TY - JOUR
T1 - Capacity building among nursing and midwifery professional associations in East Africa
AU - Ruhmel, Stephen
AU - Ndirangu-Mugo, Eunice
AU - Mwizerwa, Joseph
AU - Sarki, Ahmed
AU - Pallangyo, Eunice
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was approved by the Aga Khan University Kenya Research Ethics Committee, the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation in Kenya, the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania, and the Uganda National Council for Science & Technology. Informed consent was provided by all study participants, separately for interviews and surveys.
Funding Information:
for this research was provided by the Johnson & Johnson Foundation. The funding body had no role in the design, data collection, analysis, or preparation of this manuscript. We wish to extend our sincere appreciation to the nurses, midwives, and associations who took part in the study. Additionally, we would like to thank the following individuals from Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan Foundation for their support in designing and conducting the study: Sharon Brownie, Yvonne Mathu, Tonny Kayondo, Vaileth Noel, Koech Kiprono, Jameel Manji, Matt Reeves, Amanda Sullivan, and Cynthia Onyongo. Finally, we thank the Johnson & Johnson Foundation for providing funding to conduct this study as well as implement the entire five-year programme.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: Despite improvements in educational opportunities, policy changes, and pay raises in the nursing and midwifery professions in East Africa, poor working conditions, few professional development opportunities, and a general lack of respect for these professions predominate. These issues contribute to a low quality of care among a population with a high burden of communicable diseases. Health professional associations may help to address these challenges by providing a voice for nurses and midwives. Objective: This study evaluated the impact of a 5-year programme focused on strengthening nurses’ and midwives’ professional associations in East Africa. Methods: This study used a mixed methods design. Quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive data were captured via surveys (n = 1,266) distributed to association members. In-depth interviews (n = 65) were used to obtain qualitative data and complement the survey responses. Quantitative and qualitative data collection occurred concurrently. The results were compared to assess the impact of the programme across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Results: The programme successfully built capacity in four of five organisational capacity areas: resource mobilisation, financial management, strategy, and monitoring and evaluation. Marketing and communications, the fifth targeted area, did not show improvement. Capacity in both research and service delivery was also improved, despite the programme not providing training in these areas. In addition, collaboration among associations and their members was improved. Conclusion: These results support existing evidence on the impact of capacity building among professional nursing associations and coincide with the World Health Organization’s objectives for nursing. Future capacity building programmes should consider replicating the successful activities from this programme and investigate ways to reach more rural branches and provide tailored content. This study contributes to a small but growing body of knowledge that supports capacity building among the African health workforce.
AB - Background: Despite improvements in educational opportunities, policy changes, and pay raises in the nursing and midwifery professions in East Africa, poor working conditions, few professional development opportunities, and a general lack of respect for these professions predominate. These issues contribute to a low quality of care among a population with a high burden of communicable diseases. Health professional associations may help to address these challenges by providing a voice for nurses and midwives. Objective: This study evaluated the impact of a 5-year programme focused on strengthening nurses’ and midwives’ professional associations in East Africa. Methods: This study used a mixed methods design. Quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive data were captured via surveys (n = 1,266) distributed to association members. In-depth interviews (n = 65) were used to obtain qualitative data and complement the survey responses. Quantitative and qualitative data collection occurred concurrently. The results were compared to assess the impact of the programme across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Results: The programme successfully built capacity in four of five organisational capacity areas: resource mobilisation, financial management, strategy, and monitoring and evaluation. Marketing and communications, the fifth targeted area, did not show improvement. Capacity in both research and service delivery was also improved, despite the programme not providing training in these areas. In addition, collaboration among associations and their members was improved. Conclusion: These results support existing evidence on the impact of capacity building among professional nursing associations and coincide with the World Health Organization’s objectives for nursing. Future capacity building programmes should consider replicating the successful activities from this programme and investigate ways to reach more rural branches and provide tailored content. This study contributes to a small but growing body of knowledge that supports capacity building among the African health workforce.
KW - Resource mobilisation
KW - financial management
KW - marketing and communications
KW - monitoring and evaluation
KW - professional development
KW - strategy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140607801&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/16549716.2022.2118173
DO - 10.1080/16549716.2022.2118173
M3 - Article
C2 - 36278934
AN - SCOPUS:85140607801
SN - 1654-9716
VL - 15
JO - Global Health Action
JF - Global Health Action
IS - 1
M1 - 2118173
ER -
