Putting health workers at the centre of health system investments in COVID-19 and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the implications of chronic underinvestment in health workforce development, particularly in resource-constrained health systems. Inadequate health workforce diversity, insufficient training and remuneration, and limited support and protection reduce health system capacity to equitably maintain health service delivery while meeting urgent health emergency demands. Applying the Health Worker Life Cycle Approach provides a useful conceptual framework that adapts a health labour market approach to outline key areas and recommendations for health workforce investment-building, managing and optimising-to systematically meet the needs of health workers and the systems they support. It also emphasises the importance of protecting the workforce as a cross-cutting investment, which is especially important in a health crisis like COVID-19. While the global pandemic has spurred intermittent health workforce investments required to immediately respond to COVID-19, applying this 'lifecycle approach' to guide policy implementation and financing interventions is critical to centering health workers as stewards of health systems, thus strengthening resilience to public health threats, sustainably responding to community needs and providing more equitable, patient-centred care

Cocreation in Health Workforce Planning to Shape the Future of the Health Care System in the Philippines.

Background: The Philippines passed landmark legislation in 2019 on universal health coverage, including reforms in the development of its health workforce, an essential building block of responsive health care systems. Health Workforce Planning Cocreation Process: We based our planning process on a model of cocreation defined as sharing power and decision making to solve problems collaboratively and build consensus around action. Through cocreation with policy makers, researchers, and other stakeholders, we performed projection studies on 10 selected health professions and estimated the need for primary care at national and subnational levels, which was the most extensive health workforce projection carried out by the Philippine Department of Health to date. We determined health workforce requirements based on target densities recommended by the World Health Organization and a health needs approach that considered epidemiological and sociodemographic factors. In consultation with stakeholders, we interpreted our analysis to guide recommendations to address issues related to health workforce quantity, skill mix, and distribution. These included a broad range of proposals, including task shifting, expanding scholarships and deployment, reforming health professionals’ education, and pursuing a whole-of-society approach, which together informed the National Human Resources for Health Master Plan. Conclusions: Our cocreation model offers lessons for policy makers, program managers, and researchers in low- and middle-income countries who deal with health workforce challenges. Cocreation led to relationship building between policy makers and researchers who jointly performed the research and identified solutions through open communication and agile coordination. To shape future health care systems that are responsive both during normal times and during crises, cocreation would be essential for evidence-informed policy development and policy-relevant research

Cocreation in Health Workforce Planning to Shape the Future of the Health Care System in the Philippines

Background The Philippines passed landmark legislation in 2019 on universal health coverage, including reforms in the development of its health workforce, an essential building block of responsive health care systems. Health Workforce Planning Cocreation Process We based our planning process on a model of cocreation defined as sharing power and decision making to solve problems collaboratively and build consensus around action. Through cocreation with policy makers, researchers, and other stakeholders, we performed projection studies on 10 selected health professions and estimated the need for primary care at national and subnational levels, which was the most extensive health workforce projection carried out by the Philippine Department of Health to date. We determined health workforce requirements based on target densities recommended by the World Health Organization and a health needs approach that considered epidemiological and sociodemographic factors. In consultation with stakeholders, we interpreted our analysis to guide recommendations to address issues related to health workforce quantity, skill mix, and distribution. These included a broad range of proposals, including task shifting, expanding scholarships and deployment, reforming health professionals’ education, and pursuing a whole-of-society approach, which together informed the National Human Resources for Health Master Plan. Conclusions Our cocreation model offers lessons for policy makers, program managers, and researchers in low- and middle-income countries who deal with health workforce challenges. Cocreation led to relationship building between policy makers and researchers who jointly performed the research and identified solutions through open communication and agile coordination. To shape future health care systems that are responsive both during normal times and during crises, cocreation would be essential for evidence-informed policy development and policy-relevant research

Resumen de Monografias

En esta sección se divulgarán resumen de lostrabajos de investigación monográficosrealizados para optar al título de Licenciadosen Diplomacia y Ciencias Políticas.Para consultar el texto completo de los trabajo,ponerse en contacto escribiendo a la direcciónemail de la Revista o visitando el CEDIHUM dela Facultad de Humanidades y CienciasJurídicas