Promoting anti-corruption, transparency and accountability in the recruitment and promotion of health workers to safeguard health outcomes

Abstract

Background: Human Resources for Health are a core building block of a health system, playing a crucial role in improving health outcomes. While the existing literature has examined various forms of corruption that affect the health sector, few articles have examined the role and impact of corruption in the recruitment and promotion of health-workers.Objectives: This study reviews the role of corrupt practices such as nepotism, bribery and sextortion in health-worker recruitment and promotion and their implications for health systems.Methods: The study is based on an interdisciplinary non-systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles in the public health/medicine and political science literature, complemented with the 'grey' literature such as technical reports and working papers. Results: Political and personal ties, rather than merit are often factors in the recruitment and promotion of health-workers in many countries. This results in the employment or promotion of poorly qualified or unsuitable workers, with negative implications for health outcomes. Conclusion: Corrupt practices in health-worker recruitment and promotion 'set the tone' for other forms of corruption such as absenteeism, embezzlement, theft and bid-rigging to flourish, as those recruited corruptly can collude for nefarious purposes. On the other hand, merit-based recruitment is important for curbing corruption. Corrupt recruitment practices have deleterious effects on health-worker motivation and retention, quality and competency, citizens' trust in health services and health outcomes. Whereas international law and policy such as the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the WHO Handbook on Monitoring and Evaluation of Human Resources for Health state that recruitment of public officers and health workers respectively should be done in a transparent and accountable manner, more research is needed to inform policies on merit-based recruitment. ARTICLE HISTORY

COVID-19 Pandemic Is About More than Health: A State of Governance Challenges in Bangladesh

“…Corruption is a natural effect of poor governance, and the issue of corruption in the health sector is widespread in Bangladesh (Naher et al, 2020; Rose et al, 2014). Kirya (2020) argues that ‘anti-corruption, transparency and accountability’ (p. 1) are crucial to constructing healthy, resilient and inclusive society. Enormous governance challenges prevail for the Bangladesh government in implementing its strategic plan in ensuing better health services.…”

Transparency, accountability, and governance: a literature review in the context of public hospitals

“…The theme of accountability is referred in several of the selected studies, but in eleven of these articles it presents a more specific focus (Beşciu, 2016;Du et al, 2015;Kirya, 2020;Mattei, Mitra, Vrangbaek, Neby, & Byrkjeflot, 2013;Panzer 1994;Zehir et al 2016).…”

“…Carey and Dor (2020) evaluated the responses of hospitals to public reports on their charges for hospitalisation services. In another perspective, Kirya (2020) invokes transparency and responsibility to combat corruption and nepotism practises in the recruitment of health workers.…”

Mapping the distribution of euphemisms across taboo themes in Swahili

“…Perhaps due to its outcomes in society, the issue appears in the list of themes that should not be discussed openly. Due to bribery, many qualified people have been denied access to employment while the unqualified get jobs (Kirya, 2020). Similarly, the act has caused many people's rights to be denied (Minkailou & Kone, 2021).…”