Framing the Health Workforce Agenda Beyond Economic Growth

Abstract

The fourth Global Forum on Human Resources (HRH) for Health was held in Ireland November 2017. Its Dublin declaration mentions that strategic investments in the health workforce could contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth and are an imperative to shared prosperity. What is remarkable about the investment frame for health workforce development is that there is little debate about the type of economic development to be pursued. This article provides three cautionary considerations and argues that, in the longer term, a perspective beyond the dominant economic frame is required to further equitable development of the global health workforce. The first argument includes the notion that the growth that is triggered may not be as inclusive as proponents say it is. Secondly, there are considerable questions on the possibility of expanding fiscal space in low-income countries for public goods such as health services and the sustainability of the resulting economic growth. Thirdly, there is a growing consideration that economic growth solely expressed as increasing gross domestic product (GDP) might have intrinsic problems in advancing sustainable development outcomes. Economic development goals are a useful approach to guiding health workforce policies and health employment but this depends very much on the context. Alternative development models and policy options, such as a Job Guarantee scheme, need to be assessed, deliberated and tested. This would meet considerable political challenges but a narrow single story and frame of economic development is to be rejected.

Nurse Migration in Australia, Germany, and the UK: A Rapid Evidence Assessment of Empirical Research Involving Migrant Nurses

“…These countries attempt to create mutually beneficial economic and political arrangements with lower-income countries to encourage nurses to migrate from one country to another ( Connell & Brown, 2004 ). In some cases, these bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) aim to address labour rights, mutual recognition of qualifications and integration into destination countries ( van de Pas & Mans, 2018 ). BLAs often contain feedback mechanisms to report comprehensively on the nurse migration process; however, in most cases, these are not well enacted ( van de Pas & Mans, 2018 ).…”

“…In some cases, these bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) aim to address labour rights, mutual recognition of qualifications and integration into destination countries ( van de Pas & Mans, 2018 ). BLAs often contain feedback mechanisms to report comprehensively on the nurse migration process; however, in most cases, these are not well enacted ( van de Pas & Mans, 2018 ). The formation of policy and the experiences of migrant nurses should be feedback to each other.…”

“…For example, the BLA between Germany and the Philippines includes robust protections and involvement for migrant nurses; yet these protections have still not been implemented despite being ratified in 2015. While there are good intentions to include stakeholders in policy development and migration strategies, lack of involvement of migrant nurses and insufficient reporting mechanisms means there is little knowledge about nurses’ experiences of the migration process ( Kordes et al, 2020 ; van de Pas & Mans, 2018 ).…”

Mapping the occupational therapy workforce research worldwide: Study protocol for a scoping review

“…Furthermore, advances in HRH contribute to universal health coverage and global health [3,4], global development policies (e.g. the United Nations' sustainable development goals) [5][6][7], and employment and economic growth, in addition to population health [7,8].…”

Global health workforce research: Comparative analyses of the scientific publication trends in PubMed

“…2 Moreover, advances in the HRH field have been appraised as key for global health and universal health coverage, 3,4 for the achievement of a myriad of sustainable development goals, [5][6][7] and finally towards fostering both employment and economic growth in addition to population health goals. 7,8 Hence, the broad field of HRH has received increased attention worldwide, both in terms of research and development initiatives. 5,6,[9][10][11] Indeed, HRH research has been understood as key to inform needsbased, people centred workforce policies, as well as necessary for their evaluation.…”