The challenges as we strive towards universal health coverage are many, but the need for an improved health workforce is chief among them. Unfortunately the global deficit in skilled professionals continues to increase. Nevertheless, there are potential solutions, and success stories are well documented when the approach is on system building and sustainability. As we approach 2015 and the Mill...

Facing limited time and budgetary resources, state and local health departments need a practical, competency-based training approach to meet the all-hazards readiness requirements of their employees. The Road Map to Preparedness is a training tool designed to assist health departments in providing comprehensive, agency-tailored readiness instruction to their employees. This tool uses an incenti...

During the 20th century, the United States' public health workforce has been of sufficient interest to policy makers that regular efforts have been made to enumerate it. Limited enumeration is found as early as 1908; the last direct federal survey occurred in 1964. After 1964, workforce size was estimated. The ratio of public health workers to population reached an estimated 220/100,000 in 1980...

Health care reforms require fundamental changes to the ways in which the health workforce is planned, managed and developed within national health systems. While issues involved in such transition remain complex, their importance and the need to address them in a proactive manner are vital for reforms to achieve their key policy objectives. For a start, the analysis of human resources in the co...