Coordinated health and human resources development : report of a WHO study group [meeting held in Geneva from 6 to 10 November 1989]

Abstract

Explores the theory and practice of coordinated health and human resources development as a concept that can help guard against the production of inappropriate categories or numbers of health personnel. Addressed to health policy-makers, educators, administrators, and planners, the report concentrates on what can be done to make education and training programmes more directly responsive to priority needs in the health services. The importance of coordination in the planning and management of the health workforce is also considered. The most extensive section reviews findings from twenty-five case studies reported from seventeen countries. Each study provides a brief overview of the country concerned and the mechanisms affecting personnel planning, production, management and distribution, followed by examples of how the mechanisms have worked in practice. Mechanisms described include shifts in authority from the national to the provincial levels, changes in medical and nursing curricula, the use of national workshops and continuing education courses, and the development of model pilot projects. An analysis of these case studies allows the identification of twelve major problem areas that have made it especially difficult to align education and training policies with the needs of the health services. The report concludes with a series of recommendations to WHO and to countries on the further promotion of coordinated health and human resources development