International Journal of Health Planning and Management

OBJECTIVE: To synthesise scientific evidence on interprofessional practice in hospital care and the effects on nursing workload. METHODS: Systematic mixed method review, registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021225627) and conducted in the following databases: CINAHL, Medline, Web of Science and Scopus, with no restrictions on the publication period of the studies. Primary studies were recruited on nurses' interprofessional practice (actions and interactions with other professional categories) in hospitals and the effects on one or more dimensions of nursing workload (quantitative, qualitative, physical, cognitive, emotional, time and variation)...

BACKGROUND: Volunteer health workers play an important, but poorly understood role in the Nigerian health system. We report a study of their lived experiences, enabling us to understand their motivations, the nature of their work, and their relationships with formally employed health workers in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Nigeria, the role of institutional incentives, and the implications for attaining the health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) targets. METHODS: The study used ethnographic observation of PHCs in Enugu State, supplemented with in-depth interviews with volunteers, formally employed health workers and health managers...

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BACKGROUND: Healthcare workforce crises often stem from healthcare workers' inequities. This study provides an overview of the main PHC workforce policy questions related to health equity, offering examples of evidence necessary to support the implementation of policies and strategies that increase equity in the health workforce and access to the PHC workforce and services. METHODS: The equity-related policies in PHC and workforce were linked with the indicators listed in the Global Health Workforce Network Data and Evidence Hub and guidelines for health workforce management...

BACKGROUND: Attention to the healthcare workforce has increased, yet comprehensive information on migrant healthcare workers is missing. This study focuses on migrant healthcare workers' experiences and mobility patterns in the middle of a global health crisis, aiming to explore the capacity for circular migration and support effective and equitable healthcare workforce policy. METHODS: Romanian physicians working in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic served as an empirical case study...

Nursing shortages in the global north are soaring. Of particular concern is the high turnover among bachelor-trained nurses. Nurses tend to leave the profession shortly after graduating, often citing a lack of appreciation and voice in clinical and organisational decision-making. Healthcare organisations seek to increase the sustainability of the nursing workforce by enhancing nursing roles and nurses' organisational positions. In the Netherlands, hospitals have introduced pilots in which nurses craft new roles...

BACKGROUND: Community health worker (CHW) programmes are increasingly being recognized as an important strategy that can help to strengthen comprehensive primary health care (PHC), as the foundation of work towards achieving universal health care (UHC) and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean undertook a situational analysis of CHW programmes in the Region to better understand the current situation and the issues involved...

Despite the many benefits of refugee health workers for health systems, they commonly face challenges integrating into host country workforces. The Global Code of Practice on International Recruitment of Health Personnel, which should monitor and protect migrant health workers, offers little guidance for refugees and research is needed to inform strategy. Based on interviews with 34 refugee health workers and 10 leaders across two settlements supporting populations fleeing the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan since 2013, we describe the governance and social dynamics affecting South Sudanese refugee health worker employment in Uganda...

INTRODUCTION: To address domestic shortages, high-income countries are increasingly recruiting health workers from low- and middle-income countries. This practice is much debated. Proponents underline benefits of return migration and remittances. Critics point in particular to the risk of brain drain. Empirical evidence supporting either position is yet rare. This study contributes to filling this gap in knowledge by reporting high-level stakeholders' perspectives on health system impacts of international migration in general, and active recruitment of health workers in specific, in Colombia, Indonesia, and Jordan...

There is a gap between healthcare workforce research and decision-making in policy and practice. This matters more than ever given the urgent staffing crisis. As a national research network, we held the first ever United Kingdom (UK) forum on healthcare workforce evidence in March 2023. This paper summarises outputs of the event including an emerging UK healthcare workforce agenda and actions to build research capacity and bridge the gap between academics and decisionmakers. The forum brought together over 80 clinical and system leaders, policymakers and regulators with workforce researchers...

Data from the General Medical Council show that the number of female doctors registered to practise in the UK continues to grow at a faster rate than the number of male doctors. Our research critically discusses the impact of this gender-based shift, considering how models of medical training are still ill-suited to supporting equity and inclusivity within the workforce, with particular impacts for women despite this gender shift. Drawing on data from our research project Mapping underdoctored areas: the impact of medical training pathways on NHS workforce distribution and health inequalities, this paper explores the experiences of doctors working in the NHS, considering how policies around workforce and beyond have impacted people's willingness and ability to continue in their chosen career path...

Inadequate numbers, maldistribution, attrition, and inadequate skill-mix are widespread health and care workforce (HCWF) challenges. Intersectoral-inclusive of different government sectors, non-state actors, and the private sector-collaboration and action are foundational to the development of a responsive and sustainable HCWF. This review presents evidence on how to work across sectors to educate, recruit, and retain a sustainable HCWF, highlighting examples of the benefits and challenges of intersectoral collaboration...

BACKGROUND: As global CO2 emissions continue to rise and the 'era of global boiling' takes hold, the health workforce must cope with the challenge of providing care to increasing numbers of patients affected by climate change-related events (e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, floods). In this review, we describe the impacts of these events on the health workforce, and strategies responding to these challenges. METHODS: This rapid systematic review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses and a registered protocol (PROSPERO CRD42023433610)...

BACKGROUND: This scoping review identifies strategies potentially addressing the 'workforce crisis' in rural social care. The increasing global demand for social care has been coupled with widely recognised challenges in recruiting and retaining sufficient staff to provide this care. While the social care workforce crisis is a global phenomenon, it is particularly acute in rural areas. METHODS: The review identified 75 papers which (i) had been published since 2017, (ii) were peer reviewed, (iii) concerned social care, (iv) were relevant to rural settings, (v) referenced workforce shortages, and (vi) made recommendations for ways to address those shortages...

Future global health security requires a health and care workforce (HCWF) that can respond effectively to health crises as well as to changing health needs with ageing populations, a rise in chronic conditions and growing inequality. COVID-19 has drawn attention to an impending HCWF crisis with a large projected shortfall in numbers against need. Addressing this requires countries to move beyond a focus on numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives to consider what kinds of healthcare workers can deliver the services needed; are more likely to stay in country, in rural and remote areas, and in health sector jobs; and what support they need to deliver high-quality services...

In India, an expanding ageing population will become a public health alarm, putting additional pressure on the healthcare system. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the factors associated with outpatient healthcare choices among older Indian adults. We used data from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI, 2017-2018). A total of 34,588 individuals (age 45 years and over) who accessed outpatient healthcare services in the last 12 months during the survey were included in this research...

The United Nations plays an important role in supporting governments to implement nutrition policies and accelerate progress. The development of a common UN nutrition agenda and joint programming are two crucial aspects to improve complementarities and synergies to maximize the nutritional impact. The objective was to identify the success factors and challenges during the planning process of the UN common nutrition agenda in three different contexts. This is a qualitative study, conducted in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal between 2016 and 2018...

INTRODUCTION: Access to health services is a major challenge in developing countries in general, particularly those affected by insecurity. The availability of sufficient quantity and quality of equitably distributed healthcare workforce is a major obstacle, yet it is an essential pillar of an effective and efficient national health system. Burkina Faso, similar to other countries in the Sahel, has been affected by an unprecedented security crisis that has severely tested the functionality of health facilities and the availability of healthcare workforce...

COVID-19 put unprecedented strain on the health and care workforce (HCWF). Yet, it also brought the HCWF to the forefront of the policy agenda and revealed many innovative solutions that can be built upon to overcome persistent workforce challenges. In this perspective, which draws on a Policy Brief prepared for the WHO Fifth Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, we present findings from a scoping review of global emergency workforce strategies implemented during the pandemic and consider what we can learn from them for the long-term sustainability of the HCWF...

During public health emergencies, the work of prevention and control must be normalised, and coordination between economic development and epidemic prevention is crucial. However, in China, there is a lack of research on participatory governance in public health emergencies, particularly from a legal perspective. Existing studies are insufficient in terms of using legal texts and exploring legal governance in a normative sense, and there is an inadequate in-depth exploration of issues such as the legitimacy, path, motivation, and other aspects of participation...