Table 1 Health cadres addressed by WHO’s OptimizeMNH guidance and their equivalents in Peru and Uganda
Health care cadres – WHO | Peru | Uganda |
|---|---|---|
Non-specialist doctor | General surgeons (Médicos cirujanos generales) Family doctors (Médicos de família) General doctor not certified in voluntary surgical contraception or sterilization/vasectomy (Medico general no calificado en anticoncepción quirúrgica voluntaria) Doctors certified in the provision of contraceptives, including voluntary surgical contraception or sterilization/vasectomy (Médicos calificados en provisión de anticonceptivos incluido anticoncepción quirúrgica voluntaria) | Medical officer |
Advanced level associate clinician | Did not exist in Peru | Did not exist in Uganda |
Associate clinician | Did not exist in Peru | Clinical officer |
Midwife | Midwife (Obstetriz) | Midwife; there was some cross-over with nurses (see below). They had 2 levels – enrolled and registered (see below) |
Nurse | Nurse (Enfermero(a)) | Had 2 main levels of nurses: - enrolled nurses – certificate - registered nurses – diploma (more training than enrolled nurses) Other levels: - nurses with Bachelor’s degree - ‘comprehensive’ or ‘double-trained’ nurse with training in both nursing and midwifery |
Auxiliary nurse | Nurse technician (Técnico de enfermería) | Uganda used to have nurse assistants, but they were no longer being trained or recruited; they still practiced but were no longer officially recognized; it would take time to train this cadre again as training programmes had stopped |
Auxiliary nurse midwife | Did not exist in Peru | Uganda used to have this cadre as part of the auxiliary nursing group but they were no longer recognized |
Lay health worker | Health promoter (Promotores de salud) | Community health worker; however, in Uganda, they tended to be volunteers in the community and may not have had any health training or have been literate |