Impacts for health and care workers of Covid-19 and other public health emergencies of international concern: living systematic review, meta-analysis and policy recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Health and care workers (HCW) faced the double burden of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: as members of a society affected by a public health emergency and as HWC who experienced fear of becoming infected and of infecting others, stigma, violence, increased workloads, changes in scope of practice, among others. To understand the short and long-term impacts in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs) on HCW and relevant interventions to address them, we designed and conducted a living systematic review (LSR). METHODS: We reviewed literature retrieved from MEDLINE-PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, LILACS, the World Health Organization COVID-19 database, the ClinicalTrials.org and the ILO database, published from January 2000 until December 2021. We included quantitative observational studies, experimental studies, quasi-experimental, mixed methods or qualitative studies; addressing mental, physical health and well-being and quality of life. The review targeted HCW; and interventions and exposures, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic or other PHEICs. To assess the risk of bias of included studies, we used the Johanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Tools. Data were qualitatively synthetized using meta-aggregation and meta-analysis was performed to estimate pooled prevalence of some of the outcomes. RESULTS: The 1013 studies included in the review were mainly quantitative research, cross-sectional, with medium risk of bias/quality, addressing at least one of the following: mental health issue, violence, physical health and well-being, and quality of life. Additionally, interventions to address short- and long-term impact of PHEICs on HCW included in the review, although scarce, were mainly behavioral and individual oriented, aimed at improving mental health through the development of individual interventions. A lack of interventions addressing organizational or systemic bottlenecks was noted. DISCUSSION: PHEICs impacted the mental and physical health of HCW with the greatest toll on mental health. The impact PHEICs are intricate and complex. The review revealed the consequences for health and care service delivery, with increased unplanned absenteeism, service disruption and occupation turnover that subvert the capacity to answer to the PHEICs, specifically challenging the resilience of health systems.

Application of the workload indicators of staffing need method to calculate the size of the medical staff at a maternity hospital in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Functioning health systems require a health workforce (HWF) that is qualified, available, equitably distributed, and accessible to the entire population as the basis for guaranteeing access to health. There is a global HWF crisis, manifested in Brazil by unequal distribution of healthcare personnel, particularly in rural areas, urban peripheries, and other hard-to-reach communities, posing a major obstacle to guaranteeing access to health systems and services. Based on the above, calculating the size and analyzing the workloads of the medical staff in the Obstetrics Department (OD) and Urgent Care Center (UCC) in a state maternity hospital is relevant for designing improvements in the work processes and future strategies for recruiting, selecting, and retaining these workers at the hospital, in turn favoring improvement in the quality of care for women and children at the state level. This scenario motivated the study's design, in which the overall objective was to analyze the workload of staff physicians working in the Obstetrics Department and Urgent Care Center of a public maternity hospital in the state of Bahia, based on the WISN method. METHODS: This was an exploratory-descriptive intervention study with a quantitative approach and qualitative elements, using the methodological stages recommended by the WISN to calculate and analyze the workload of obstetricians working in the OD and UCC in the maternity hospital. RESULTS: The study found a deficit of 14 shift obstetricians at the hospital with a workload of 0.81. The study also found that the insufficient number of obstetricians at the hospital resulted from precarious hiring formats, idle medical positions, and poorly structured work processes and a shortage in the multidisciplinary staff. CONCLUSION: The research sought to contribute to the reduction of the gap in models and methodologies for the staffing of gynecologists and obstetricians in Bahia Maternity Hospitals, without covering the whole subject, but to demonstrate that the findings of the workload analysis and its validation could be useful in promoting and directing the design and implementation of interventions to improve the quality of the workload.

Challenges for ensuring availability and accessibility toin health care services under Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS). / Desafios para assegurar a disponibilidade e acessibilidade à assistência médica no Sistema Único de Saúde.

Shortages and imbalances in the distribution of the health workforce, are social and political problems that, along with the socio-economic inequality, reduce the access of the population to the health services. This study aims to understand the challenges of SUS policy-makers and managers to ensure the availability and geographical accessibility to health service providers. The analysis was guided by a framework of the health labour market and health policy interventions. Two main problems have been identified: shortage of doctors and maldistribution of professionals between levels of health care and between geographical areas. This review focused on eight interventions in the last 30 years, whose mainly aim was to correct the maldistribution of physicians in the SUS such as Rondon Project, Interiorization of Health Work Program, Medical Specialists Training Program, PHC Program and More Doctors Program. The discussion focuses on the factors that influence the outcome of these interventions.

Human resources for health: global crisis and international cooperation. / Recursos humanos em saúde: crise global e cooperação internacional.

From the 1990s onwards, national economies became connected and globalized. Changes in the demographic and epidemiological profile of the population highlighted the need for further discussions and strategies on Human Resources for Health (HRH). The health workforce crisis is a worldwide phenomenon. It includes: difficulties in attracting and retaining health professionals to work in rural and remote areas, poor distribution and high turnover of health staff particularly physicians, poor training of health workforces in new sanitation and demographic conditions and the production of scientific evidence to support HRH decision making, policy management, programs and interventions. In this scenario, technical cooperation activities may contribute to the development of the countries involved, strengthening relationships and expanding exchanges as well as contributing to the production, dissemination and use of technical scientific knowledge and evidence and the training of workers and institutional strengthening. This article aims to explore this context highlighting the participation of Brazil in the international cooperation arena on HRH and emphasizing the role of the World Health Organization in confronting this crisis that limits the ability of countries and their health systems to improve the health and lives of their populations.

A participação de instituições de ensino superior privadas na formação em saúde no brasil / The participation of private higher education institutions in health training in brazil / La participación de instituciones de enseñanza superior privadas en la formación en salud en brasil

Resumo O ensino superior brasileiro, historicamente, é marcado pela presença de instituições privadas. Durante a franca expansão ocorrida nas duas últimas décadas, o setor privado apresentou um crescimento no número de matrículas e no percentual de participação. Este artigo descreve a participação privada nas graduações da saúde no período entre 1993 e 2013. A revisão bibliográfica sobre o ensino superior brasileiro e a análise descritiva de dados secundários evidenciaram que a participação do setor privado na formação em saúde, em muitos aspectos, tem sido compatível com a dinâmica do setor de ensino superior. Na década de 1990, o crescimento do setor privado foi tendência em todas as graduações em saúde, e na maior parte dos cursos as taxas de crescimento foram maiores que a média nacional. No período entre 2003 e 2013, os cursos de Medicina, Odontologia e Serviço Social apresentaram taxas de crescimento maiores que no período anterior e os demais apresentaram uma desaceleração das taxas de crescimento; já nos cursos de Biologia, Fonoaudiologia e Terapia Ocupacional, observou-se uma redução do número de matrículas em instituições privadas.

Abstract Brazilian higher education has been historically marked by the presence of private institutions. During the unhindered expansion that took place over the past two decades, the private sector presented a growth in the number of enrollments and in the percentage of participation. This article describes the private participation in the undergraduate courses in health in the period between 1993 and 2013. The review of the literature on Brazilian higher education and the descriptive analysis of the secondary data evinced that the participation of the private sector in the training in health, in many aspects, has been compatible with the dynamics of the higher education sector. In the 1990s, the growth of the private sector was a trend in all undergraduate courses in health, and, in most courses, the growth rates were higher than the national average. In the period between 2003 and 2013, the courses of Medicine, Odontology and Social Services presented growth rates that were higher than those of the preceding period, and the other courses presented a decrease in the growth rates; as for the courses of Biology, Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy, a decrease in the number of enrollments in private institutions was observed.

Resumen La enseñanza superior brasileña, históricamente, está marcado por la presencia de instituciones privadas. Durante la gran expansión producida en las últimas dos décadas el sector privado presentó un crecimiento en el número de matrículas y en el porcentaje de participación. Este artículo describe la participación privada en las titulaciones en salud en el período entre 1993 y 2013. La revisión bibliográfica sobre la enseñanza superior brasileña y el análisis descriptivo de datos secundarios ponen de manifiesto que la participación del sector privado en la formación en salud, en muchos aspectos, ha sido compatible con la dinámica del sector de enseñanza superior. En la década de 1990, el crecimiento del sector privado fue una tendencia en todas las licenciaturas en salud y en la mayor parte de las carreras las tasas de crecimiento fueron mayores que el promedio nacional. En el período entre 2003 y 2013, las carreras de Medicina, Odontología y Servicio Social presentaron tasas de crecimiento mayores que en el período anterior y las restantes presentaron una desaceleración de las tasas de crecimiento; ya en las carreras de Biología, Fonoaudiología y Terapia Ocupacional, se observó una reducción del número de matrículas en instituciones privadas.

Fatores que influenciaram o processo de formulação de políticas de recursos humanos em saúde no Brasil e em Portugal: estudo de caso múltiplo / Factores que influenciaron el proceso de formulación de políticas de recursos humanos en salud en Brasil y Portugal: estudio de caso múltiple / Factors that influence human resources for health policy formulation: a multiple case study in Brazil and Portugal

O estudo objetiva analisar o processo em que as políticas de recursos humanos em saúde (RHS), que visam melhorar a distribuição geográfica dos médicos, são (ou não) informadas por evidência científica no Brasil e em Portugal. Foi realizado um estudo de caso-múltiplo sobre o processo de decisão das políticas de RHS no Brasil e em Portugal. Para compor os estudos de caso, as políticas escolhidas foram o Programa Mais Médicos (PMM) e a estratégia de contratação de médicos estrangeiros por acordos bilaterais para o trabalho no Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS) português. Foram entrevistados 27 atores-chave no processo de formulação das políticas em análise nos seguintes tópicos: fatores que influenciaram a formulação, atores que eram esperados ganhar ou perder, evidências científicas e os dados disponíveis utilizados para a formulação, entre outros. Os fatores mais evidentes identificados nas entrevistas como sendo influenciadores do PMM foram: Instituições; Fatores Externos (eleições presidenciais); Interesses de grupos (por exemplo, associações de profissionais médicos), governos (brasileiro e cubano), organização internacional e sociedade civil; e Ideias (evidência científica). Os fatores mais listados em Portugal foram: Instituições e Interesses dos governos (português e envolvidos nos acordos bilaterais), sociedade civil e grupos (associações de profissionais médicos). Ao contrário do que se verificou no estudo de caso do Brasil, em que reconhecidamente a evidência teve um papel importante na formulação da política em análise, em Portugal a evidência científica não foi identificada como contributo para a formulação da intervenção em estudo.(AU)

El estudio tiene por objetivo analizar el proceso en el que las políticas de recursos humanos en salud (RHS), que tienen como fin la mejora de la distribución geográfica de los médicos, son (o no) informadas por evidencias científicas en Brasil y en Portugal. Se trata de un estudio de caso-múltiple sobre el proceso de decisión de las políticas de RHS en Brasil y en Portugal. Para configurar los estudios de caso, las políticas elegidas fueron el Programa Más Médicos (PMM) y la estrategia de contratación de médicos extranjeros mediante acuerdos bilaterales para el trabajo en el Servicio Nacional de Salud (SNS) portugués. Se entrevistaron a 27 actores-clave en el proceso de formulación de las políticas en el análisis en los siguientes asuntos: factores que influenciaron la formulación, actores que se esperaba ganar o perder, evidencias científicas y datos disponibles utilizados para la formulación, entre otros. Los factores más evidentes, identificados en las entrevistas como de influencia en el PMM, fueron: instituciones; factores externos (elecciones presidenciales); intereses de grupos (por ejemplo, asociaciones de profesionales médicos), gobiernos (brasileño y cubano), organización internacional y sociedad civil; e ideas (evidencia científica). Los factores más registrados en Portugal fueron: instituciones e intereses de los gobiernos (como el portugués y los involucrados en los acuerdos bilaterales), sociedad civil y grupos (asociaciones de profesionales médicos). Al contrario de lo que se verificó en el estudio de caso de Brasil, donde se reconoció que la evidencia tuvo un papel importante en la formulación de la política en análisis, en Portugal la evidencia científica no fue identificada como una contribución para la formulación de la intervención en estudio.(AU)

This study aims to analyze whether the process by which policies for human resources for health that aim to improve the geographic distribution of physicians have been informed by scientific evidence in Brazil and Portugal. This was a multiple case study on a decision-making process for human resources for health in Brazil and Portugal. The respective case studies were based on Brazil's More Doctors Program (Programa Mais Médicos - PMM) and Portugal's strategy of hiring foreign physicians through bilateral agreements, to work in the country's National Health Service (SNS). We interviewed 27 key actors in the policy-making process on the following topics: factors that influenced the policy decisions, actors that were expected to win or lose from the policy, and the scientific evidence and available data used in the policy-making, among others. The most evident factors appearing in the interviews as having influenced the PMM were: institutions; external factors (Presidential elections); group interests (e.g. physicians' professional associations), governments (Brazil and Cuba), international organizations, and civil society; and ideas (scientific evidence). The most frequently cited factors in Portugal were: institutions and interests of government (from Portugal and the countries involved in the bilateral agreements), civil society, and groups (physicians' professional associations). Contrary to the case study in Brazil, where the evidence was reported to having played an important role in the policy decisions, in Portugal, scientific evidence was not identified as contributing to the specific policy process.(AU)

Internal migration of physicians who graduated in Brazil between 1980 and 2014

Background: The internal migration of physicians from one place to another in the same country can unbalance the supply and distribution of these professionals in national health systems. In addition to economic, social and demographic issues, there are individual and professional factors associated with a physician’s decision to migrate. In Brazil, there is an ongoing debate as to whether opening medicine programmes in the interior of the country can induce physicians to stay in these locations. This article examines the migration of physicians in Brazil based on the location of the medical schools from which they graduated. Methods: A cross-sectional design based on secondary data of 275,801 physicians registered in the Regional Councils of Medicine (Conselhos Regionais de Medicina-CRMs) who graduated between 1980 and 2014. The evaluated outcome was migration, which was defined as moving away from the state where they completed the medicine programme to another state where they currently work or live. Results: 57.3% of the physicians in the study migrated. The probability of migration ratio was greater in small grouped municipalities and lower in state capitals. 93.4% of the physicians who trained in schools located in cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants migrated. Fewer women (54.2%) migrated than men (60.0%). More than half of the physicians who graduated between 1980 and 2014 are in federative units different from the unit in which they graduated. Individual factors, such as age, gender, time of graduation and specialty, vary between the physicians who did or did not migrate. Conclusions: The probability of migration ratio was greater in small municipalities of the Southeast region and strong in the states of Tocantins, Acre and Santa Catarina. New studies are recommended to deepen understanding of the factors related to the internal migration and non-migration of physicians to improve human resource for health policies.

Desafios para assegurar a disponibilidade e acessibilidade à assistência médica no Sistema Único de Saúde / Challenges for ensuring availability and accessibility toin health care services under Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS)

A escassez e os desequilíbrios na distribuição da força de trabalho em saúde são problemas sociais e políticos que, juntamente com a desigualdade socioeconômica, reduzem o acesso da população aos serviços de saúde. Este estudo tem o objetivo de compreender os desafios dos formuladores de políticas e gestores do SUS para assegurar a disponibilidade e a acessibilidade geográfica aos serviços prestados pelos médicos. A análise foi orientada por um quadro de análise do mercado de trabalho e das intervenções políticas na saúde. Foram identificados dois problemas centrais: escassez de médicos e má distribuição de profissionais entre os níveis de cuidados de saúde e entre as zonas geográficas. Nesta revisão, o foco é sobre oito intervenções nos últimos 30 anos, cujo objetivo principal era corrigir a má distribuição dos médicos no SUS, nomeadamente: o Projeto Rondon, o Programa de Interiorização do Trabalho em Saúde (PITS), o Programa de Apoio à Formação de Médicos Especialistas em Áreas Estratégicas (Pró-Residência), o Programa de Valorização dos Profissionais da Atenção Básica (PROVAB), o Programa Mais Médicos, entre outras. A discussão focaliza nos fatores que influenciam o resultado dessas intervenções.(AU)

Shortages and imbalances in the distribution of the health workforce, are social and political problems that, along with the socio-economic inequality, reduce the access of the population to the health services. This study aims to understand the challenges of SUS policy-makers and managers to ensure the availability and geographical accessibility to health service providers. The analysis was guided by a framework of the health labour market and health policy interventions. Two main problems have been identified: shortage of doctors and maldistribution of professionals between levels of health care and between geographical areas. This review focused on eight interventions in the last 30 years, whose mainly aim was to correct the maldistribution of physicians in the SUS such as Rondon Project, Interiorization of Health Work Program, Medical Specialists Training Program, PHC Program and More Doctors Program. The discussion focuses on the factors that influence the outcome of these interventions.(AU)

Sistematização do conhecimento sobre as metodologias empregadas para o dimensionamento da força de trabalho em saúde / Systematization of the knowledge on methodologies for health workforce staffing

A força de trabalho em saúde representa um fator de grande importância nos sistemas de saúde, sendo imprescindível à promoção e ao avanço da área, relacionada quantitativa e qualitativamente aos resultados alcançados. Esta revisão sistemática visa à identificação na literatura de metodologias que, empregadas, resultem em dimensionamento eficaz da força de trabalho em saúde. Os resultados indicam a necessidade de complementação da avaliação, sendo indispensável a identificação de metodologias que resultem em dimensionamento mais eficaz da força de trabalho em saúde para subsidiar decisões gerenciais no sistema de saúde.

The health workforce is a key factor in health systems and is essential to the promotion and advancement of the area, related quantitative and qualitative results achieved. This systematic review aims to identify, in the literature, methodologies that result in effective health workforce staffing. The results indicate the need to complement the assessment, in order to identify methodologies that result in more effective health workforce staffing and provide support to management decisions in the health system.