UNLABELLED BACKGROUND This paper describes the task-shifting taking place in health centres and district hospitals in Mozambique and Zambia. The objectives of this study were to identify the perceived causes and factors facilitating or impeding task-shifting, and to determine both the positive and negative consequences of task-shifting for the service users, for the services and for health w...

INTRODUCTION The nature of deficits in tests of sustained attention, planning and attentional set-shifting has not been investigated in neuroleptic-naïve first-episode (FE) schizophrenia patients. Based on previous literature of chronic and medicated FE schizophrenia patients, we predicted that the neuroleptic-naïve patients would show deficits in these cognitive processes. METHODS Twenty-nin...

Formalized task shifting structures have been used to rapidly scale up antiretroviral service delivery to underserved populations in several countries, and may be a promising mechanism for accomplishing universal health coverage. However, studies evaluating the quality of service delivery through task shifting have largely ignored the patient perspective, focusing on health outcomes and accepta...

Non-communicable chronic diseases including mental disorders contribute significantly to the world health burden according to World Health Organization (WHO). Common mental disorders, neurological diseases and HIV related mental disorders are under-diagnosed and cause significant morbidity. Mental health has faced the challenge of lack of the necessary cadres such as psychiatrists, primary care...

Task shifting should not be viewed as a panacea for the human-resources challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa. Rather, it must be part of an overall strategy that includes measures to increase, retain, and sustain health staff . In health care, the term “task shifting” generally refers to a process of delegation of tasks to health workers with lower qualifi cations. It may include task shifting ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to explore stakeholders' perception of an on-going evidence-based task-shifting strategy for hypertension (TASSH) in 32 community health centers and district hospitals in Ghana. METHODS Using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, qualitative data were obtained from 81 key stakeholders including patients, nurses, and site directors of partici...

BACKGROUND Impairments of executive functioning, such as set-shifting ability, are seen as core deficits of schizophrenia and are of interest as candidate intermediate phenotype markers. The Intradimensional/Extradimensional (ID/ED) shift task offers a differentiated assessment of shifting from previously reinforced stimuli as well as shifting from previously reinforced features and has proven ...

Objective This paper seeks to review the available evidence to determine whether a systems approach is employed in the implementation and evaluation of task shifting for mental health using lay providers in low- and middle-income countries, and to highlight system-wide effects of task-shifting strategies in order to better inform efforts to strength community mental health systems. Methods Pu...

The shortage of health workers worldwide has been identified as a barrier to achieving targeted health goals. Task shifting has been recommended by the World Health Organization to increase access to trained and skilled birth attendants. One example of task shifting is the use of cadres of health care workers, such as nurses and auxiliary nurse-midwives, who can successfully deliver skilled car...