Low and middle income countries experience high poverty level and high disease burden. There are inadequate resources to deliver quality healthcare to the people. Health facilities suffer from drug shortage and inadequate skilled health care workers. The providers have to be creative to cope with these health challenges.

The article was a study involving rural health care delivery in Ghana. The study identified the challenge of inadequate resources to in health care delivery. The study aimed at finding out the main coping strategies adopted by health care workers to deliver services. The study observed and interviewed participants from three health care centers. The findings from the research found that providers adopted borrowing, knowledge sharing and multi-tasking strategies in their work.

Primary health care is usually the first point of health care in low and middle income countries such as Ghana. Primary care services at this level focus on the medical and health management of all family members (children and adults). With high poverty line and high disease burden, the medical providers do not have adequate resources to deliver services. There is inadequate skill-mix of health professionals in the country. The health facilities borrow supplies and logistics from each other to address the challenge of shortage. Health centers which lack medical supplies approach other medical facilities to borrow the needed supplies and return them at a later date. Knowledge sharing to manage health care skills shortage is also common. The providers called other colleagues for additional information during clinical case management. The providers also used multi-tasking to address staff inadequacy during service delivery. The providers performed more than one task allowing them to support units with staffing challenges. They voluntarily move from their assigned duty post to support the overburdened areas in service delivery.

Reference

Bawontuo, V. et al., 2021. Rural healthcare providers coping with clinical care Delivery CHALLENGES: Lessons from three health centres in Ghana. BMC Family Practice, 22(1).