Not just a policy; this is for real. An affirmative action policy to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to seek employment in the health workforce.

Delivery of culturally safe healthcare is critical to ensuring access to high-quality care for indigenous people. A key component of this is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be participants in the health workforce. The proportion of indigenous people in the health workforce should at least equate to the proportion in the population served. We describe the development and implementation of a successful affirmative action employment policy at Monash Health, one of Australia's largest Academic Health Centres, and provide perspective on its adoption.

Transformation by design: nursing workforce innovation and reduction strategies in turbulent times of change.

The evolution of care delivery from an acute care and inpatient standard to the outpatient setting and health promotion model is generating the need for innovative workforce and infrastructure adjustments to meet the new paradigm of population health management. Successful transformation of the nursing workforce necessitates a positive style of thinking that addresses rational concerns during times of difficult transition. Nurse leaders are called to recognize and appreciate the strengths of the nursing workforce by involving them in the course of change through collaboration, planning, and discussion. One unique way to plan and develop new care delivery models is to adopt the framework used in health facility planning and design for new services, units, or hospitals. This framework is flexible and can be adjusted easily to meet the objectives of a small nursing workforce innovation project or expanded to encompass the needs of a large-scale hospital transformation. Structured questioning further helps the team to identify barriers to care and allows for the development of new concepts that are objective and in accord with evidence-based practice and data. This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of implementing innovative workforce redesign and workforce reduction strategies.

[Demography and labor shortage. Future challenges of labor market policy]. / Demografie und Fachkräftemangel. Die künftigen arbeitsmarktpolitischen Herausforderungen.

For demographic reasons, the German labor force will decrease dramatically and it will be much older on average. However, labor demand, especially for qualified workers, is expected to remain high. This paper focuses on the possibilities of expanding the labor force by increasing the participation rates of women and older persons. Herein, the change in the labor force is decomposed with respect to population and labor participation and, moreover, the effects of higher participation rates are simulated. The decomposition and simulation scenarios are based on data published by the Institute for Employment Research. The analysis clearly reveals that the effect of a considerably higher labor participation of women and older workers will disappear over time when the working-age population shrinks more and more. In addition, individuals who are currently unemployed or out of the labor force are not skilled enough. Since it seems difficult to get more qualified workers in the short and even in the medium term, improving the conditions for women and older people to take up jobs should be tackled soon. This includes investments in education and health care.

Human resources for health in southeast Asia: shortages, distributional challenges, and international trade in health services.

In this paper, we address the issues of shortage and maldistribution of health personnel in southeast Asia in the context of the international trade in health services. Although there is no shortage of health workers in the region overall, when analysed separately, five low-income countries have some deficit. All countries in southeast Asia face problems of maldistribution of health workers, and rural areas are often understaffed. Despite a high capacity for medical and nursing training in both public and private facilities, there is weak coordination between production of health workers and capacity for employment. Regional experiences and policy responses to address these challenges can be used to inform future policy in the region and elsewhere. A distinctive feature of southeast Asia is its engagement in international trade in health services. Singapore and Malaysia import health workers to meet domestic demand and to provide services to international patients. Thailand attracts many foreign patients for health services. This situation has resulted in the so-called brain drain of highly specialised staff from public medical schools to the private hospitals. The Philippines and Indonesia are the main exporters of doctors and nurses in the region. Agreements about mutual recognition of professional qualifications for three groups of health workers under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Framework Agreement on Services could result in increased movement within the region in the future. To ensure that vital human resources for health are available to meet the needs of the populations that they serve, migration management and retention strategies need to be integrated into ongoing efforts to strengthen health systems in southeast Asia. There is also a need for improved dialogue between the health and trade sectors on how to balance economic opportunities associated with trade in health services with domestic health needs and equity issues.

O Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil e a construção de mitos: uma leitura bartheana / The More Doctors in Brazil Project and the construction of myths: a Barthean reading / El Proyect "Más Médicos para Brasil" y la construcción de mitos: una lectura bartheana

O Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil (PMMB) tenciona prover recursos humanos para o Sistema Único de Saúde por meio da melhoria da infraestrutura da rede de saúde; da ampliação das reformas educacionais dos cursos de Medicina e residência médica; e da provisão de médicos para áreas vulneráveis. A implantação do projeto enfrentou reações contrárias à proposta, envolvendo principalmente as instituições médicas do país. Inspirados no conceito de mito, realizamos uma leitura dos discursos com que o Conselho Federal de Medicina sustentou o debate, por meio da análise do Jornal Medicina durante os primeiros 24 meses da implantação do PMMB. O mito é revelador de como práticas discursivas introduzem no imaginário coletivo alegorias que demarcam espaços ideológicos e permite analisar o processo de disputa social e das condições históricas de formulação e implantação de um programa governamental.

The aim of the More Doctors in Brazil Project (MDBP) is to supply human resources to the Brazilian National Health System by improving the infrastructure of the healthcare network; expanding educational reforms in medical courses and residencies; and supplying physicians to vulnerable areas. The implementation of the MDBP faced strong opposition, especially from Brazilian medical institutions. Inspired by the concept of "myth," the present study conducted a reading of the discourse used by the Brazilian Federal Board of Medicine to support its arguments, by analyzing editions of the Medicina newletter published by the Board in the first 24 months of the project's implementation. The myth reveals how discursive practices introduce allegories into the collective imagery that define ideological spaces and enable an analysis of the process of social dispute and the historical conditions behind the formulation and implementation of a government program.

El objetivo del proyecto "Más Médicos para Brasil" (PMMB) es proporcionar recursos humanos para el Sistema Brasileño de Salud, por medio de la mejora de la infraestructura de la red de salud, de la ampliación de las reformas educativas de los cursos de Medicina y residencia médica y de la provisión de médicos para áreas vulnerables. La implantación del proyecto enfrentó reacciones contrarias a la propuesta, envolviendo principalmente a las instituciones médicas do país. Inspirados en el concepto de mito, realizamos una lectura de los discursos con que el Consejo Federal de Medicina sostuvo el debate, por medio del análisis del Jornal Medicina durante los primeros 24 meses de introducción del PMMB. El mito es un factor revelador de como las prácticas discursivas introducen en el imaginario colectivo alegorías que demarcan espacios ideológicos y permite analizar el proceso de disputa social y de las condiciones históricas de formulación e implantación de un programa gubernamental.

An urgent need to improve life conditions of seniors.

In the fall of 2007, the Government of Quebec set up a Public Consultation on Living Conditions of Seniors. Fifty sessions were held in 26 cities across all 17 regions of the province. More than 4000 seniors attended the sessions and 275 briefs were received from scientists and associations. Three themes were identified in the report published in 2008: supporting seniors and their caregivers, reinforcing the place of seniors in society, and preventing problems associated with aging (suicide, abuse, addictions). The main actions that I recommended included: Increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement to prevent poverty; Modifying pension plans and working conditions to allow for progressive retirement; Making a major investment in home care to provide access to services regardless of place of residence; Introducing an Autonomy Support Benefit and autonomy insurance program for financing services to support people with disabilities; Generalizing an Integrated Service Delivery Network providing services to frail older people; Better training for professionals in gerontology. I also recommended setting up a National Policy on Seniors to align all government departments and agencies, municipalities and the private sector around a vision, objectives and a set of actions for improving the integration of seniors in an aging society. This would contribute to a more equitable, interdependent and wiser society. Unfortunately, the Government did not support these recommendations. It is now time for scientists to get involved in leading policy on seniors and in the political arena.

A discussão do social no âmbito da prática profissional / Dicussion of the social in the field of professional practice

O estudo do social tem uma expressiva importância em vários campos do conhecimento e o aprofundamento desta categoria conduz à necessidade de identificar como o mesmo pode ser definido e dabatido. A discussão do social está presente no âmbito da questão social, na análise de conjuntura e de sociedade e nas diversas especificidades profissionais, o que evidencia a relevância do tema, devendo ser fonte de debate no campo da informação, atuação e pesquisa dos profissionais de Serviço Social. Neste sentido, o presente artigo tem por objetivo evidenciar a relevância da discussão do social no âmbito da prática profissional na área de saúde destacando como os processos de trabalho em Saúde ainda pautam-se por modelos que defendem a doença e não ações ampliadas em defesa da Saúde, do social e dos princípios do Sistema Ùnico de Saúde.

Los recursos humanos y el sistema de salud en Brasil / Human resources and the health system in Brazil

El presente artículo examina algunas cuestiones relacionadas con los recursos humanos que actúan en el sistema de salud brasileño. Identifica, inicialmente, cuestiones de recursos humanos que se expresan como tendencia en el sector salud en los últimos años. A continuación, se hace un breve comentario sobre la reforma del sistema de salud, apuntando cambios en el diseño del modelo de salud por medio de la implementación del Programa de Salud de la Familia, que busca reorientar el modelo asistencial a partir de la atención básica, en sustitución del modelo tradicional de asistencia dirigido hacia la cura de enfermedades y el hospital. Señala cambios importantes en las condiciones de trabajo de médicos, odontólogos, etc., tales como bajos salarios, pluriempleo, consultas pagadas por seguro-salud, flexibilización de los contratos de trabajo o pérdida de las garantías laborales. Por último, identifica problemas serios con relación a este Programa de Salud de la Familia, especialmente los que se refieren a la inestabilidad del proceso de trabajo y a la disminución de la protección social de los trabajadores que actúan en el programa. (AU)