key: cord-0754109-d7l1k72w
authors: Kuhlmann, Ellen; Dussault, Gilles; Correia, Tiago
title: Global health and health workforce development: what to learn from COVID‐19 on health workforce preparedness and resilience
date: 2021-05-29
journal: Int J Health Plann Manage
DOI: 10.1002/hpm.3160
sha: 37a2c24e79776a8fca5f1d529aa087bebf84e47e
doc_id: 754109
cord_uid: d7l1k72w

This Special Issue is dedicated to the healthcare workers across the globe. It draws together studies from different disciplines and regions to identify important lessons learned on weaknesses as well as on opportunities for health workforce innovation through a global health lens. Beginning with strategic reflections on the role of the health workforce and public health competences in responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic crisis, major themes include the protection and experiences of frontline healthcare workers, the role of health systems and policy, planning and management issues, and education and health labour markets. Developed in collaboration with European Public Health Association ‘Health Workforce Research’ section, the Special Issue contributes to the WHO International Year of Health and Care Workers (YHCW) in 2021 in recognition of their dedication to providing care during the COVID‐19 pandemic, even risking their own health and life.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the strongest disruptions in existing routines and every-day practice of healthcare workers globally. In doing so, it has been a revelator of the unpreparedness of healthcare delivery systems all over the world, not only in poorly resourced countries, as was the case of previous epidemics, like Ebola.

It has shown that working in 'professional silos' was not adequate to respond to a crisis of this amplitude. It challenges traditional education contents and strategies, as well as workforce planning and management models. It reveals the limits of governance and policy-making based on national interests, and throws light on inequalities within and between countries, including gendered and racial inequalities. [1] [2] [3] [4] This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

While there are important lessons to learn about what went wrong with the organisation and functioning of health systems, there are also many positive lessons from examples of innovation in the management of the health workforce, and from the resilience of healthcare workers at the front line of the fight to the pandemic. [5] [6] [7] Creating a health workforce ready to respond to national and global public health emergencies of the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic calls for changes in all areas and on all levels of the health workforce. Key conditions include, among others, strengthening collaboration and coordination of a wide range of actors and across sectors, and investment and improvement in education and training. 6 There is a need to ensure effective ways to set in place the protection of human resources for health. 8, 9 This entails actions to prevent physical, mental, and ethical distresses that are inclusive of all of those involved in care delivery, notably also the less-skilled workers and those facing job insecurity. According to WHO data, health workers account for 8% of global COVID-19 cases, and the risk they run of getting infected is more than triple the risk of the general population. 4 The pandemic has highlighted the importance of human resources and has shown, that the 'human face of the health workforce' 10 needs greater attention. As the WHO Regional Director stated: 'We have no COVID-19 response if we do not care for our health-care and essential workers: their needs and well-being must be prioritized. These are exceptional times and they require decision-makers to go an extra mile in supporting the workforce'. 11 He also reminded us, that the 'face of that frontline health worker we so often talk about, is mostly the face of a woman'. 4 This Special Issue is dedicated to the WHO International Year of Health and Care Workers (YHCW) in 2021 in recognition of their dedication to providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, 12 all too often without appropriate protection and support.

This special issue shows that many countries, small and big, poor and rich, have risen up to the challenge. The articles contribute with new knowledge to the health workforce agenda especially in two ways: they introduce a global perspective and connect different disciplines and conceptual approaches, for example, from public health, health systems and policy research, sociology and organisation studies. They combine micro-and macro-level empirical data, and quantitative and qualitative approaches. Four major topics are addressed: the protection and experiences of healthcare workers, the role of health systems and policy, planning and management, and education and health labour markets.

Setting the scene for the creation of a fit-for-purpose future health workforce, two Perspective articles highlight the role of the healthcare workers and of public health competencies in responding to the pandemic crisis. These overviews propose comprehensive changes that cut deeply into existing structures, practices and thinking; one particular challenge is the impact of COVID-19 on health workforce migration and its global dimension (Zapata, Other key areas of health workforce research are education and demand for health workers. While these have always been dynamic areas, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change. One example is medical education in Germany where demand for education in global health and public health is strongly driven by students and reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic (Kreitlow et al.). European public health programmes may improve pandemic preparedness of health professionals, but employment insecurity and lack of rights create adverse effects that must be monitored more carefully (Treviño-Reyna et al.). When looking more closely at the employer side of labour markets, demand for public health competencies has increased, as an analysis of job-postings in the USA pre-and during the pandemic found (Krasna et al.). The research suggests that young health professionals act as strong forces supporting global health and public health competencies. Giving more voice to young health professionals and integrating public health competencies may thus improve preparedness and resilience of the future health workforce.

Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. WOA Institution: MEDIZINISCHE HOCHSCHULE HANNOVER, Blended DEAL: Projekt DEAL.

None declared.

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. 

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a syndemic perspective

SARS-CoV-2 pandemics: the lack of critical reflection addressing short-and long-term challenges

Do we care about who cares?

Statement -International Women's Day: The Need to Build Back Better, with Women in the Lead

The COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to develop more sustainable health workforces

The organisation of resilient health and social care following the COVID-19 pandemic. Opinion of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union

Health Workforce Policy and Management in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Interim Guidance

Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from COVID-19: a systematic review

How are countries supporting their health workers during COVID-19?

Health labour markets and the human face of the health workforce: resilience beyond Covid-19

WHO. Statement -COVID-19: Taking Stock and Moving Forward Together