Changing Research Perspectives on the Global Health Workforce

84 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2009 Last revised: 12 Jun 2023

See all articles by Till Bärnighausen

Till Bärnighausen

University of KwaZulu-Natal; Harvard University - Department of Population and International Health

David E. Bloom

Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: July 2009

Abstract

Past research on the health workforce can be structured into three perspectives - "health workforce planning" (1960 through 1970s); "the health worker as economic actor" (1980s through 1990s); and "the health worker as necessary resource" (1990s through 2000s). During the first phase, shortages of health workers in developed countries triggered the development of four approaches to project future health worker requirements. We discuss each approach and show that modified versions are experiencing a resurgence in current studies estimating health worker requirements to meet population health goals, such as the United Nations' health-related Millennium Development Goals. A perceived "cost explosion" in many health systems shifted the focus to the study of the effect of health workers' behavior on health system efficiency during the second phase. We review the literature on one example topic, health worker licensure. In the last phase, regional health worker shortages in developing countries and local shortages in developed countries led to research on international health worker migration and programs to increase the supply of health workers in underserved areas. Based on our review of existing studies, we suggest areas for future research on the health workforce, including the transfer of existing approaches from developed to developing countries.

Suggested Citation

Bärnighausen, Till and Bärnighausen, Till and Bloom, David E., Changing Research Perspectives on the Global Health Workforce (July 2009). NBER Working Paper No. w15168, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1442651

Till Bärnighausen

University of KwaZulu-Natal ( email )

Umbilo Road
Durban 4000, KZN 4000
South Africa

Harvard University - Department of Population and International Health

665 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
United States

David E. Bloom (Contact Author)

Harvard University - T.H. Chan School of Public Health ( email )

677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA MA 02115
United States
617-432-0654 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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