The Human Resources for Health Toolkit

"The Global Health Workforce Alliance (the Alliance)... has received a number of requests and expressions of interest by countries and other stakeholders, for user-friendly tools for carrying out required interventions in addressing the Human Resources for Health (HRH) challenges through implementing the Country Coordination and Facilitation (CCF) principles and process."

From the Alliance Knowledge Center: "This toolkit brings together a set of existing tools that are in use for various aspects of country level Human Resources for Health (HRH) development, including situation analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation....[The] toolkit builds on products of previous work of the Alliance commissioned, convened or supported technical working groups and task forces, its members and partners, and other sources. In particular, the Human Resources for Health Action Framework (HAF) has made a critical contribution to provide the basis for HRH development."

The HRH action cycle is divided into phases with objectives and outcomes (Click here to see a chart of this cycle). The phases, including a resource list for each phase, are included in the toolkit - a sample of the resources follows:

1. Situation analysis
   • Human Resources for Health Country Profile Template tool
   • A guide to rapid assessment of human resources for health
2. Preparation and planning
   • Human Resources for Health Strategic Planning and Guidelines on Planning Human Resources for Nursing,
   • What Countries Can Do Now: Twenty-Nine Actions to Scale-Up and Improve the Health Workforce
3. Implementation
   • Building the Bridge from Human Resources Data to Effective Decisions: Ten Pillars of Successful Data-Driven Decision-Making
4. Monitoring and evaluation
   • Handbook on Monitoring and Evaluation of Human Resources for Health with special applications for low- and middle-income countries

The HAF framework incorporates various aspects of the development and implementation of evidence-based, comprehensive HRH interventions into one framework.  Its components correspond to action fields in the HAF, listed in the toolkit with links to resources (A chart is available here). A sample resource list includes the following:

1. Leadership
   • Addressing the Health Workforce Crisis - A Toolkit for Health Professional Advocates
   • Strengthening Health Professional Associations
2. Partnerships
   • Engaging Stakeholders in Health Systems Assessments [HSA]: A Guide for HSA Teams
   • Capacity Project Toolkit: Partnership Building: Practical Tools to Help You Create, Strengthen, Assess and Manage Your Partnership or Alliance More Productively
3. Policy
   • Guiding Principles for National Health Workforce Strategies
   • PIAT: Human Resources for Health Sub-National Policy Impact Assessment Tool
4. Finance
   • Health Systems Database as well as Resource Requirements Tool (RRT)
   • Financing and Economic Aspects of Health Workforce Scale-Up and Improvement
5. Education
   • Learning for Performance: A Guide and Toolkit for Health Worker Training and Education Programme Training Manual
   • Pre-service Implementation Guide: A Process for Strengthening Pre-service Education and Bridges to Health Worker Employment Overview
6. HRH Management Systems
   • HRIS Strengthening Implementation Toolkit
   • HRH Global Resource Centre eLearning Platform as well as Transfer of Learning: A Guide for Strengthening the Performance of HealthCare Workers