Abstract
BackgroundThe ‘human resources for health’ crisis has highlighted the need for more health (care) professionals and led to an increased interest in health professional education, including master’s degree programmes. The number of these programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is increasing, but questions have been raised regarding their relevance, outcome and impact. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the outcomes and impact of health-related master’s degree programmes.MethodsWe searched the databases Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, Psychinfo and Cochrane (1999 - November 2011) and selected websites. All papers describing outcomes and impact of health-related Master programmes were included. Three reviewers, two for each article, extracted data independently. The articles were categorised by type of programme, country, defined outcomes and impact, study methods used and level of evidence, and classified according to outcomes: competencies used in practice, graduates’ career progression and impact on graduates’ workplaces and sector/society.ResultsOf the 33 articles included in the review, most originated from the US and the UK, and only one from a low-income country. The programmes studied were in public health (8), nursing (8), physiotherapy (5), family practice (4) and other topics (8). Outcomes were defined in less than one third of the articles, and impact was not defined at all. Outcomes and impact were measured by self-reported alumni surveys and qualitative methods. Most articles reported that competencies learned during the programme were applied in the workplace and alumni reported career progression or specific job changes. Some articles reported difficulties in using newly gained competencies in the workplace. There was limited evidence of impact on the workplace. Only two articles reported impact on the sector. Most studies described learning approaches, but very few described a mechanism to ensure outcome and impact of the programme.ConclusionsEvidence suggests that graduates apply newly learned competencies in the field and that they progress in their career. There is a paucity of well-designed studies assessing the outcomes and impact of health-related master’s degree programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Studies of such programmes should consider the context and define outcomes and impact.
Highlights
The ‘human resources for health’ crisis has highlighted the need for more health professionals and led to an increased interest in health professional education, including master’s degree programmes
It was questioned whether training of higher level cadres in public health prepared graduates with competencies that are relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) [4,5,6], and in high-income countries [7,8]
We describe the intervention logic and the context of the programmes, the target groups, the contents, the learning approaches and mechanisms to ensure the achievement of outcome and impact
Summary
The ‘human resources for health’ crisis has highlighted the need for more health (care) professionals and led to an increased interest in health professional education, including master’s degree programmes The number of these programmes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is increasing, but questions have been raised regarding their relevance, outcome and impact. Many publications have addressed the need to train more health workers to meet the human resources for health crisis [1,2,3] including the shortage of higher cadre staff in public health [3] It was questioned whether training of higher level cadres in public health prepared graduates with competencies that are relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) [4,5,6], and in high-income countries [7,8]. Outcomes and impact are not easy to measure, and researchers have to decide what variables to measure, what evaluation methods to use, and how to take into consideration the context in which graduates apply their newly learned competencies to achieve the desired outcome and impact
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