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Health human resources
Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) 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.
The World Health Organization (WHO) 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 (UHC) 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 (WHO) 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.
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Health human resources
Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) 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.
The World Health Organization (WHO) 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 (UHC) 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 (WHO) 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.