Health human resources


Health human resources – also known as human resources for health or health workforce – is defined as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes", according to World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as one of the six core building blocks of a health system. They include physicians, nursing professionals, pharmacists, midwives, dentists, allied health professions, community health workers, and other social service and health care providers.
Health human resources are further composed of health management and support personnel: those who do not provide direct patient care but add important value to enhance health system efficiency, effectiveness and equity. They include health services managers, medical records and health information technicians, health economists, health supply chain managers, medical secretaries, facility maintenance workers, and others.
The field of HHR deals with issues such as workforce planning and policy evaluation, recruitment and retention, training and development of skilled personnel, performance management, health workforce information systems, and research on health workforce strengthening. Raising awareness of the critical role of human resources in the health care sector - particularly as exacerbated by health labour shortages stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic - has placed the health workforce as one of the highest priorities of the global health agenda.

Global situation

The World Health Organization raised the profile of HHR as a global health concern with its landmark 2006 published estimate of a shortage of almost 4.3 million physicians, midwives, nurses and support workers to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The situation was declared on World Health Day 2006 as a "health workforce crisis" – the result of decades of underinvestment in health worker education, training, wages, working environment and management. The WHO currently projects a global shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, mostly in low- and lower-middle income countries.
Shortages of skilled for health workers are also reported in many specific care areas. For example, there is an estimated shortage of 1.18 million mental health professionals, including 55,000 psychiatrists, 628,000 nurses in mental health settings, and 493,000 psychosocial care providers needed to treat mental disorders in 144 low- and middle-income countries. Shortages of skilled birth attendants in many developing countries remains an important barrier to improving maternal health outcomes. Physiotherapists and rehabilitation medical specialists have been found to be less available in low- and middle-income countries, despite greater need.
Many countries, both developed and developing, report geographical maldistribution of skilled health workers leading to shortages in rural and underserved areas.
The advancement of global health security and universal health coverage is hampered by a number of serious issues facing the global health workforce. The anticipated scarcity of health workers is a significant problem. The World Health Organization projects that by 2030, there will be a shortage of 18 million health workers worldwide, with low- and lower-middle-income nations bearing a disproportionate share of this burden. The provision of necessary health services is directly impacted by this scarcity, which also hinders the goal of establishing UHC. Access to healthcare is severely limited in many locations due to a shortage of skilled health personnel, particularly for disadvantaged populations.
The unequal distribution of health professionals, which clearly shows an urban-rural gap, is another issue. Health professionals are frequently more concentrated in urban areas, underserving isolated and rural locations. Rural communities suffer from worse health outcomes and unequal access to healthcare as a result of this discrepancy. Closing these disparities requires initiatives aimed at drawing and keeping health professionals in rural regions.
Imbalances in skills make matters more difficult. The requirements of the populace and the health workforce are sometimes at odds in many areas. For instance, there can be an excess of specialists and a deficiency of primary care physicians. This mismatch results in gaps in service delivery and ineffective use of human resources.
These difficulties have been made worse by the COVID-19 outbreak. Burnout, mental health problems, and higher attrition rates have been experienced by health professionals. According to a WHO poll conducted in 2022, stress associated to pandemics caused up to 40% of health personnel to consider quitting their employment. Maintaining healthcare systems requires addressing mental health assistance for healthcare professionals.
The health workforce is profoundly shaped by gender dynamics. Women make up over 70% of the workforce in the health sector worldwide, yet as of 2023, only 25% of leaders in health organisations were female. Healthcare policy formulation and decision-making are impacted by this gender disparity.
There is still a gender pay difference, even in wealthy nations. According to a 2022 study, female doctors make, on average, 24% less than their male colleagues.
There is also clear occupational segregation, with women occupying 90% of nursing positions worldwide while men still predominate in surgery. Career options are restricted by this segmentation, which has its roots in societal conventions. Finally, intersectionality matters because women from minority backgrounds have more obstacles to career progression because of prejudice based on both race and gender.
Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic's persistent effects, shortages, uneven distribution, and skill imbalances are placing a tremendous burden on the world's health workforce. Gender inequality not only presents structural obstacles but also persistently influences the lives and prospects of health workers across the globe. Coordinated international efforts are needed to solve these problems, with an emphasis on advancing gender equality, resolving skill gaps, and making sure that health professionals everywhere have the resources they need to deliver high-quality treatment. The international health community can endeavour to develop a more resilient and equitable health workforce by tackling these issues.
Regular statistical updates on the global health workforce situation are collated by the WHO's Global Health Observatory. However, the evidence base remains fragmented and incomplete, largely related to weaknesses in the underlying human resource information systems within countries.
In order to learn from best practices in addressing health workforce challenges and strengthening the evidence base, an increasing number of HHR practitioners from around the world are focusing on issues such as HHR advocacy, equity, surveillance and collaborative practice. Some examples of global HRH partnerships include:

  • Research

Health workforce research is the investigation of how social, economic, organizational, political and policy factors affect access to health care professionals, and how the organization and composition of the workforce itself can affect health care delivery, quality, clinical effectiveness, equity, and costs.
Many government health departments, academic institutions and related agencies have established research programs to identify and quantify the scope and nature of HHR problems leading to health policy in building an innovative and sustainable health services workforce in their jurisdiction. Some examples of HRH information and research dissemination programs include:
  • journal

  • Training and Development

Training and development are vital, especially in the healthcare sector, as they ensure that the health force remains informed and educated about new advancements and innovations, which enhance patient safety and care. Similarly, by demonstrating to staff members that their professional development is valued, continuous professional development increases job satisfaction and retention and lowers turnover rates. In addition, proficient personnel exhibit greater efficiency and adaptability, augmenting operational efficiency and facilitating healthcare establishments in fulfilling regulatory requirements. Furthermore, a dedication to continuous learning cultivates a climate of creativity and cooperation, which improves healthcare results.
Technological innovations have played a crucial role in the healthcare sector's ongoing growth. Consequently, healthcare companies must maintain their dedication to improving the competencies and expertise of their personnel, particularly in domains that offer a competitive edge. Knowledge management, training, and development are the three main components of organizational growth and development. Training and development, in Maimuna's opinion, are tools that help human capital explore their dexterity; as a result, they are essential to an organization's workforce's productivity. Digital education, if properly designed and implemented, can strengthen health workforce capacity by delivering education to remote areas and enabling continuous learning for health workers. World Health Organization is developing guidelines on digital education for health workforce education and training. The WHO addresses the global health workforce crisis by providing comprehensive guidelines to improve health professional education and training that advocate for substantial educational reforms, including updating curricula, improving tutoring facilities, and revising admission criteria. It emphasizes the importance of increasing both the quantity and quality of healthcare professionals, making certain that they are adequately prepared to address evolving health needs, and highlights the necessity for interaction among the workforce, finance, health, and academic sectors to effectively implement these changes and achieve the overarching goal of developing a more efficient and suitable health workforce.