Comparing Health Workforce Policy during a Major Global Health Crisis: A Critical Conceptual Debate and International Empirical Investigation

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2023-03, Vol.20 (6), p.5035
• Main Authors: Kuhlmann, Ellen, Denis, Jean-Louis, Côté, Nancy, Lotta, Gabriela, Neri, Stefano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Comparative analysis; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Crises; Cultural factors; Education; Gender equality; Global Health; Governance; Health care; Health care policy; Health care reform; Health Policy; Health research; Health services; Health Workforce; Humans; International organizations; Job stress; Labor market; Labor supply; Medical personnel; Medical policy; Medical research; Mental health; Occupational health; Pandemics; Policy analysis; Policy research; Power; Professions; Psychological stress; Public health; Racial inequality; Resilience; Sociocultural factors; Sociology; Stakeholders; Statistical analysis; Workforce; World health
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20065035

The health workforce is central to healthcare systems and population health, but marginal in comparative health policy. This study aims to highlight the crucial relevance of the health workforce and contribute comparative evidence to help improve the protection of healthcare workers and prevention of inequalities during a major public health crisis. Our integrated governance framework considers system, sector, organizational and socio-cultural dimensions of health workforce policy. The COVID-19 pandemic serves as the policy field and Brazil, Canada, Italy, and Germany as illustrative cases. We draw on secondary sources (literature, document analysis, public statistics, reports) and country expert information with a focus on the first COVID-19 waves until the summer of 2021. Our comparative investigation illustrates the benefits of a multi-level governance approach beyond health system typologies. In the selected countries, we found similar problems and governance gaps concerning increased workplace stress, lack of mental health support, and gender and racial inequalities. Health policy across countries failed to adequately respond to the needs of HCWs, thus exacerbating inequalities during a major global health crisis. Comparative health workforce policy research may contribute new knowledge to improve health system resilience and population health during a crisis.