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Lee JT, Crettenden I, Tran M, Miller D, Cormack M, Cahill M, Li J, Sugiura T, Xiang F. Methods for health workforce projection model: systematic review and recommended good practice reporting guideline. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH 2024; 22:25. [PMID: 38632567 PMCID: PMC11025158 DOI: 10.1186/s12960-024-00895-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Health workforce projection models are integral components of a robust healthcare system. This research aims to review recent advancements in methodology and approaches for health workforce projection models and proposes a set of good practice reporting guidelines. METHODS We conducted a systematic review by searching medical and social science databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and EconLit, covering the period from 2010 to 2023. The inclusion criteria encompassed studies projecting the demand for and supply of the health workforce. PROSPERO registration: CRD 42023407858. RESULTS Our review identified 40 relevant studies, including 39 single countries analysis (in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, New Zealand, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, UK, United States), and one multiple country analysis (in 32 OECD countries). Recent studies have increasingly embraced a complex systems approach in health workforce modelling, incorporating demand, supply, and demand-supply gap analyses. The review identified at least eight distinct types of health workforce projection models commonly used in recent literature: population-to-provider ratio models (n = 7), utilization models (n = 10), needs-based models (n = 25), skill-mixed models (n = 5), stock-and-flow models (n = 40), agent-based simulation models (n = 3), system dynamic models (n = 7), and budgetary models (n = 5). Each model has unique assumptions, strengths, and limitations, with practitioners often combining these models. Furthermore, we found seven statistical approaches used in health workforce projection models: arithmetic calculation, optimization, time-series analysis, econometrics regression modelling, microsimulation, cohort-based simulation, and feedback causal loop analysis. Workforce projection often relies on imperfect data with limited granularity at the local level. Existing studies lack standardization in reporting their methods. In response, we propose a good practice reporting guideline for health workforce projection models designed to accommodate various model types, emerging methodologies, and increased utilization of advanced statistical techniques to address uncertainties and data requirements. CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the significance of dynamic, multi-professional, team-based, refined demand, supply, and budget impact analyses supported by robust health workforce data intelligence. The suggested best-practice reporting guidelines aim to assist researchers who publish health workforce studies in peer-reviewed journals. Nevertheless, it is expected that these reporting standards will prove valuable for analysts when designing their own analysis, encouraging a more comprehensive and transparent approach to health workforce projection modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Tayu Lee
- Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
| | - Ian Crettenden
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - My Tran
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Daniel Miller
- Health Data Analytics Team, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Mark Cormack
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Megan Cahill
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Jinhu Li
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Tomoko Sugiura
- Health Data Analytics Team, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Fan Xiang
- National Centre for Health Workforce Studies, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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Borle K, Kopac N, Dragojlovic N, Llorian ER, Lynd LD. Defining Need Amid Exponential Change: Conceptual Challenges in Workforce Planning for Clinical Genetic Services. Clin Ther 2023; 45:695-701. [PMID: 37516568 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2023.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023]
Abstract
Rapid growth in the volume of referrals to clinical genetics services in many countries during the past 15 years makes workforce planning a critical policy tool in ensuring that the capacity of the clinical genetics workforce is large enough to meet current and future needs. This article explores the distinctive challenges of workforce planning in clinical genetics and provides recommendations for addressing these challenges using a needs-based planning approach. Specifically, at least 3 features complicate efforts to estimate the need for clinical genetic services: the difficulty in linking many clinical genetic services to concrete health outcomes; the rapidly changing nature of genetic medicine, which creates intrinsic uncertainty about the appropriate level of service; and the heightened relevance of patient preferences in this context. Our recommendations call for needs-based planning studies to include an explicit definition of necessary care, to be flexible in considering nonhealth benefits, to err on the side of including services currently funded by health systems even when evidence about outcomes is limited, and to use scenario analysis and expert input to explore the impact of uncertainty about patients' preferences and future technologies on estimates of workforce requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kennedy Borle
- Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nicola Kopac
- Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nick Dragojlovic
- Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Elisabet Rodriguez Llorian
- Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Larry D Lynd
- Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcomes Sciences, Providence Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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O’Malley L, Macey R, Allen T, Brocklehurst P, Thomson F, Rigby J, Lalloo R, Tomblin Murphy G, Birch S, Tickle M. Workforce Planning Models for Oral Health Care: A Scoping Review. JDR Clin Trans Res 2022; 7:16-24. [PMID: 33323035 PMCID: PMC8674798 DOI: 10.1177/2380084420979585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND For health care services to address the health care needs of populations and respond to changes in needs over time, workforces must be planned. This requires quantitative models to estimate future workforce requirements that take account of population size, oral health needs, evidence-based approaches to addressing needs, and methods of service provision that maximize productivity. The aim of this scoping review was to assess whether and how these 4 elements contribute to existing models of oral health workforce planning. METHODS A scoping review was conducted. MEDLINE, Embase, HMIC, and EconLit were searched, all via OVID. Additionally, gray literature databases were searched and key bodies and policy makers contacted. Workforce planning models were included if they projected workforce numbers and were specific to oral health. No limits were placed on country. A single reviewer completed initial screening of abstracts; 2 independent reviewers completed secondary screening and data extraction. A narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS A total of 4,009 records were screened, resulting in 42 included articles detailing 47 models. The workforce planning models varied significantly in their use of data on oral health needs, evidence-based services, and provider productivity, with most models relying on observed levels of service utilization and demand. CONCLUSIONS This review has identified quantitative workforce planning models that aim to estimate future workforce requirements. Approaches to planning the oral health workforce are not always based on deriving workforce requirements from population oral health needs. In many cases, requirements are not linked to population needs, while in models where needs are included, they are constrained by the existence and availability of the required data. It is critical that information systems be developed to effectively capture data necessary to plan future oral health care workforces in ways that relate directly to the needs of the populations being served. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT Policy makers can use the results of this study when making decisions about the planning of oral health care workforces and about the data to routinely collect within health services. Collection of suitable data will allow for the continual improvement of workforce planning, leading to a responsive health service and likely future cost savings.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. O’Malley
- Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
| | - R. Macey
- Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
| | - T. Allen
- Centre for Health Economics, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
| | - P. Brocklehurst
- NWORTH Clinical Trials Unit, University of Bangor, Bangor, UK
| | - F. Thomson
- Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
| | - J. Rigby
- WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Research, Innovation and Discovery, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada
| | - R. Lalloo
- School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - G. Tomblin Murphy
- WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Research, Innovation and Discovery, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada
| | - S. Birch
- Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, Faculty of Business Economics and Law, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - M. Tickle
- Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK
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Sugawara N, Yasui-Furukori N, Shimoda K. Projections of psychiatrists' distribution for patients in Japan: a utilization-based approach. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH 2021; 19:49. [PMID: 33836799 PMCID: PMC8033670 DOI: 10.1186/s12960-021-00594-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depopulation accompanied by population aging is a major public health concern in Japan. Although adequate allocation of mental healthcare resources is needed, there have been few studies on the impact of population change on the supply-demand balance for mental illness in Japan. The aim of this study is to predict psychiatrists' distribution for patients with mental illness via a utilization-based approach. METHODS We set patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease as study subjects and conducted analyses for 2015, 2025, 2035, and 2045 across all prefectures. Moreover, we evaluated the regional maldistribution of demand and supply by calculating the number of psychiatrists per patient, Gini coefficients (GC), and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). RESULTS The mean number of psychiatrists per patient for patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease in 2025, 2035, and 2045 was significantly lower than in 2015. For all of the abovementioned diseases, both the GC and HHI will increase until 2045. CONCLUSION If psychiatrists are allocated at the current population-to-psychiatrist ratio, the shortage of psychiatrists will continue to worsen in the future. To overcome this inequity, policy makers should make plans to shift responsibilities from psychiatrists to other mental health workers and to ensure the adequate geographical allocation of healthcare resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norio Sugawara
- Department of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi, 321-0293, Japan.
| | - Norio Yasui-Furukori
- Department of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi, 321-0293, Japan
| | - Kazutaka Shimoda
- Department of Psychiatry, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi, 321-0293, Japan
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Asamani JA, Christmals CD, Reitsma GM. Health Service Activity Standards and Standard Workloads for Primary Healthcare in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Health Professionals. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9:332. [PMID: 33809579 PMCID: PMC8000167 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare9030332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The attainment of health system goals is largely hinged on the health workforce availability and performance; hence, health workforce planning is central to the health policy agenda. This study sought to estimate health service activity standards and standard workloads at the primary health care level in Ghana and explore any differences across health facility types. A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 503 health professionals across eight health professions who provided estimates of health service activity standards in Ghana's Primary Health Care (PHC) settings. Outpatient consultation time was 16 min, translating into an annual standard workload of 6030 consultations per year for General Practitioners. Routine nursing care activities take an average of 40 min (95% CI: 38-42 min) for low acuity patients; and 135 min (95% CI: 127-144 min) for high dependency patients per inpatient day. Availability of tools/equipment correlated with reduced time on clinical procedure. Physician Assistants in health centres spend more time with patients than in district hospitals. Midwives spend 78 min more during vaginal delivery in health centres/polyclinics than in district/primary hospital settings. We identified 18.9% (12 out of 67) of health service activities performed across eight health professional groups to differ between health centres/polyclinics and district/primary hospitals settings. The workload in the health facilities was rated 78.2%, but as the workload increased, and without a commensurate increase in staffing, health professionals reduced the time spent on individual patient care, which could have consequences for the quality of care and patient safety. Availability of tools and equipment at PHC was rated 56.6%, which suggests the need to retool these health facilities. The estimated standard workloads lay a foundation for evidence-based planning for the optimal number of health professionals needed in Ghana's PHC system and the consequent adjustments necessary in both health professions education and the budgetary allocation for their employment. Finally, given similarity in results with Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) methodology used in Ghana, this study demonstrates that cross-sectional surveys can estimate health service activity standards that is suitable for health workforce planning just as the consensus-based estimates advocated in WISN.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Avoka Asamani
- Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Building PC-G16, Office 101,11 Hoffman St., Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; (J.A.A.); (G.M.R.)
- Intercountry Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, Health Workforce Unit, Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organisation, 82-86 Cnr Enterprise/Glenara Roads, Harare CY 348, Zimbabwe
| | - Christmal Dela Christmals
- Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Building PC-G16, Office 101,11 Hoffman St., Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; (J.A.A.); (G.M.R.)
| | - Gerda Marie Reitsma
- Centre for Health Professions Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Building PC-G16, Office 101,11 Hoffman St., Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa; (J.A.A.); (G.M.R.)
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Advancing the Population Needs-Based Health Workforce Planning Methodology: A Simulation Tool for Country Application. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18042113. [PMID: 33671553 PMCID: PMC7926568 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18042113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Although the conceptual underpinnings of needs-based health workforce planning have developed over the last two decades, lingering gaps in empirical models and lack of open access tools have partly constrained its uptake in health workforce planning processes in countries. This paper presents an advanced empirical framework for the need-based approach to health workforce planning with an open-access simulation tool in Microsoft® Excel to facilitate real-life health workforce planning in countries. Two fundamental mathematical models are used to quantify the supply of, and need for, health professionals, respectively. The supply-side model is based on a stock-and-flow process, and the need-side model extents a previously published analytical frameworks using the population health needs-based approach. We integrate the supply and need analyses by comparing them to establish the gaps in both absolute and relative terms, and then explore their cost implications for health workforce policy and strategy. To illustrate its use, the model was used to simulate a real-life example using midwives and obstetricians/gynaecologists in the context of maternal and new-born care in Ghana. Sensitivity analysis showed that if a constant level of health was assumed (as in previous works), the need for health professionals could have been underestimated in the long-term. Towards universal health coverage, the findings reveal a need to adopt the need-based approach for HWF planning and to adjust HWF supply in line with population health needs.
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MacKenzie A, Tomblin Murphy G, Audas R. A dynamic, multi-professional, needs-based simulation model to inform human resources for health planning. HUMAN RESOURCES FOR HEALTH 2019; 17:42. [PMID: 31196188 PMCID: PMC6567915 DOI: 10.1186/s12960-019-0376-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND As population health needs become more complex, addressing those needs increasingly requires the knowledge, skills, and judgment of multiple types of human resources for health (HRH) working interdependently. A growing emphasis on team-delivered health care is evident in several jurisdictions, including those in Canada. However, the most commonly used HRH planning models across Canada and other countries lack the capacity to plan for more than one type of HRH in an integrated manner. The purpose of this paper is to present a dynamic, multi-professional, needs-based simulation model to inform HRH planning and demonstrate the importance of two of its parameters-division of work and clinical focus-which have received comparatively little attention in HRH research to date. METHODS The model estimates HRH requirements by combining features of two previously published needs-based approaches to HRH planning-a dynamic approach designed to plan for a single type of HRH at a time and a multi-professional approach designed to compare HRH supply with requirements at a single point in time. The supplies of different types of HRH are estimated using a stock-and-flow approach. RESULTS The model makes explicit two planning parameters-the division of work across different types of HRH, and the degree of clinical focus among individual types of HRH-which have previously received little attention in the HRH literature. Examples of the impacts of these parameters on HRH planning scenarios are provided to illustrate how failure to account for them may over- or under-estimate the size of any gaps between the supply of and requirements for HRH. CONCLUSION This paper presents a dynamic, multi-professional, needs-based simulation model which can be used to inform HRH planning in different contexts. To facilitate its application by readers, this includes the definition of each parameter and specification of the mathematical relationships between them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian MacKenzie
- Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada
- WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
| | - Gail Tomblin Murphy
- WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
- Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada
| | - Rick Audas
- Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada
- Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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