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The article discusses the context of positioning and maximizing the output of district level health officers, rendering greater autonomy and streamlining their roles in department of public health in Maharashtra and attempts to articulate challenges faced by existing district level human resources for health (HRH) architecture and discussed possible changes to face these challenges. It cites recommendation for state health directorate to have a full-fledged HR department.

Industrial growth in India has resulted in increased employment opportunities, thereby inflating the size of the workforce engaged in both organized and unorganized sectors. This workforce is exposed to various occupational factors at workplace and hence is susceptible to occupational diseases, which requires trained occupational health manpower. The present study is undertaken to estimate the need and supply gap of occupational health manpower, based on present regulations. The total workforce in the organized sector in India is 26.92 million. There are 254,951 working registered industrial factories in India, with about 11.16 million workers. These factories have employed 6953 factory medical officers (FMOs) and 2308 safety officers (SOs). Hence, for 26.92 million of total workforce engaged in organized sector, we would require a total of 16,728 FMOs and 5619 SOs, thereby estimating the deficit of 58% for FMOs and 59% for SOs based on current ratio of employment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors explore their views on public health education in India. They highlight the need for public education to find solutions for multitude of public health problems through building the capacity of public health workforce. They cite a shift in public health education in India and mentions public health programs initiated by few institutions for both medical and nonmedical graduates. They propose building a public health cadre in state health services.

Background: The Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Health Management, launched by the Govt. of India under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission in 2008, aims to enhance the managerial capabilities of public health professionals to improve the public health system. The Govt. of India invested enormous resources into this programme and requested an evaluation to understand the current processes, assess the graduates' work performance and identify areas for improvement. Methods: Quantitative telephone surveys as well as qualitative in-depth interviews were used. Graduates from the first three batches, their supervisors, peers and subordinates and faculty members were interviewed. Quantitative data were analysed using proportions, means and interpretative descriptions. Qualitative analyses involved transcription, translation, sorting, coding and filing into domains. Results: Of the 363 graduates whose contact details were available, 138 could not be contacted. Two hundred twenty-three (223) graduates (61.43% of eligible participants) were interviewed by telephone; 52 in-depth interviews were conducted. Of the graduates who joined, 63.8% graduates were motivated to join the programme for career advancement and gaining public health knowledge. The content was theoretically good, informative and well-designed. Graduates expressed need for more practical and group work. After graduating, they reported being equipped with some new skills to implement programmes effectively. They reported that attitudes and healthcare delivery practices had improved; they had better self-esteem, increased confidence, better communication skills and implementation capacity. While they were able to apply some skills, they encountered some barriers, such as governance, placements, lack of support from the system and community, inadequate implementation authority and lack of planning by the state government. Incentives (both monetary and non-monetary) played a major role in motivating them to deliver public health services. They suggested that states should nominate candidates expected to make a significant contribution to the health system, recognition from a relevant authoritative national body and need for a placement cell, especially for the self-sponsored candidates. Conclusions: A continuous mechanism for interaction and dialogue with the graduates during and after completion of the programme should be designed. This evaluation helped by providing inputs for refining the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India faces a formidable burden of neonatal deaths, and quality newborn care is essential for reducing the high neonatal mortality rate. We examined newborn care services, with a focus on essential newborn care (ENC) in two districts, one each from two states in India. Nagaur district in Rajasthan and Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh were included. Six secondary-level facilities from the districts-two district hospitals (DHs) and four community health centres (CHCs) were evaluated, where maximum institutional births within districts were taking place. The assessment included record review, facility observation, and competency assessment of service providers, using structured checklists and sets of questionnaire. The domains assessed for competency were: resuscitation, provision of warmth, breastfeeding, kangaroo mother care, and infection prevention. Our assessments showed that no inpatient care was being rendered at the CHCs while, at DHs, neonates with sepsis, asphyxia, and prematurity/low birthweight were managed. Newborn care corners existed within or adjacent to the labour room in all the facilities and were largely unutilized spaces in most of the facilities. Resuscitation bags and masks were available in four out of six facilities, with a predominant lack of masks of both sizes. Two CHCs in Chhatarpur did not have suction device. The average knowledge score amongst service providers in resuscitation was 76% and, in the remaining ENC domains, was 78%. The corresponding average skill scores were 24% and 34%, highlighting a huge contrast in knowledge and skill scores. This disparity was observed for all levels of providers assessed. While knowledge domain scores were largely satisfactory (>75%) for the majority of providers in domains of kangaroo mother care and breastfeeding, the scores were only moderately satisfactory (50-75%) for all other knowledge domains. The skill scores for all domains were predominantly non-satisfactory (<50%). The findings underpin the need for improving the existing ENC services by making newborn care corners functional and enhancing skills of service providers to reduce neonatal mortality rate in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health education in China and India has a long history that has been both deeply responsive to the unique needs and medical traditions of each country, and sensitive to global influences. The history of public health education in China reaches back several centuries, with substantial input from American and European organizations during the Republican Era, 1911-1949. In India, centuries-old health care traditions were influenced during the colonial period by the British Empire prior to independence in 1947. Political upheaval in both countries during the 1940s further impacted the public health systems as well as public health education. The primary goal of this review is to outline public health education in India and Mainland China, with a focus on describing the historical systems and structures that have promoted the development of formalized public health education. We examine current challenges, and analyze opportunities for improvement. Health reforms in China and India need to consider new and modern models for public health education, perhaps in independent faculties of public health, to reinvigorate public health education and strengthen the position of public health in addressing the health challenges of the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]