Indices to measure material resources in Jamaica's health centres - abstract

ABSTRACT

Jamaica's primary health care system was developed and implemented in the 1970's. Many new health centres were built and many equipped according to defined standards. Resources became more scarce in the 1980s. As part of a management study, instruments were devised to measure 'Facilities and Utilities', Equipment and Furniture', 'Condition of Equipment' and 'Drugs and Supplies' proved too complex to handle in practice and had a low completion rate. The other three instruments proved feasible. Indices such as these could be used to monitor changing levels of resources of make comparisons of any kind. The low levels of the indices were in accordance with the low levels of resources known to exists (AU)