Assessing human capital needs: A study of capacity development among community-based First Nations Health Managers.

摘要

This study examined First Nations Health Managers' needs for capacity development to determine what initiatives and/or processes are required to facilitate the achievement of adequate management capacity. The review of literature examined topics that were central to the theoretical foundations of human capital development including human capital theory, human resource development theory, community development theory, organizational capability, mentoring, mentoring in Aboriginal culture, education and training. This study falls within exploratory research and uses a qualitative case-study approach. The data analyzed for this study integrated semi-structured interviews designed by the researcher with document reviews conducted by the researcher. The study concluded that the health managers' learning needs could be linked to six major themes which are: workload and expectations, organizational processes, physical resources, relationship building, competency development and community health service delivery. Recommendations for future research include repeating the study with other employee groups, including a direct observation component, carrying out a pilot project to implement the model, and validating the model with health managers who have left their positions.