Strengthening Health Human Resources Planning Systems Through
Partnership Programs as Efforts to Improve Strengthening National
Health System
Aulia Bahrani Alfi
Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Mulyorejo, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: Human health resources, Partnership approach, Health system.
Abstract: The WHO (2006) stated that health workers can contribute to successful health development by up to 80%.
There are still many health service facilities that do not have the number and quality of Human Resources
that is in accordance with the regulations and standards of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of
Indonesia. The Australian Indonesia Health System Strengthening Program (AIPHSS) is an approach to
strengthening the national health system in accordance with the Ministry of Health program focusing on
Human Resources. The purpose of this study is to describe Pendidikan Jarak Jauh (PJJ) Program one of the
programs AIPHSS in an effort to strengthen the Human Resource Planning system in Indonesia. The design
of this research is a case literature study. The data analysis method used was descriptive analysis. The
results of the study are PJJ program descriptions and the scope of the evaluation: 1) The effectiveness of
distance education programs; 2) the application of ODL learning; 3) the accessibility of the learning system;
and 4) the critical success factors for the continuation of the program. Conclusions from the research are
that distance education is considered to be the best solution for answering the challenge of improving the
qualifications of the health personnel in Indonesia due to its geographical setting and the limited human
resources in health care.
1 INTRODUCTION
Human Health Resources is collects various efforts
in relation to planning, education and training that is
integrated and supports the other sub-divisions, in
order to achieve the highest degree of public health
possible (SKN, 2009). In health human resources,
there are 3 main elements, namely planning,
education and training, and utilisation. Health HR
Planning is a process of estimating the number of
human resources based on the place, skill, and
behaviour needed to provide the appropriate health
services. The education and training of health
personnel is the effort of health procurement in
accordance with the type, quantity and qualifications
that have been planned and the improvement of the
staff’s capabilities in accordance with the needs of
health development. The utilisation of health
personnel is the effort involved in the equitable
utilisation of coaching and the supervision of health
personnel (SKN, 2009). HRH implementation
should be implemented properly because, based on
the WHO report in 2006, it stated that health
workers can contribute in the success of health
developments by up to 80%.
Recent conditions prove that the number and
quality of human health resources available is still
far from ideal. There are still many health service
facilities and institutions such as Puskesmas, District
Health Offices and Hospitals that do not have the
number and quality of Human Resources according
to the rules and standards of the Ministry of Health
of the Republic of Indonesia (Head of Planning and
Budget Bureau, 2013). A study conducted by
Guspianto in 2010 discussed the related ‘Analysis of
Health Policy Needs Planning Scheduling Health
Center in Muaro Jambi District’ and concluded that
the preparation of health human resource needs
planning in relation to the documentation part of the
annual routine activities of Muaro Jambi District
Health Office. Another study by Budiman in 2006
with the title of ‘Health Planning HR Planning in
152
Alfi, A.
Strengthening Health Human Resources Planning Systems Through Partnership Program as Efforts to Improve Strengthening National Health System.
In Proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of the Indonesian Health Economics Association (INAHEA 2017), pages 152-155
ISBN: 978-989-758-335-3
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

Pangkalpinang City 2006-2010’ concluded that
health human resource planning is often done
without proper planning processes. This happens
because of limited human resources, unallocated
funds for planning and human resource information
systems that have not been developed properly.
There are no standard work procedures, as well as
inadequate facilities.
The fundamental objectives of the National
Health System (SKN, 2012) are to improve the
degree of public health and the degree of
government responsiveness while ensuring equity in
the contribution of financing for the fulfillment of
the community expectations related to basic health
services. Some of the above problems are a
challenge for the preparation of the National
Medium Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015-
2019 for the sector of public health. In response to
the existing conditions, the Indonesian Australian
Program for the Strengthening of the Health System
(AIPHSS) is a new approach to strengthening the
national health system in line with the Ministry of
Health of the Republic of Indonesia's programs that
focus on the following four building blocks: Human
Health Resources, Health Financing, Governance
and Leadership and Service Delivery. Based on the
background of the problem, the objective of this
research is to describe Pendidikan Jarah Jauh
Program one of the programs of AIPHSS in an effort
to strengthen the Human Resource Planning system
in Indonesia.
2 METHOD
The design of this research is case-based literature
study. The reference theory obtained through the
research in to the main literature study serves as the
basic foundation of the research implementation.
The methods of collecting the research data is the
documentation method and literature study. The
documentation method is a method used to search
for documents or important data related to the
research, while the literature study method collects
data or sources related to the topics raised in the
study. The type of data used by researchers is
secondary data, obtained from journals, books,
documentation, and the internet. The method of data
analysis used was a descriptive analysis design to
describe the facts followed by analysis.
3 RESULT
Related to the background that discusses the health
human resources available, the results of this study
will focus on one of the work programs of the health
human resources component of Far Distance
Education (PJJ) as an effort to access better
facilities, to improve participation, and to improve
the quality of human resource health. From the
literature search that has been done, the researcher
has not found any studies that examine and discuss
AIPHSS and the PJJ Program. The literature has
only been derived from official bulletin articles
issued by the government. Therefore, the result of
this research is only able to describe PJJ Program
and the evaluation that needs to be done.
In 2013, distance education programs for nursing
and midwifery were conducted by the health
polytechnic college at Kupang, Samarinda and
Sorong. The Australian Government, through the
Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Health System
Strengthening (AIPHSS), provided support for
distance education programs in the NTT Province
conducted in South-West Sumba (SBD) for courses
in obstetrics and in East Flores for nursing. The
program was conducted for two semesters with 87
students enrolled. To improve the quality of the
program, AIPHSS - in cooperation with the Jakarta
State University - conducted a formative evaluation
carried out over 3 months (May - July 2015).
The scope of the evaluation included assessing the:
1. Effectiveness of distance education programs.
2. Applications of ODL learning.
3. Accessibility of the learning system.
4. Critical success factors for the continuation of
the program.
These four assessment points were mapped
within the scope of the six evaluation components:
1) Implementation management; 2) Lecturers; 3);
Educational personnel; 4) Curriculum; 5) Method
and learning media; 6) Evaluation of the learning
outcomes.
4 DISCUSSION
Based on the results of the case studies that have
been conducted related to the scope of the evaluation
of the PJJ Program - one of the AIPHSS programs as
an effort to strengthen human health resources, the
program consists of 1) The effectiveness of distance
education programs; 2) Application learning; 3)
Strengthening Health Human Resources Planning Systems Through Partnership Program as Efforts to Improve Strengthening National
Health System
153

Accessibility of learning system; and 4) critical
success factors for program continuity. The
explanations related to the scope of each evaluation
are as follows:
1. Effectiveness of distance education programs
The implementation of the PJJ program is
expected to be an effective way of overcoming
the problems of quality human resources in
Indonesia today. The concept of effectiveness in
learning in the PJJ program includes several
things. Among them is that the implementation
of the delivery method of education is done
flexibly, with good teaching materials and a
powerful module that can enable self-learning.
Learning by this method makes face-to-face
meetings a support process only when the
students have difficulty understanding the
modules or teaching. This is done on the
initiative of the students. This is because the
weight of distance learning is independent
learning 50%, 30% face to face and online 20%.
The face-to-face learning methods undertaken
by the tutor may include lectures, discussions
and formative evaluations. Online learning is
done in two ways: 1) teleconference and 2)
email. Effectiveness in this program is an
important point in order to achieve the program
objectives.
2. Process Quality and Its Impact on Health
Services (Learning Applications)
The program’s implementation requires the
students to have higher motivation and initiative
compared to other students. High motivation
and initiative in completing the learning will
make the students better able to complete the
evaluations and exam module. Associated with
the impact of the implementation of the
program is a variety of behavioural changes due
to the program such as the initiative to form a
learning group based on geographical
proximity. This allows them to discuss
concepts, complete joint tasks and to exchange
information. In fact, this was often not only
done with fellow students who are involved in
the program but also their colleagues and
doctors in the workplace. Another observed
effect is the improvement in their
communication skills with the patient. The
additional knowledge gained during the
program is considered to be a helpful source of
information in answering the patient’s
questions. The evaluation process related to
motivation and initiative and the process and
impact of the subsequent behavioural changes
should be a concern.
3. Online Learning Accessibility
The beginning of the learning program begins
with an introduction to and training in
information technology as a learning medium
that is accompanied by a guide book. In the
training process, there is a phase of adjustment
by the students. They assume that the use of the
technology is more confusing, unfriendly or
complicated. In addition, another access
problem is bad internet access. This affects the
ability to access websites, video conferences
and other online learning materials. Skills in
using online media and online systems need to
be provided not only for the students but also
lecturers and committees. Some students
complain of difficulty in understanding the
practical material presented using animations,
videos and power point. This shows that the
technique of delivering the material has not
been mastered properly by the tutors and
lecturers, and also the limited availability of
learning media materials. Therefore, quality
improvement is not only given to the students
but also to tutors or lecturers who should get
intensive training and repair the poor internet
access.
4. Determinants of Success and Prerequisites for
Expansion
The PJJ Program is a solution for health
workers to be able to continue working while
studying. Therefore in order for the learning
system to run consistently, there are several
areas that need to be improved in terms of:
a. Program management; the different levels of
experience between the tutors and students
can actually be used to combine theory and
practice during the classroom discussions.
The tutors should have the skills to facilitate
classes in adult education settings and make
use of student experiences to strengthen the
learning experience.
b.
Lecturers and educational staff; improving the
academic standards of tutors through
continuous training is required.
c. Curriculum; some general subjects can be
modified into one independent study subject
that does not take a semester, and in which
the evaluation can be given independently
online when students have completed a
module. The conversion system into a number
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of credits based on student experience is
necessary, in order to take into account their
previous experience. This can shorten the
duration of the program and can bring
efficiency in relation to costs and increase the
probability of replication in other areas.
d. Instructional and media methods: tutors need
to improve their creativity in creating
innovative teaching methods (micro
teaching). This innovation can better develop
if there is regular discussion and sharing
within the teaching team.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Distance education programs are the best solution to
answer the challenge of increasing the number of
qualified health personnel in Indonesia, because of
geographical location and the limited human
resources in health care. Based on the results of the
evaluation, there are several challenges in terms of
implementation and teaching management. There
are also some components that have been
implemented well and give hope that the program
can continue and be applied in other areas with
similar characteristics. Distance education not only
affects students positively, but also stimulates the
emergence of community learning in the health field
by encouraging discussion among friends who can
facilitate knowledge transfer.
REFERENCES
Australian Departement of Foreign and Trade. Australia
Indonesia Partnership for Health Systems
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Foreign and Trade. July 2015;Fifth Six Monthly
Progress Report:117-120
Australian Departement of Foreign and Trade. Penguatan
Sistem Kesehatan Agenda Reformasi. Australian
Departement of Foreign and Trade. September 2014.
Budiman. 2006. Analisis Perencanaan Sumber Daya
Manusia Kesehatan di Puskesmas di Kota
Pangkalpinang 2006-2010. Universitas Indonesia.
Depkes RI. Sistem Kesehatan Nasional Bentuk dan Cara
Penyelenggaraan Pembangunan Kesehatan. 2009.
Departemen Kesehatan RI: Jakarta.
Guspianto. 2011. Analisis Penyusunan Rencana
Kebutuhan Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM) Kesehatan
Di Kabupaten Muaro Jambi. Prosiding Seminar
Nasional Kesehatan. Jurusan Kesmas FKIK UNSOED
Indonesian Ministry of Health, 2013. Kabar AIPHSS Edisi
III : Agustus 2013. Kementerian Kesehatan Republik
Indonesia . Agustus 2013;Edisi III:1-4
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