ArticleBMJ open2023
How capacity building of district health managers has been designed, delivered and evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review and best fit framework analysis.
Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Unravelling the implementation of the technical support from the provincial health administration to district health management teams in the democratic Republic of Congo: a realist evaluation.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Scaling up an integrated primary mental health screening programme in South Africa through co-development and continuous quality improvement.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- The Relevance, Delivery, and Effects of Health Management, Leadership, and Governance Training on Managers' Practices and Organizational Results: A Protocol for an Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Type 2 Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Responsibility without autonomy: exploring the emergence of distributed leadership in a district hospital of the Western Cape province, South Africa.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Money and mental health: a scoping review of financial variables, data sources, and analytical methods.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- How Does the Context Shape the Technical Support from the Provincial Health Administration to District Health Management Teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo? A Realist Evaluation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- A learning health systems approach to scaling up an evidence-based intervention for integrated primary mental healthcare case finding and referral in South Africa.BMJ global health · 2024Article
- From PERFORM to PERFORM2Scale: lessons from scaling-up a health management strengthening intervention to support Universal Health Coverage in three African countries.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- The role of provincial health administration in supporting district health management teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo: eliciting an initial programme theory of a realist evaluation.Health research policy and systems · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesWe aimed to understand how capacity building programmes (CBPs) of district health managers (DHMs) have been designed, delivered and evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa. We focused on identifying the underlying assumptions behind leadership and management CBPs at the district level.
designScoping review. DATA SOURCES: We searched five electronic databases (MEDLINE, Health Systems Evidence, Wiley Online Library, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar) on 6 April 2021 and 13 October 2022. We also searched for grey literature and used citation tracking. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included all primary studies (1) reporting leadership or management capacity building of DHMs, (2) in sub-Saharan Africa, (3) written in English or French and (4) published between 1 January 1987 and 13 October 2022. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Three independent reviewers extracted data from included articles. We used the best fit framework synthesis approach to identify an a priori framework that guided data coding, analysis and synthesis. We also conducted an inductive analysis of data that could not be coded against the a priori framework.
resultsWe identified 2523 papers and ultimately included 44 papers after screening and assessment for eligibility. Key findings included (1) a scarcity of explicit theories underlying CBPs, (2) a diversity of learning approaches with increasing use of the action learning approach, (3) a diversity of content with a focus on management rather than leadership functions and (4) a diversity of evaluation methods with limited use of theory-driven designs to evaluate leadership and management capacity building interventions.
conclusionThis review highlights the need for explicit and well-articulated programme theories for leadership and management development interventions and the need for strengthening their evaluation using theory-driven designs that fit the complexity of health systems.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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