Laboratory Professionals in Africa : The Backbone of Quality Diagnostics

Laboratories have historically been under supported in developing country health systems resulting in poor quality diagnosis and inadequate disease surveillance. Laboratory professionals are predominantly male with relatively limited female labor p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Schneidman, Miriam, Dacombe, Russell J., Carter, Jane
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015
Subjects:	ACCREDITATION ACCREDITATION BODIES ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME AIDS PATIENT AIDS RELIEF ANEMIA AVIAN INFLUENZA CAREER CAREER DEVELOPMENT CAREER OPPORTUNITIES CHIKUNGUNYA CLINICAL PRACTICES CLINICS COMMUNICABLE DISEASE COMMUNICABLE DISEASES COMPETITIVE SALARIES COST OF TRAINING COUNSELORS CURRICULUM CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT DEGREE PROGRAMS DEGREES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS DIAGNOSES DIAGNOSIS DIAGNOSTICS DISEASE DISEASE CONTROL DISEASE OUTBREAKS DISEASE SURVEILLANCE DISEASE TRANSMISSION DRUG RESISTANCE EBOLA ECONOMIC GROWTH EFFECTIVE USE EMERGENCY PLAN EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ENDEMIC DISEASES EPIDEMIC EPIDEMICS EPIDEMIOLOGISTS EPIDEMIOLOGY FEMALES FEVER FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION GOVERNMENT POLICIES GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT HEALTH CARE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM HEALTH CENTERS HEALTH FACILITIES HEALTH INTERVENTIONS HEALTH MINISTRIES HEALTH OUTCOMES HEALTH POLICY HEALTH REGULATIONS HEALTH RESEARCH HEALTH SECTOR HEALTH SYSTEM HEALTH SYSTEMS HEALTH WORKERS HEALTH WORKFORCE HEMATOLOGY HIGHER EDUCATION HIGHER LEARNING HIV HIV TESTING HIV/AIDS HOSPITAL HOSPITALS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING HUMAN RESOURCES HYGIENE ILLNESSES IMMUNE DEFICIENCY IMMUNOLOGY INFECTION INFECTIOUS DISEASES INFLUENZA INFORMANT INFORMANTS JOB SATISFACTION LAB LABOR FORCE LABOR MARKET LABORATORIES LABORATORY LABORATORY FACILITIES LABORATORY SERVICES LABORATORY WORKERS LEARNING LEARNING OUTCOMES LITERATURE LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES LUNG DISEASES MALARIA MALARIA DIAGNOSIS MEDICAL EQUIPMENT MEDICAL LABORATORIES MEDICAL RESEARCH MIDWIVES MIGRATION MINISTERS OF HEALTH MINISTRIES OF HEALTH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MINISTRY OF HEALTH MINORITY NATIONAL ACCREDITATION NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEMS NATIONAL LABORATORY NATIONAL LEVEL NATIONAL STRATEGIES NEEDS ASSESSMENT NUMBER OF WORKERS NURSE NURSES NUTRITION ON THE JOB TRAINING PAPERS PATHOLOGY PATIENT PATIENTS PHARMACISTS PHARMACY PHYSICIANS PHYSIOTHERAPISTS POLICY DECISIONS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY LEVEL PRACTITIONERS PREVENTIVE MEDICINE PRIVATE SECTOR TRAINING PRIVATE TRAINING PRIVATE TRAINING INSTITUTIONS PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC POLICY PUSH FACTORS QUALIFIED PERSONNEL QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS QUALITY ASSURANCE QUALITY CONTROL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT QUALITY OF SERVICES REAGENTS REGIONAL NETWORKS RESEARCH INSTITUTE RESPECT RISK OF EXPOSURE RURAL AREAS SCHOOLS SCIENTIST SCIENTISTS SECONDARY SCHOOL SERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDERS SERVICE PROVISION SKILLED HUMAN RESOURCES SKILLED PERSONNEL SKILLED STAFF SMALLER NUMBER SOCIAL WELFARE SPILLOVER STDS STRENGTHENING HUMAN RESOURCES STUDENT INTAKE SYPHILIS TB TEACHING TEACHING MATERIALS TECHNICAL EXPERTISE THREATS TRAINING FACILITIES TRAINING INSTITUTIONS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TRAINING PROGRAMS TREATMENT TROPICAL MEDICINE TUBERCULOSIS URBAN AREAS VICIOUS CYCLE VIRUS WEIGHT LOSS WORK ENVIRONMENT WORK FORCE WORKERS WORKFORCE WORKING CONDITIONS WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/11/20432412/laboratory-professionals-africa-backbone-quality-diagnostics http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21115

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Summary:	Laboratories have historically been under supported in developing country health systems resulting in poor quality diagnosis and inadequate disease surveillance. Laboratory professionals are predominantly male with relatively limited female labor participation, with potential gender based barriers to advancement. The focus on communicable diseases has meant that funding for broader public health laboratory services has been relatively neglected. In this paper the authors present a number of strategies to address these problems based on the outcomes from a literature review and case studies conducted in four African countries. Improved registration and human resource planning are required to establish the scale of the problem and to develop country specific strategies to address skills shortages. More high quality pre-service training is needed to supply the service with suitably skilled professional staff to address the current deficit. Innovative in-service training is essential to maintain competence and collaboration is required with the private sector to utilize their expertise. A clear career structure with transparent promotional opportunities is required to recruit and retain staff in the public sector. The establishment of suitable work environments and regulatory and representative bodies will also support recruitment and retention as well as enhance quality. It is also clear that this cadre has been underrepresented in human resources for health research and more activity in this area will lead to greater understanding of the problems and provide more potential solutions.

Laboratory Professionals in Africa : The Backbone of Quality Diagnostics

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