Migration of Health Workers


Book Description

The adoption by WHO's Member States of the Global Code of Practice in the International Recruitment of Health Personnel, and the implementation of it by so many countries, represent two of the biggest steps in recent years towards solving the shortage of health-care workers around the world. The countries' response has been a momentous achievement. Now, a third big step is being taken with the publication of this book. It underlines WHO's unwavering commitment to supporting the implementation of the Code and provides a wide range of detailed examples from the countries themselves of how they are tackling the many complex issues involved. It provides not just numerous insights into progress but also gives other countries valuable guidance and recommendations on how they, too, can implement the Code. Countries are encouraged to learn from the shared experiences, domestic solutions and multi-lateral cooperation described in this book, and move ahead to support and advance the Code's aspirational principles. By doing so, they also strengthen the campaign towards Universal Health Care -- a campaign that requires innovative solutions to the health workforce shortage in order to be successful. The crux of the Code is the development of human resources for health through all aspects of education, improved retention and fair recruitment practices while encouraging technical collaboration and financial support. WHO is playing a leading role in these initiatives and stands ready to assist all its Member States in implementing the Code. We strongly recommend this book to health policy-makers and decision-takers in governments, nongovernmental organizations and other partners and stakeholders, including civil society. They will find it an indispensable guide to a better future for health-care personnel and the people they serve.




The International Migration of Health Workers


Book Description

This volume provides the first detailed overview of the growing phenomenon of the international migration of skilled health workers. The contributors focus on who migrates, why they migrate, what the outcomes are for them and their extended families, what their experiences in the workforce are, and ultimately, the extent to which this expanding migration flow has a relationship to development issues. It therefore provides new, interdisciplinary reflections on such core issues as brain drain, gender roles, remittances and sustainable development at a time when there has never been greater interest in the migration of health workers.




Recent Trends in International Migration of Doctors, Nurses and Medical Students


Book Description

This report describes recent trends in the international migration of doctors and nurses in OECD countries. Over the past decade, the number of doctors and nurses has increased in many OECD countries, and foreign-born and foreign-trained doctors and nurses have contributed to a significant extent. New in-depth analysis of the internationalisation of medical education shows that in some countries (e.g. Israel, Norway, Sweden and the United States) a large and growing number of foreign-trained doctors are people born in these countries who obtained their first medical degree abroad before coming back. The report includes four case studies on the internationalisation of medical education in Europe (France, Ireland, Poland and Romania) as well as a case study on the integration of foreign-trained doctors in Canada.




Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries


Book Description

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.










Health Workforce Policies in OECD Countries


Book Description

Foreword and Acknowledgments -- Executive summary -- Key findings -- Analytical framework of health labour markets -- Trends in health labour markets and policy priorities to address workforce issues -- Education and training for doctors and nurses: What's happening with numerus clausus policies? -- Trends and policies affecting the international migration of doctors and nurses to OECD countries -- Geographic imbalances in the distribution of doctors and health care services in OECD countries -- Skills use and skills mismatch in the health sector: What do we know and what can be done




Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health


Book Description

Since 1965 the foreign-born population of the United States has swelled from 9.6 million or 5 percent of the population to 45 million or 14 percent in 2015. Today, about one-quarter of the U.S. population consists of immigrants or the children of immigrants. Given the sizable representation of immigrants in the U.S. population, their health is a major influence on the health of the population as a whole. On average, immigrants are healthier than native-born Americans. Yet, immigrants also are subject to the systematic marginalization and discrimination that often lead to the creation of health disparities. To explore the link between immigration and health disparities, the Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity held a workshop in Oakland, California, on November 28, 2017. This summary of that workshop highlights the presentations and discussions of the workshop.




Evaluation of PEPFAR's Contribution (2012-2017) to Rwanda's Human Resources for Health Program


Book Description

Since 2004, the U.S. government has supported the global response to HIV/AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Republic of Rwanda, a PEPFAR partner country since the initiative began, has made gains in its HIV response, including increased access to and coverage of antiretroviral therapy and decreased HIV prevalence. However, a persistent shortage in human resources for health (HRH) affects the health of people living with HIV and the entire Rwandan population. Recognizing HRH capabilities as a foundational challenge for the health system and the response to HIV, the Government of Rwanda worked with PEPFAR and other partners to develop a program to strengthen institutional capacity in health professional education and thereby increase the production of high-quality health workers. The Program was fully managed by the Government of Rwanda and was designed to run from 2011 through 2019. PEPFAR initiated funding in 2012. In 2015, PEPFAR adopted a new strategy focused on high-burden geographic areas and key populations, resulting in a reconfiguration of its HIV portfolio in Rwanda and a decision to cease funding the Program, which was determined no longer core to its programming strategy. The last disbursement for the Program from PEPFAR was in 2017. Evaluation of PEPFAR's Contribution (2012-2017) to Rwanda's Human Resources for Health Program describes PEPFAR-supported HRH activities in Rwanda in relation to programmatic priorities, outputs, and outcomes and examines, to the extent feasible, the impact on HRH and HIV-related outcomes. The HRH Program more than tripled the country's physician specialist workforce and produced major increases in the numbers and qualifications of nurses and midwives. Partnerships between U.S. institutions and the University of Rwanda introduced new programs, upgraded curricula, and improved the quality of teaching and training for health professionals. Growing the number, skills, and competencies of health workers contributed to direct and indirect improvements in the quality of HIV care. Based on the successes and challenges of the HRH program, the report recommends that future investments in health professional education be designed within a more comprehensive approach to human resources for health and institutional capacity building, which would strengthen the health system to meet both HIV-specific and more general health needs. The recommendations offer an aspirational framework to reimagine how partnerships are formed, how investments are made, and how the effects of those investments are documented.




Nurses on the Move


Book Description

South African nurses care for patients in London, hospitals recruit Filipino nurses to Los Angeles, and Chinese nurses practice their profession in Ireland. In every industrialized country of the world, patients today increasingly find that the nurses who care for them come from a vast array of countries. In the first book on international nurse migration, Mireille Kingma investigates one of today's most important health care trends. The personal stories of migrant nurses that fill this book contrast the nightmarish existences of some with the successes of others. Health systems in industrialized countries now depend on nurses from the developing world to address their nursing shortages. This situation raises a host of thorny questions. What causes nurses to decide to migrate? Is this migration voluntary or in some way coerced? When developing countries are faced with nurse vacancy rates of more than 40 percent, is recruitment by industrialized countries fair play in a competitive market or a new form of colonialization? What happens to these workers—and the patients left behind—when they migrate? What safeguards will protect nurses and the patients they find in their new workplaces? Highlighting the complexity of the international rules and regulations now being constructed to facilitate the lucrative trade in human services, Kingma presents a new way to think about the migration of skilled health-sector labor as well as the strategies needed to make migration work for individuals, patients, and the health systems on which they depend.