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Abstract This study deals with the adaptation of Katana referral hospital in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a changing environment that is affected for more than a decade by intermittent armed conflicts. His objective is to generate theoretical proposals for addressing differently the analysis of hospitals governance in the aims to assess their performance and how to improve that performance. The methodology applied approach uses a case study using mixed methods ( qualitative and quantitative) for data collection. It uses (1) hospital data to measure the output of hospitals, (2) literature review to identify among others, events and interventions recorded in the history of hospital during the study period and (3) information from individual interviews to validate the interpretation of the results of the previous two sources of data and understand the responsiveness of management team referral hospital during times of change. The study brings four theoretical propositions: (1) Interaction between key agents is a positive force driving adaptation if the actors share a same vision, (2) The strength of the interaction between agents is largely based on the nature of institutional arrangements, which in turn are shaped by the actors themselves, (3) The owner and the management team play a decisive role in the implementation of effective institutional arrangements and establishment of positive interactions between agents, (4) The analysis of recipient population's perception of health services provided allow to better tailor and adapt the health services offer to the population's needs and expectations. Research shows that it isn't enough just to provide support (financial and technical), to manage a hospital for operate and adapt to a changing environment but must still animate, considering that it is a complex adaptive system and that this animation is nothing other than the induction of a positive interaction between agents.

This study deals with the adaptation of Katana referral hospital in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in a changing environment that is affected for more than a decade by intermittent armed conflicts. His objective is to generate theoretical proposals for addressing differently the analysis of hospitals governance in the aims to assess their performance and how to improve that performance. The methodology applied approach uses a case study using mixed methods ( qualitative and quantitative) for data collection. It uses (1) hospital data to measure the output of hospitals, (2) literature review to identify among others, events and interventions recorded in the history of hospital during the study period and (3) information from individual interviews to validate the interpretation of the results of the previous two sources of data and understand the responsiveness of management team referral hospital during times of change. The study brings four theoretical propositions: (1) Interaction between key agents is a positive force driving adaptation if the actors share a same vision, (2) The strength of the interaction between agents is largely based on the nature of institutional arrangements, which in turn are shaped by the actors themselves, (3) The owner and the management team play a decisive role in the implementation of effective institutional arrangements and establishment of positive interactions between agents, (4) The analysis of recipient population's perception of health services provided allow to better tailor and adapt the health services offer to the population's needs and expectations. Research shows that it isn't enough just to provide support (financial and technical), to manage a hospital for operate and adapt to a changing environment but must still animate, considering that it is a complex adaptive system and that this animation is nothing other than the induction of a positive interaction between agents.

Objective. To assess the patient information process before sputum sample collection, the quality of sputum sample and transmission of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination results to TB suspects, in three local areas of Nicaragua. Methods. (a) directed interviews of consecutive series of TB suspects whose sputum had been examined for AFB; (b) directed interview of health personnel; and (c) assessment of the sputum sample quality. Results. A total of 115 TB suspects and 33 health personnel were interviewed and 625 sputum samples were assessed. Results show multiple weaknesses in the process of information to the patient during sputum collections, as well as in the communication of results. Conclusions. This study unveiled an aspect usually overlooked of case finding, that is, the information process during sputum production, sputum sample quality, and the communication of results to the TB suspects. The results illustrate the need for routine assessment of the whole diagnostic process.Keywords: tuberculosis; diagnostic; patient-provider communication; NicaraguaAddress reprint requests to: Jean Macq; Ecole de Santé Publique, Département Politiques et Systèmes de Santé; Université Libre de Bruxelles; Campus Erasme, CP 597; Route de Lennik, 808; B-1070 Brussels; Belgium. Email: jmacq@ulb.ac.be ; Objective. To assess the patient information process before sputum sample collection, the quality of sputum sample and transmission of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) examination results to TB suspects, in three local areas of Nicaragua. Methods. (a) directed interviews of consecutive series of TB suspects whose sputum had been examined for AFB; (b) directed interview of health personnel; and (c) assessment of the sputum sample quality. Results. A total of 115 TB suspects and 33 health personnel were interviewed and 625 sputum samples were assessed. Results show multiple weaknesses in the process of information to the patient during sputum collections, as well as in the communication of results. Conclusions. This study unveiled an ...

INTRODUCTION: In many African countries, first referral hospitals received little attention from development agencies until recently. We report the evolution of two of them in an unstable region like Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo when receiving the support from development aid program. Specifically, we aimed at studying how actors' network and institutional framework evolved over time and what could matter the most when looking at their performance in such an environment. METHODS: We performed two cases studies between 2006 and 2010. We used multiple sources of data: reports to document events; health information system for hospital services production, and "key-informants" interviews to interpret the relation between interventions and services production. Our analysis was inspired from complex adaptive system theory. It started from the analysis of events implementation, to explore interaction process between the main agents in each hospital, and the consequence it could have on hospital health services production. This led to the development of new theoretical propositions. RESULTS: Two events implemented in the frame of the development aid program were identified by most of the key-informants interviewed as having the greatest impact on hospital performance: the development of a hospital plan and the performance based financing. They resulted in contrasting interaction process between the main agents between the two hospitals. Two groups of services production were reviewed: consultation at outpatient department and admissions, and surgery. The evolution of both groups of services production were different between both hospitals. CONCLUSION: By studying two first referral hospitals through the lens of a Complex Adaptive System, their performance in a context of development aid takes a different meaning. Success is not only measured through increased hospital production but through meaningful process of hospital agents'" network adaptation. Expected process is not necessarily a change; strengthened equilibrium and existing institutional arrangement may be a preferable result. Much more attention should be given in future international aid to the proper understanding of the hospital adaptation capacities.

We report on income generation and work mix among 100 civil servants who manage public health services in developing countries. Corrected for purchasing power parity, the government pays the respondents a median salary of 3,800 US$PPP per annum. This salary puts these managers among the better-off in their countries. However, it definitely remains below what they could expect from alternative occupations as medical doctors in their own countries. An impressive 87% of the respondents complement their salaries with at least one of the following: working for NGOs or development agencies, private practice, or other income-generating activities. All in all moonlighting adds an extra 50 to 80% to their public sector salaries. There are three possible consequences: competition for time, outflow of resources from the public sector, and conflicts of interest. The problem of moonlighting needs to be addressed openly so as to protect public sector values while meeting both professional needs and user demands for quality.

We report on income generation and work mix among 100 civil servants who manage public health services in developing countries. Corrected for purchasing power parity, the government pays the respondents a median salary of 3,800 US$PPP per annum. This salary puts these managers among the better-off in their countries. However, it definitely remains below what they could expect from alternative occupations as medical doctors in their own countries. An impressive 87% of the respondents complement their salaries with at least one of the following: working for NGOs or development agencies, private practice, or other income-generating activities. All in all moonlighting adds an extra 50 to 80% to their public sector salaries. There are three possible consequences: competition for time, outflow of resources from the public sector, and conflicts of interest. The problem of moonlighting needs to be addressed openly so as to protect public sector values while meeting both professional needs and user demands for quality.

In 1987, district health care policies were officially adopted by a majority of developing countries. Many operational problems constraining implementation of such policies have subsequently been identified, most of which are attributable to well-known characteristics of less developed countries. However, the policy of operational and administrative decentralization has often been critically obstructed by inappropriate organizational structures in ministries of health. By applying Mintzberg's analytical framework to several ministries of health, we identify structural deficiencies that make systems unfit to match their policy environment and yield the expected outcomes of functional and decentralized services. We propose a typology likely to elicit strategies for decentralizing health care administration. Our analysis is based on the following steps: a description of Mintzberg's concepts of organizational structure, generic components (strategic apex, technostructure, supporting structure, middle line, operational core) and functions (horizontal and vertical integration, liaison devices, vertical and horizontal decentralization) applied to health systems; a discussion of divisionalized adhocracy as a suitable configuration for health organizations with a need for a high degree of regional autonomy, community participation, medical staff initiative, action research and operational research, and continuous evaluation; a discussion of the organizational features of a number of health ministry systems and a consideration of strategies for transforming configurations towards divisionalized adhocracy.

In 1987, district health care policies were officially adopted by a majority of developing countries. Many operational problems constraining implementation of such policies have subsequently been identified, most of which are attributable to well-known characteristics of less developed countries. However, the policy of operational and administrative decentralization has often been critically obstructed by inappropriate organizational structures in ministries of health. By applying Mintzberg's analytical framework to several ministries of health, we identify structural deficiencies that make systems unfit to match their policy environment and yield the expected outcomes of functional and decentralized services. We propose a typology likely to elicit strategies for decentralizing health care administration. Our analysis is based on the following steps: a description of Mintzberg's concepts of organizational structure, generic components (strategic apex, technostructure, supporting structure, middle line, operational core) and functions (horizontal and vertical integration, liaison devices, vertical and horizontal decentralization) applied to health systems; a discussion of divisionalized adhocracy as a suitable configuration for health organizations with a need for a high degree of regional autonomy, community participation, medical staff initiative, action research and operational research, and continuous evaluation; a discussion of the organizational features of a number of health ministry systems and a consideration of strategies for transforming configurations towards divisionalized adhocracy.

Background: The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy was adopted in Burundi in 2003. Our aim was to evaluate to what extent the malnutrition component of the IMCI guidelines is implemented at health facilities level. Methods: We carried out direct observations of curative outpatient consultations for children aged 6–59 months in 90 health centres selected randomly. We considered both the child and the health worker (HW) as units of analysis and used bivariate analysis to explore characteristics of HWs associated with tasks systematically or never performed. Results: A total of 514 consultations carried out by 145 HWs were observed. Among the 250 children under two years, less than 30% were asked questions on breastfeeding. None of them had all seven nutrition-related questions asked to their caregivers and none of the 200 children over the age of two years had all five nutrition-related questions asked to their caregivers. Only 13 cases (3%) had all of the six examinations/tasks (weight, height/length, mid-upper arm circumference, oedema, filling in and discussing the growth curve and calculating the weight for height z-score) performed as part of their care. 393 cases (76%) reported that they had not being given any nutrition advice. With regards to HWs, among 99 of them who had received children under two, only 21 (21.2%)[14.2–30.5%) systematically asked the question regarding 'ongoing breastfeeding'. Only 56 (38.6%)[31–46.9%] weighed or discussed the weight taken prior the consultation for each child they reviewed, only 38 (26.2%)[19.6–34.1%] measured the height/length or discussed it for each child reviewed and 23 (15.9%)[10.7–22.8%] performed (systematically?) the WHZ-score. More than 50% never gave nutrition advices to any child reviewed. HWs who daily manage severe acute malnutrition were the most likely to systematically ask the question regarding 'ongoing breastfeeding' and to perform a 'weight examination'. Those who had not received supervision visit on the topic of malnutrition predominantly never performed a 'weight examination'. The 'height/length' examination' was predominantly performed by female HWs and those who have 'contract with the government. Conclusion: This study has found poor compliance by HWs to IMCI in Burundi. This indicates that a substantial proportion of children do not receive early and appropriate care, especially that pertaining to malnutrition. This alarming situation calls for strong action by actors committed to child health in the country.

Background: The Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy was adopted in Burundi in 2003. Our aim was to evaluate to what extent the malnutrition component of the IMCI guidelines is implemented at health facilities level. Methods: We carried out direct observations of curative outpatient consultations for children aged 6–59 months in 90 health centres selected randomly. We considered both the child and the health worker (HW) as units of analysis and used bivariate analysis to explore characteristics of HWs associated with tasks systematically or never performed. Results: A total of 514 consultations carried out by 145 HWs were observed. Among the 250 children under two years, less than 30% were asked questions on breastfeeding. None of them had all seven nutrition-related questions asked to their caregivers and none of the 200 children over the age of two years had all five nutrition-related questions asked to their caregivers. Only 13 cases (3%) had all of the six examinations/tasks (weight, height/length, mid-upper arm circumference, oedema, filling in and discussing the growth curve and calculating the weight for height z-score) performed as part of their care. 393 cases (76%) reported that they had not being given any nutrition advice. With regards to HWs, among 99 of them who had received children under two, only 21 (21.2%)[14.2–30.5%) systematically asked the question regarding 'ongoing breastfeeding'. Only 56 (38.6%)[31–46.9%] weighed or discussed the weight taken prior the consultation for each child they reviewed, only 38 (26.2%)[19.6–34.1%] measured the height/length or discussed it for each child reviewed and 23 (15.9%)[10.7–22.8%] performed (systematically?) the WHZ-score. More than 50% never gave nutrition advices to any child reviewed. HWs who daily manage severe acute malnutrition were the most likely to systematically ask the question regarding 'ongoing breastfeeding' and to perform a 'weight examination'. Those who had not received supervision visit on the topic of malnutrition predominantly never performed a 'weight examination'. The 'height/length' examination' was predominantly performed by female HWs and those who have 'contract with the government. Conclusion: This study has found poor compliance by HWs to IMCI in Burundi. This indicates that a substantial proportion of children do not receive early and appropriate care, especially that pertaining to malnutrition. This alarming situation calls for strong action by actors committed to child health in the country.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. District hospitals (DHs) play a central role in district-based health systems, and their relation with vertical programmes is very important. Studies on the impact of vertical programmes on DHs are rare. This study aims to fill this gap. Its purpose is to analyse the interaction between the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) and DHs in Cameroon, especially its effects on the human resources, routine health information system (HIS) and technical capacity at the hospital level. METHODS: We used a multiple case study methodology. From the Adamaoua Region, we selected two DHs, one public and one faith-based. We collected qualitative and quantitative data through document reviews, semi-structured interviews with district and regional staff, and observations in the two DHs. RESULTS: The NTCP trained and supervised staff, designed and provided tuberculosis data collection and reporting tools, and provided anti-tuberculosis drugs, reagents and microscopes to DHs. However, these interventions were limited to the hospital units designated as Tuberculosis Diagnostic and Treatment Centres and to staff dedicated to tuberculosis control activities. The NTCP installed a parallel HIS that bypassed the District Health Services. The DH that performs well in terms of general hospital care and that is well managed was successful in tuberculosis control. Based on the available resources, the two hospitals adapt the organisation of tuberculosis control to their settings. The management teams in charge of the District Health Services are not involved in tuberculosis control. In our study, we identified several opportunities to strengthen the local health system that have been missed by the NTCP and the health system managers. CONCLUSION: Well-managed DHs perform better in terms of tuberculosis control than DHs that are not well managed. The analysis of the effects of the NTCP on the human resources, HIS and technical capacity of DHs indicates that the NTCP supports, rather than strengthens, the local health system. Moreover, there is potential for this support to be enhanced. Positive synergies between the NTCP and district health systems can be achieved if opportunities to strengthen the district health system are seized. The question remains, however, of why managers do not take advantage of the opportunities to strengthen the health system.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis remains a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. District hospitals (DHs) play a central role in district-based health systems, and their relation with vertical programmes is very important. Studies on the impact of vertical programmes on DHs are rare. This study aims to fill this gap. Its purpose is to analyse the interaction between the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) and DHs in Cameroon, especially its effects on the human resources, routine health information system (HIS) and technical capacity at the hospital level. METHODS: We used a multiple case study methodology. From the Adamaoua Region, we selected two DHs, one public and one faith-based. We collected qualitative and quantitative data through document reviews, semi-structured interviews with district and regional staff, and observations in the two DHs. RESULTS: The NTCP trained and supervised staff, designed and provided tuberculosis data collection and reporting tools, and provided anti-tuberculosis drugs, reagents and microscopes to DHs. However, these interventions were limited to the hospital units designated as Tuberculosis Diagnostic and Treatment Centres and to staff dedicated to tuberculosis control activities. The NTCP installed a parallel HIS that bypassed the District Health Services. The DH that performs well in terms of general hospital care and that is well managed was successful in tuberculosis control. Based on the available resources, the two hospitals adapt the organisation of tuberculosis control to their settings. The management teams in charge of the District Health Services are not involved in tuberculosis control. In our study, we identified several opportunities to strengthen the local health system that have been missed by the NTCP and the health system managers. CONCLUSION: Well-managed DHs perform better in terms of tuberculosis control than DHs that are not well managed. The analysis of the effects of the NTCP on the human resources, HIS and technical capacity of DHs indicates that the NTCP supports, rather than strengthens, the local health system. Moreover, there is potential for this support to be enhanced. Positive synergies between the NTCP and district health systems can be achieved if opportunities to strengthen the district health system are seized. The question remains, however, of why managers do not take advantage of the opportunities to strengthen the health system.