Effectiveness of training and educational programs for hospital managers: A systematic review

Background: Developing and strengthening the competencies and skills of health care managers is a key objective in many health systems. Selecting adequate training methods, content, and using appropriate criteria for assessing their impact is fundamental for improving their usefulness and effectiveness. Filling an important gap in knowledge, this review assesses the evidence on the effectiveness of different types of training and educational programmes delivered to hospital managers. Methods: In this narrative systematic review, the following electronic databases were searched for literature published between January 1st, 1990 and January 31st, 2019. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Results: In total, 9 articles were included. Results showed that the main topics covered by training programs for hospital managers were: planning, organization and coordination, control and supervision of hospital staff, teamwork, communication, motivation and leadership, monitoring and evaluation, and quality improvement skills. Training in these skills was found to improve managers’ strategic and operational planning abilities, change management and behavioural management methods, and leadership. Conclusions: The examined training programs had a relatively positive effect on the managerial skills, knowledge and competencies of hospital managers. In general, these capacity-building programs focused on developing three types of skills: technical, interpersonal and conceptual. Training programs focused on developing technical skills among managers were more effective than those focused on developing other types of skills. Increased investment and large-scale planning are needed to develop better the knowledge and competencies of hospital managers.