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Dominican Republic

Over the last several years a number of studies have described the Dominican Republic’s health workforce challenges. After reviewing the findings and recommendations, the IntraHealth-led CapacityPlus project found that all of the studies identified weak human resources management (HRM) systems as a major problem affecting the health workforce. HRM focuses on people—how they fit within a health system; how they are hired, trained, paid, and supported; and how they can be most productive. CapacityPlus is currently helping the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health refine the HRM systems needed to create an enabling environment for the health workforce to perform effectively. The World Bank, USAID, and the Pan American Health Organization are collaborating to support this effort. Activities include carrying out training and coaching for new HRM specialists, serving on a work group to reform the career path for health professions, leading work groups to define performance criteria for hospitals and for three cadres of health workers, and developing a performance management system for hospitals.

Previously, IntraHealth worked in the Dominican Republic to strengthen community-based family planning and reproductive health services. Activities included promoting community health in bateyes, isolated communities originally established to house sugar-cane workers, by training volunteer health promoters; involving consumers in establishing quality services at a clinic serving low-income neighborhoods on the outskirts of Santo Domingo; and training more than 750 NGO community health promoters in family planning/reproductive health.

Current Projects:

Past Projects:

  • PRIME II (funded by USAID, led by IntraHealth)