This book analyses how the current regulatory processes and practices related to key aspects of the management of the health professions may facilitate or inhibit the development of effective responses to challenges facing health care systems in Europe. The authors document how health care systems in Europe are confronting existing challenges in relation to the health workforce and identify the strategies that are likely to be most effective in optimizing the management of health professionals in the future.

What are public health services? Countries across Europe understand what they are or what they should include differently. This study describes the experiences of nine countries detailing the ways they have opted to organize and finance public health services and train and employ their public health workforce. It covers England France Germany Italy the Netherlands Slovenia Sweden Poland and the Republic of Moldova and aims to give insights into current practice that will support decision-makers in their efforts to strengthen public health capacities and services. Each country chapter captures the historical background of public health services and the context in which they operate; sets out the main organizational structures; assesses the sources of public health financing and how it is allocated; explains the training and employment of the public health workforce; and analyses existing frameworks for quality and performance assessment. The study reveals a wide range of experience and variation across Europe and clearly illustrates two fundamentally different approaches to public health services: integration with curative health services (as in Slovenia or Sweden) or organization and provision through a separate parallel structure (Republic of Moldova). The case studies explore the context that explain this divergence and its implications. This study is the result of close collaboration between the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the WHO Regional Office for Europe Division of Health Systems and Public Health. It accompanies two other Observatory publications Organization and financing of public health services in Europe and The role of public health organizations in addressing public health problems in Europe: the case of obesity alcohol and antimicrobial resistance (both forthcoming).

This insightful Research Handbook delivers a comprehensive analysis of the significant contemporary trends and issues affecting human resource management (HRM) for health care, and their subsequent impact on individuals, organisations and national health services. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Health service human resources are key determinants of health service performance. The human resource is the largest and most expensive input into health care, yet it can be the most challenging to develop. This book examines some of the major challenges facing health care professions in Europe and the potential responses to these challenges. The book analyses how the current regulatory processes and practices related to key aspects of the management of the health professions may facilitate or inhibit the development of effective responses to challenges facing health care systems in Europe. The authors document how health care systems in Europe are confronting existing challenges in relation to the health workforce and identify the strategies that are likely to be most effective in optimizing the management of health professionals in the future. Human Resources for Health in Europe is key reading for health policy makers and postgraduates taking courses in health services management, health policy and health economics. It is also of interest to human resource professionals. Contributors: Carl Afford, Rita Baeten, James Buchan, Anna Dixon, Carl-Ardy Dubois, Sigrún Gunnarsdóttir, Elisabeth Kachur, Karl Krajic, Suszy Lessof, Ann Mahon, Alan Maynard, Martin McKee, Ellen Nolte, Anne Marie Rafferty, Charles Shaw, Bonnie Sibbald, Ruth Young.

This handbook offers health managers, researchers and policy makers a comprehensive and standard reference for monitoring and evaluating human resources for health. It brings together an analytical framework with strategy options for improving the health workforce information and evidence base, as well as country experiences to highlight approaches that have worked. It is a joint publication of the World Health Organization, World Bank and United States Agency for International Development.--Publisher's description.

This authoritative, state-of-the-art reference collection addresses the main issues and core debates related to gender and healthcare in one accessible volume. This essential guide to an area of increasing interest provides a critical overview of debates as well as practical guidance on how to bring gender perspectives to the heart of international health policy, practice and research.

Reliable information on how health service strategies affect the poor is in short supply. In an attempt to redress the imbalance, 'Improving Health Service Delivery in Developing Countries' presents evidence on strategies for strengthening health service delivery, based on systematic reviews of the literature, quantitative and qualitative analyses of existing data, and seven country case studies. The authors also explore how changes in coverage of different health services affect each other on the national level. Finally, the authors explain why setting international targets for health services has been not been successful and offer an alternative approach based on a specific country's experience.The book's findings are clear and hopeful: There are many ways to improve health services. Measuring change and using information to guide decisions and inform stakeholders are critically important for successful implementation. Asking difficult questions, using information intelligently, and involving key stakeholders and institutions are central to the "learning and doing" practices that underlie successful health service delivery.

Nursing in the European Union demonstrates how the European Union (EU) has refashioned the nursing world throughout the Member States via its power in many other policy domains. Volume 1 focused on the EU's impact on nursing education, regulation, and research endeavours. This volume focuses on real-life situations and problems EU nurses face?wages, stress, work environments, and dispute resolution?and places them in a comparative perspective.In this unique work, Sondra Z. Koff develops a profile of nurses' workplaces, highlighting similarities and diversities, challenges, and nurses' opinions. Though it has limited formal authority in the health and health care sectors, the EU has had a significant impact on the working life of these practitioners in areas such as employment options, industrial relations and their outcomes, organizational and environmental features of nurses' workplaces, collective action, and more.New policies and legalities are regulating the production, distribution, practices, and organization of nursing according to supranational standards. Koff helps to fill a gap in the literature, given the dearth of comparative, cross-national, book-length studies of the nursing profession. By adopting a framework focused on an institution, policies, and politics, Koff addresses these topics from the perspective of multiple actors, both national and international.

This publication addresses the role of the biomedical engineer in the development, regulation, management, training, and use of medical devices. The first part of the book looks at the biomedical engineering profession globally as part of the health workforce: global numbers and statistics, professional classification, general education and training, professional associations, and the certification process. The second part addresses all of the different roles that the biomedical engineer can have in the life cycle of the technology, from research and development, and innovation, mainly undertaken in academia; the regulation of devices entering the market; and the assessment or evaluation in selecting and prioritizing medical devices (usually at national level); to the role they play in the management of devices from selection and procurement to safe use in healthcare facilities. The annexes present comprehensive information on academic programs, professional societies, and relevant WHO and UN documents related to human resources for health as well as the reclassification proposal for ILO. This publication can be used to encourage the availability, recognition, and increased participation of biomedical engineers as part of the health workforce, particularly following the recent adoption of the recommendations of the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, the WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health, and the establishment of national health workforce accounts. The document also supports the aim of reclassification of the role of the biomedical engineer as a specific engineer that supports the development, access, and use of medical devices within the national, regional, and global occupation classification system.