PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Bolan, Nancy AU - Cowgill, Karen D. AU - Walker, Karen AU - Kak, Lily AU - Shaver, Theresa AU - Moxon, Sarah AU - Lincetto, Ornella TI - Human Resources for Health-Related Challenges to Ensuring Quality Newborn Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review AID - 10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00362 DP - 2021 Mar 31 TA - Global Health: Science and Practice PG - 160--176 VI - 9 IP - 1 4099 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/1/160.short 4100 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/1/160.full SO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT2021 Mar 31; 9 AB - Key MessagesWe mapped the evidence of human resources for health (HRH)-related challenges to providing quality facility-based newborn care into 10 categories: Lack of HRH data and monitoringPoor health worker (HW) preservice educationLack of HW access to evidence-based guidelines, continuing education, and continuing professional developmentInsufficient and inequitable distribution of HWs and heavy workloadPoor retention, absenteeism, and rotation of experienced staffPoor work environment, including low salaryLimited and poor supervisionLow morale, motivation, and attitude, and job dissatisfactionWeaknesses of policy, regulations, management, leadership, governance, and fundingStructural and contextual barriersMapping the evidence provided useful insight to inform recently published World Health Organization strategies to systematically address the challenges and strengthen HRH for newborn care globally and nationally.The thematic analysis process also underscored the complicated interactions between different types of HRH challenges.Findings support new strategies for action to address these challenges.Background:A critical shortage of health workers with needed maternal and newborn competencies remains a major challenge for the provision of quality care for mothers and newborns, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Supply-side challenges related to human resources for health (HRH) worsen shortages and can negatively affect health worker performance and quality of care. This review scoped country-focused sources to identify and map evidence on HRH-related challenges to quality facility-based newborn care provision by nurses and midwives.Methods:Evidence for this review was collected iteratively, beginning with pertinent World Health Organization documents and extending to articles identified via database and manual reference searches and country reports. Evidence from country-focused sources from 2000 onward was extracted using a data extraction tool that was designed iteratively; thematic analysis was used to map the 10 categories of HRH challenges.Findings:A total of 332 peer-reviewed articles were screened, of which 22 met inclusion criteria. Fourteen additional sources were added from manual reference search and gray literature sources. Evidence has been mapped into 10 categories of HRH-related challenges: (1) lack of health worker data and monitoring; (2) poor health worker preservice education; (3) lack of HW access to evidence-based practice guidelines, continuing education, and continuing professional development; (4) insufficient and inequitable distribution of health workers and heavy workload; (5) poor retention, absenteeism, and rotation of experienced staff; (6) poor work environment, including low salary; (7) limited and poor supervision; (8) low morale, motivation, and attitude, and job dissatisfaction; (9) weaknesses of policy, regulations, management, leadership, governance, and funding; and (10) structural and contextual barriers.Conclusion:The mapping provides needed insight that informed new World Health Organization strategies and supporting efforts to address the challenges identified and strengthen human resources for neonatal care, with the ultimate goal of improving newborn care and outcomes.