| |  | Cash, Richard | Ethical issues in health workforce development read moreAbstract: Increasing the numbers of health workers and improving their skills requires that countries confront a number of ethical dilemmas. The ethical considerations in answering five important questions on enabling health workers to deal appropriately with the circumstances in which they must work are described. These include the problems of the standards of training and practice required in countries with differing levels of socioeconomic development and different priority diseases; how a society can be assured that health practitioners are properly trained; how a health system can support its workers; diversion of health workers and training institutions; and the teaching of ethical principles to student health workers. The ethics of setting standards for the skills and care provided by traditional health-care practitioners are also discussed. | 2005 |
| |  | Alwan, Ala' | The implications of health sector reform for human resources development read moreAbstract: The authors argue that "health for all" is not achievable in most countries without health sector reform that incorporates a process of coordinated health and human resources development. They examine the situation in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization. Though advances have been made, further progress is inhibited by the limited adaptation of traditional health service structures and processes in many of these countries. National reform strategies are needed. These require the active participation of health professional associations and academic training institutions as well as health service managers. The paper indicates some of the initiatives required and suggests that the starting point for many countries should be a rigorous appraisal of the current state of human resources development in health. | 2002 |