community now refocuses its efforts on national capacity building and ensures that individual countries have the knowledge, tools, data, people, and organisations needed to implement the convention and develop sustained tobacco control programmes. This paper provides a model of national tobacco control capacity and offers a prioritised agenda for action.

Cost of Illness↗

PubMed2005

Developing an effective intervention for IDU women: a harm reduction approach to collaboration.

Harm reduction is fundamentally a movement intended to empower the patient and consumer of health services. This project applied harm reduction theory as a strategy to empower collaborating community partners and researchers to overcome their preconceptions about each other in order to create a successful HIV prevention intervention and evaluation study for injection drug using women. The Women's Options for Risk Reduction through Knowledge of Self (WORKS) intervention program offered a series of four HIV prevention workshops, in conjunction with sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV counseling and testing to female injection drug users (IDUs) or the partners of IDUs. This community collaboration was to integrate the strengths of researchers and service providers in a comprehensive approach to prevention evaluation. In this collaborative research context, capacity building meant developing the long-term goal, explicit commitment to and integration of evaluation into the overall operation of a HIV prevention service delivery organization. The WORKS Intervention collaboration's aim was to improve the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) to use research-based data on HIV risk taking behavior and prevention strategies to provide effective interventions and services and effectively evaluate their efforts. Barriers to successful planning, implementation, and evaluation are presented with the strategies used to overcome them. Intervention effectiveness results from the process evaluation are presented in the context of prevention and research capacity development in CBOs.

California↗

PubMed2005

Adaptive capacity and community-based natural resource management.

Why do some community-based natural resource management strategies perform better than others? Commons theorists have approached this question by developing institutional design principles to address collective choice situations, while other analysts have critiqued the underlying assumptions of community-based resource management. However, efforts to enhance community-based natural resource management performance also require an analysis of exogenous and endogenous variables that influence how social actors not only act collectively but do so in ways that respond to changing circumstances, foster learning, and build capacity for management adaptation. Drawing on examples from northern Canada and Southeast Asia, this article examines the relationship among adaptive capacity, community-based resource management performance, and the socio-institutional determinants of collective action, such as technical, financial, and legal constraints, and complex issues of politics, scale, knowledge, community and culture. An emphasis on adaptive capacity responds to a conceptual weakness in community-based natural resource management and highlights an emerging research and policy discourse that builds upon static design principles and the contested concepts in current management practice.

Community-Institutional Relations↗

PubMed2006

Humor as a facilitative style in problem-based learning environments for nursing students.

Although the nursing and education literature confirm that humor has a role to play in the learning experience, there is little evidence available about the impact and the challenges of using humor to facilitate group process and learning in problem-based learning environments for nursing students. In this paper, we explore humor as a style of communication in PBL environments using examples from the classroom. We then propose a range of strategies to build capacity in PBL tutors and to infuse humor into the PBL classroom such as: acceptance that fun and humor are components of the ground rules in the group; appropriate humor and boundaries; mutual story sharing; and creative activities to moderate stress and build coping strategies to thrive in clinical practice. It is timely for nurse academics and researchers to examine the contribution of humor as a facilitative communication style in the PBL environment. Findings could inform evidence-based teaching of nursing students and foster life-long learning and communication skills.

Adaptation, Psychological↗