Number and percentage of health care workers newly trained or retrained
Export Indicator
This indicator quantifies the human resources that are trained in preventing HIV infection in women and children and are available to provide the required services.
For the purpose of planning it is important to assess the resources available to address health needs. Before the implementation or expansion of services it is vital to know not only what facilities and equipment are available but also what training and human resources exist. Only with this information can health systems provide services that meet the needs of and are acceptable to the populations concerned.
The number of health care workers newly trained or retrained in the minimum package during the preceding 12 months.
The total number of health care workers working in facilities that have implemented the minimum package, with women who could benefit from it, for preventing HIV infection in women and infants.
The numerator can be calculated on the basis of a review of training records in each facility that has implemented services or serves women who could benefit from the minimum package for preventing HIV in infants and young children. If, however, such records do not exist, a survey of facilities can be carried out. A random sample of health care providers in these facilities should be asked about training they may have received in the prevention of HIV infections among infants and young children. (In some countries a national, provincial or district training coordinator keeps records of the training given to individual health workers. Such data can be used instead of a facility survey.) Interviewers should investigate the composition of the training, which varies with the type of site. The minimum package for each type of facility is outlined in the definition of the indicator. The denominator, i.e. the number of staff able to provide preventive services for HIV infection among infants and young children, is calculated on the basis of the number of health care providers working at sites where women could potentially receive the services included in the minimum package. These data can be obtained from ministry and health facility records. The numerator should be collected every year. The denominator, if based on facility surveys, is more expensive but is necessary for the calculation of the percentage and should be obtained every two years. After the initial collection of data it may be of interest to disaggregate data for those health care workers who have been newly trained or retrained during the preceding 12 months as well as to maintain a record of how many health workers have been trained since the first time the indicator was measured.
Age group:
Education: N/A
Gender: N/A
Geographic location: N/A
Pregnancy status: N/A
Sector: N/A
Target: N/A
Time period: N/A
Type of orphan: N/A
Vulnerability status: N/A
This indicator tracks the number of health workers trained to provide services for the prevention of HIV infection in infants and young children over time. It attempts to document increasing capacity to deliver preventive interventions. However, no conclusions should be drawn regarding quality, because this is affected by the practices employed rather than by the existence of trained personnel. It should not be expected that all health workers in all countries will have been trained, nor even that a high percentage of those who could be trained will have been trained. The indicator should be interpreted in relation to the size and nature of the epidemic in particular countries. Difficulties may occur in determining the denominator, as some countries may have limited information on the pool of human resources available in various facilities. Frequent transfers of personnel between facilities, or high rates of attrition, may complicate the interpretation of the indicator. It should be noted that the assumption is made that only formal health workers are counted, i.e. those remunerated either financially or in kind. In many settings, however, informal health workers make a significant contribution.