Regional network of interprofessional health education of the Americas

ABSTRACT

In the last two years, progress has been observed in the incorporation of Interprofessional Education (IPE) into policies on human resources for health in the countries of the Region of the Americas. The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) has encouraged its Member States to adopt the approach and support policymakers in expanding its use. PAHO's Strategy on Human Resources for Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage, recently adopted by Resolution CSP29.R.15, encourages countries to promote the development of interprofessional teams in service networks using IPE and diversified learning settings, with a focus on research, the sharing of experiences, and cooperation. PAHO/WHO has adopted a series of initiatives to provide policymakers with proposals to establish commitments to incorporate IPE as an innovative approach to the transformation of health systems, with the above-mentioned strategy as a point of reference. Among other actions, on 5-6 December 2017, the second regional technical meeting on IPE was held in Brasilia, Brazil. The event, organized jointly with the Ministry of Health of Brazil, was attended by representatives from different parts of the world, 22 of them from countries of the Region of the Americas. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss processes for incorporating IPE into policies on human resources for health, to establish a common agenda for strengthening IPE in the Region of the Americas, to foster the preparation of action plans to implement the approach, and to formalize the establishment of the Regional Network for Interprofessional Education in the Americas and the approval of its directives (AU).