Gender equity in planning, development and management of human resources for health: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Gender equity remains a challenge across various labor markets with the health market being no exception. Despite the increased influx of women into health professions, horizontal and vertical occupational gender inequities persist. MAIN BODY: The objective of this scoping review is to map the studies on gender equity in healthcare systems in terms of workforce planning, development, and management, as well as to identify the barriers and facilitators for integrating gender equity into healthcare systems. We reviewed the literature on the topic using nine electronic and two grey literature databases with the search strategy combining medical subheadings and keywords for each of the following four concepts of interest: "gender equity," "human resources for health," "healthcare setting," and "management processes." The scoping review included studies focusing on the examination of gender equity at the level of the health workforce. Out of 20,242 studies identified through the database search, the full text of 367 articles was assessed for eligibility and 110 were included in the qualitative analysis. The data of those studies was abstracted and analyzed into themes. Results do not only reveal a global dearth of studies focused on this important topic, but also the concentration of such studies in a few countries around the globe, mainly in North America and Europe. Four out of each five studies included in this review focused on physicians, followed by nurses (14%). In terms of design, an overwhelming majority of studies utilized quantitative designs (75%), followed by qualitative designs and database analyses. Studies were categorized into four pre-determined main themes: facilitators and barriers, workforce planning, HRH management, and HRH development. CONCLUSION: Future research is needed to better understand poorly covered sub-themes such as mentorship, professional development, and training, as well as recruitment and retention among others. It is also equally needed to fill in the gaps in professional groups, study type, methodology, and region. While the review unearthed a number of well-studied themes, significant aspects of the topic remain untapped especially in developing countries and at the level of health professionals other than physicians.

Research to support evidence-informed decisions on optimizing gender equity in health workforce policy and planning.

Women constitute 70% of the global health and social care workforce, but important knowledge gaps persist to effectively support decision making to optimize gender equity. In this Editorial introducing a new thematic series on 'Research to support evidence-informed decisions on optimizing gender equity in health workforce policy and planning,' we are calling for submissions focusing on research concerning the monitoring, evaluation and accountability of human resources for health policy options through a gender equity lens. We are particularly interested to receive manuscripts advancing the innovative use of data and methodologies in the areas of occupational segregation, decent work, gender pay gap and gendered leadership in the health workforce that could be reproducible across different country contexts.

Exploring women's health care experiences through an equity lens: Findings from a community clinic serving marginalised women.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore how marginalised women perceive and rate equity-oriented health care at a primary care clinic using items that evaluate patients' experiences of care. BACKGROUND: Despite an increased recognition of the importance of health care that is equity-oriented, and that understands the patient within the context of the broader social determinants of health, inequities in health remain prevalent around the world. DESIGN: Items from the "EQUIP Primary Health Care" research programme were used to explore patients' experiences of equity-oriented health care. Women were invited to complete the questionnaire with the explicit aim of gaining their input to improve quality of care at the clinic. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Statement was followed for the study. METHODS: Sixty-seven women who experienced significant health and social inequities, and were seeking care at a women's only nurse practitioner primary health care clinic in Canada, were invited to complete the questionnaire. For quality improvement purposes, correlational analyses were used to explore women's experiences of care. RESULTS: Women's responses showed that Promote Emotional Safety and Trust and Overall Quality of Care were the most highly correlated domains, indicating the importance of the health care team in establishing trusting relationships, particularly for women who experience stigma and negative judgement when seeking care. CONCLUSION: Seeking feedback from patients on their experiences of care using items developed to explicitly tap into equity issues is useful in understanding how patients experience equity-oriented health care. Responses from the women highlight the importance of understanding not only the what of equity-oriented care but also the how. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study illustrate the importance of establishing trusting relationships, tailoring care, and using a nondiscriminatory approach when working with women who experience negative judgements when seeking care.

[Healthcare equity and chronic renal failure in Mexico: an analysis for the case of women]. / Análisis de aspectos relacionados con la equidad en salud y la insuficiencia renal crónica para el caso de la mujer en México.

INTRODUCTION: Kidney chronic disease patients are being increasingly identified. The disability generated by this disease must consider physical and social effects given the lack of attention and the socioeconomic conditions that generate it. Therefore, access to services to treat kidney chronic disease is determined by social and biological factors. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of the social components on kidney chronic disease in a sector of the Mexican population that suffers from the disease, particularly in the case of women. METHODS: The Poisson generalized linear model was applied, selecting the variables related to equity in the administration of health services. Statistical data reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico in the period 2009-2015 in women was taken. The variables considered were the level of schooling, occupation, access to health, geographical region and habitable zone, as well as stage of life. RESULTS: The highest incidence rate for kidney chronic disease is attributed to the intermediate adult woman, who works in informal services legally excluded from institutional health coverage, has low schooling and lives in a rural area of the Center zone, while the young adult woman that lives in an urban metropolis in the North zone presents lowest incidence profile. CONCLUSIONS: The economic determinants derived from people’s activities, as well as their age, the educational level and the environment in which they live influence both the acquisition of the disease and the possibilities of managing it successfully.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La insuficiencia renal crónica es una enfermedad que se encuentra en un estado de constante crecimiento. La discapacidad que genera esta enfermedad debe considerar efectos físicos y sociales, dada la falta de atención y a las condiciones socioeconómicas que la generan. Por lo tanto, el acceso a los servicios para tratar la insuficiencia renal crónica está condicionado a factores de tipo social y de tipo biológico. OBJETIVO: Analizar el efecto de los componentes sociales en la insuficiencia renal crónica en un sector de la población de México que padece la enfermedad, en particular para el caso de la mujer. MÉTODOS: Se aplicó el modelo lineal generalizado de Poisson, seleccionando las variables relacionadas con la equidad en la aplicación de los servicios de salud. Se tomaron datos estadísticos reportados en mujeres por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía de México en el periodo 2009-2015. Las variables consideradas fueron grado de escolaridad, ocupación, acceso a la salud, región geográfica y zona habitable, así como le etapa de vida. RESULTADOS: La mayor tasa de incidencia para la insuficiencia renal crónica corresponde a la mujer adulta intermedia, que trabaja en servicios informales excluidos legalmente de la cobertura institucional de salud, tiene baja escolaridad y vive en un área rural de la zona centro; mientras que la mujer adulta joven que vive en una metrópoli urbana de la zona norte presenta el perfil de menor incidencia. CONCLUSIONES: Los determinantes económicos derivados de la actividad de las personas, así como la edad, el nivel educativo y el entorno en el que habitan, influyen tanto en el padecimiento de la enfermedad como en las posibilidades de enfrentarla con éxito.

Women in clinical trials: a review of policy development and health equity in the Canadian context.

Health equity in pharmaceutical research is concerned with creating equal opportunities for men and women to partake in clinical trials. Equitable representation is imperative for determining the safety, effectiveness, and tolerance of drugs for all consumers. Historically, women have been excluded from participating in clinical research leading to a lack of knowledge regarding drug effects and their consequences. This paper examines the changes made since the implementation of Canadian policies on the representation of women in clinical trials, the analysis of sex and gender, as well as the discourses that are prominent among researchers. A feminist ethics framework is used to examine the structures that endeavor to elucidate women's involvement in trials, as experienced under extensive patriarchal history. Scholarly literature and Canadian government policy documents are used to explore the development of clinical trials as pertaining to sex and gender. Findings suggest that women continue to be underrepresented or excluded from important research, highlighting ongoing ethical and justice concerns. Improvement recommendations for policies are outlined.

Exploring the equity impact of a maternal and newborn health intervention: a qualitative study of participatory women's groups in rural South Asia and Africa.

BACKGROUND: A consensus is developing on interventions to improve newborn survival, but little is known about how to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in newborn mortality in low- and middle-income countries. Participatory learning and action (PLA) through women's groups can improve newborn survival and home care practices equitably across socioeconomic strata, as shown in cluster randomised controlled trials. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the mechanisms that led to the equitable impact of the PLA approach across socioeconomic strata in four trial sites in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Malawi. METHODS: We conducted 42 focus group discussions (FGDs) with women who had attended groups and women who had not attended, in poor and better-off communities. We also interviewed six better-off women and nine poor women who had delivered babies during the trials and had demonstrated recommended behaviours. We conducted 12 key informant interviews and five FGDs with women's group facilitators and fieldworkers. RESULTS: Women's groups addressed a knowledge deficit in poor and better-off women. Women were engaged through visual learning and participatory tools, and learned from the facilitator and each other. Facilitators enabled inclusion of all socioeconomic strata, ensuring that strategies were low-cost and that discussions and advice were relevant. Groups provided a social support network that addressed some financial barriers to care and gave women the confidence to promote behaviour change. Information was disseminated through home visits and other strategies. The social process of learning and action, which led to increased knowledge, confidence to act, and acceptability of recommended practices, was key to ensuring behaviour change across social strata. These equitable effects were enabled by the accessibility, relevance, and engaging format of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Participatory learning and action led to increased knowledge, confidence to act, and acceptability of recommended practices. The equitable behavioural effects were facilitated by the accessibility, relevance, and engaging format of the intervention across socioeconomic groups, and by reaching-out to parts of the population usually not accessed. A PLA approach improved health behaviours across socioeconomic strata in rural communities, around issues for which there was a knowledge deficit and where simple changes could be made at home.

Maternity waiting areas - serving all women? Barriers and enablers of an equity-oriented maternal health intervention in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, maternal waiting areas (MWAs) - residential areas near health facilities where women can stay while waiting to give birth - are community-based, equity-oriented interventions to improve maternal outcomes among rural populations. In this qualitative study we sought to explore the barriers and enablers that Health Extension Workers (HEWs) encounter when engaging with communities about MWAs. We conducted semi-structured interviews with HEWs across rural sites in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Drawing from an ecological model of social determinants of maternal and child health, we analysed data using thematic coding methods. HEWs reported a variety of factors that determined MWA use, including the number of children at home, previous childbirth experiences, community support networks, decision making practices within families, the availability and acceptability of health services, geographical access, and health beliefs. HEWs worked to increase the use of MWAs by engaging with husbands and communities, raising awareness in target groups of women, and managing community participation. Policies and practices that support enhanced training for HEWs, increased resources for communities, and greater opportunities for HEWs to liaise with decision makers at various levels of influence are possible ways forward to improve MWA use, specifically, and maternal and neonatal/child health outcomes more generally.

Health care providers' perspectives on delivering gender equity focused family planning program for young married couples in a cluster randomized controlled trial in rural Maharashtra, India.

Background: There is increasing programming and research on male engagement and gender-equity (GE) counselling in family planning (FP) services. However, there is a lack of data on healthcare provider's perspectives on delivering these interventions. The objective of the paper is to present providers' perspectives on delivering a GE-focused FP intervention, CHARM, to married couples in rural India. Methods:  In-depth interviews were carried out with 22 male village health care providers who were delivering a GE-focused FP intervention, CHARM, to 428 husbands (247 couples) rural Maharashtra, India. Providers were interviewed on their experiences and perspectives during delivery of CHARM. Major domains were identified during a thematic analysis. Results: Local male health providers are interested and can be engaged in delivering a GE-focused FP intervention. Providers believed that the CHARM intervention improves couples' communication, contraceptive use and strengthened their own capacity to provide FP services in accordance with national FP programmatic efforts. Providers found the low-tech flipchart including pictures and information helpful in supporting their service provision. Providers reported some challenges including lack of privacy and space for counselling, limited access to contraceptive options beyond pill and condom, numerous myths and misconceptions about contraceptives. Providers also reported persistent social norms related to expectancy of pregnancy early in marriage, and son preference. Conclusions: Providers in rural areas with high fertility and related maternal health complications are interested in and can successfully implement a GE-focused FP intervention. Future efforts using this approach may benefit from greater focus to support broader array of spacing contraceptives particularly among first time parents, none or one child parents. There is a need to better support engagement of wives possibly through female provider led sessions parallel to male programs, i.e. gender synchronized rather than couples' sessions. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov  NCT01593943, May 8, 2012.

Análisis de aspectos relacionados con la equidad en salud y la insuficiencia renal crónica para el caso de la mujer en México / Healthcare equity and chronic renal failure in Mexico: an analysis for the case of women

INTRODUCCIÓN La insuficiencia renal crónica es una enfermedad que se encuentra en un estado de constante crecimiento. La discapacidad que genera esta enfermedad debe considerar efectos físicos y sociales, dada la falta de atención y a las condiciones socioeconómicas que la generan. Por lo tanto, el acceso a los servicios para tratar la insuficiencia renal crónica está condicionado a factores de tipo social y de tipo biológico. OBJETIVO Analizar el efecto de los componentes sociales en la insuficiencia renal crónica en un sector de la población de México que padece la enfermedad, en particular para el caso de la mujer. MÉTODOS Se aplicó el modelo lineal generalizado de Poisson, seleccionando las variables relacionadas con la equidad en la aplicación de los servicios de salud. Se tomaron datos estadísticos reportados en mujeres por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía de México en el periodo 2009-2015. Las variables consideradas fueron grado de escolaridad, ocupación, acceso a la salud, región geográfica y zona habitable, así como le etapa de vida. RESULTADOS La mayor tasa de incidencia para la insuficiencia renal crónica corresponde a la mujer adulta intermedia, que trabaja en servicios informales excluidos legalmente de la cobertura institucional de salud, tiene baja escolaridad y vive en un área rural de la zona centro; mientras que la mujer adulta joven que vive en una metrópoli urbana de la zona norte presenta el perfil de menor incidencia. CONCLUSIONES Los determinantes económicos derivados de la actividad de las personas, así como la edad, el nivel educativo y el entorno en el que habitan, influyen tanto en el padecimiento de la enfermedad como en las posibilidades de enfrentarla con éxito.

INTRODUCTION Kidney chronic disease patients are being increasingly identified. The disability generated by this disease must consider physical and social effects given the lack of attention and the socioeconomic conditions that generate it. Therefore, access to services to treat kidney chronic disease is determined by social and biological factors. OBJECTIVE To analyze the effect of the social components on kidney chronic disease in a sector of the Mexican population that suffers from the disease, particularly in the case of women. METHODS The Poisson generalized linear model was applied, selecting the variables related to equity in the administration of health services. Statistical data reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico in the period 2009-2015 in women was taken. The variables considered were the level of schooling, occupation, access to health, geographical region and habitable zone, as well as stage of life. RESULTS The highest incidence rate for kidney chronic disease is attributed to the intermediate adult woman, who works in informal services legally excluded from institutional health coverage, has low schooling and lives in a rural area of the Center zone, while the young adult woman that lives in an urban metropolis in the North zone presents lowest incidence profile. CONCLUSION The economic determinants derived from people's activities, as well as their age, the educational level and the environment in which they live influence both the acquisition of the disease and the possibilities of managing it successfully.