title: United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: augmenting the role of health professional associations.
abstract: The present study aimed to assess changes in the organizational capacity of health professional associations (HPAs) before and after a structured capacity building intervention, which included strategic investment of resources at institutional and technical levels. Self-assessments of organizational capacity were conducted by seven HPAs from low-resource countries involved in the FIGO Leadership in Obstetrics and Gynecology for Impact and Change (LOGIC) Initiative in Maternal and Newborn Health. The self-assessment tool comprised a questionnaire focusing on five core organizational dimensions, completed through a participatory and externally facilitated process. Differences were assessed using the two-sided sign test. All seven HPAs made improvements, with gains in an overall index (P=0.017) and in the specific dimensions of culture (P=0.016), operational capacity (P=0.016), performance (P=0.03), and functions (P=0.016). Increased capacity contributed to the ability of each HPA to enhance their credibility and assume leadership in national efforts to improve maternal and newborn health.
authors.affiliation: Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Electronic address: lperron@sogc.com.
authors.forename: Liette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perron
authors.affiliation: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, London, UK.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vander Plaetse
authors.affiliation: International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, London, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007229:Infant Welfare; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007390:International Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007857:Leadership; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014480:United Nations
keywords: Africa; Asia; FIGO LOGIC initiative; Health professional associations; Maternal and newborn health; Millennium Development Goals; Organizational capacity building