Mali and Kenya Use Data to Forecast Health Workforce Needs for COVID-19

July 01, 2020Ministries of health can strengthen and prepare their health systems to respond to theCOVID-19 pandemic by predicting how many health workers and hospital beds they need and where they need them. In Mali and Kenya, IntraHealth is helping the governments do just that.Together, we’re using data fromiHRIS,Demographic and Health Surveys, and other national information systems to apply World Health Organization (WHO) models that help countries:Identify populations at risk for severe symptoms of COVID-19due to underlying conditions such as HIV, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and advanced age.Model the timing and magnitudeof the COVID-19 pandemic to determine when and where frontline health workers should be available, how many will be needed, and the associated requirements for beds and ventilators.Rapidly mobilize and prepare health workforces to address COVID-19, while minimizing negative impact on essential health services such as HIV/AIDS care and treatment, family planning, and maternal and child health care.IntraHealth customized the WHO’ssurge planning tools—including the Adaptt Surge Planning Support Tool and the Health Workforce Estimator—for African contexts to project COVID-19 cases and work with ministries of health to apply a tailored version of WHO’sWorkload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method.Using these tools, IntraHealth is helping governments zero in on their countries’ distinctive circumstances within the p...

Source: IntraHealth International - July 1, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: cbishopp Tags: Kenya Mali COVID-19 Digital Health Technology HRIS Human Resources Management Health Workforce & Systems Source Type: news