Launch Self-learning Course: Management of Working and Employment Conditions for Human Resources for Health
The Pan American Health Organization’s Health Systems and Services Department and Human Resources for Health Unit are pleased to announce the official launch of their self-learning course Management of Working and Employment Conditions in Human Resources for Health through the Virtual Campus for Public Health, available in English and Spanish.
Date and time
- Tuesday, 26 October, 2021
- 10 to 11:30 pm (EDT)
Agenda
Registration
Background
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, countries quickly acted to provide the best response to public health needs.
Initially, actions were focused on strengthening and broadening medium- and high- complexity health services by increasing infrastructure, equipment, supplies, personal protective equipment and getting the necessary human resources in place at these levels of care.
As time progressed and the public health emergency continued, it became clear that it was fundamental to ensure essential services and healthcare for the population. This brought attention back to the first level of care (FLC) and integrated health services networks (IHSN) as the best strategy for ensuring access and health coverage and reducing the impact of the pandemic on high-intensity health institutions. During the pandemic, in many cases, the FLC has been left unprotected and in some cases even closed. For the FLC to operate appropriately, it became evident that human resources for health (HRH) would be required in the right quantities, with appropriate training and in a favorable labor environment in order to respond to the health needs of the population.
Health workers must feel comfortable and safe at work to fulfill their duties and they require timely capacity-building and knowledge, with reliable, up-to-date information that helps them guarantee health and safety.
The self-learning course Management of Working and Employment Conditions in Human Resources for Health addresses mental health at the first level of care and seeks to make the basic concepts and knowledge available to FLC workers for managing HRH and the health and safety of HRH at work.
This course covers the conceptual bases of management of working and employment conditions in health; the key areas of intervention in the context of COVID-19; the importance of evaluating problems related to the management of working conditions at the FLC and their influence on the health of health workers; and recognizing the impact and relationship between working conditions and the quality of care and health outcomes.