Strengthening Human Resources for Health and Implications for Pandemic Planning

How should we plan for growing human resources needs in our health systems? How should epidemics and pandemics, like COVID-19, be included in strategic planning for HRH? How do we continue to prioritize human resources development in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC)? This course has been designed to provide those working in the health sector with tools and skills to understand, assess and formulate strategies to improve human resources for health. Individuals and country teams will learn from expert faculty as well as peers from other nations. All participants will leave this program creating their own draft country strategic plans for human resources as well as crisis management.

The SDG health objectives and UHC require a focus on human resources, critical to improving health outcomes for all–now even more complicated due to COVID. A lack of human resources capacity is a major barrier to the achievement of these goals.  Health officials in all countries need to recruit and retain skilled health workers at all levels. They also need to strengthen educational and management systems as well as finance all of the above.  Until recently human resource training has focused on personnel management and on static models of planning for the public sector.  This course, however, has been formulated to incorporate tools and skills to help you create innovative strategies applicable in both the public and private sectors.

• Learn how to effectively assess the human resource situation in your country/area;
• Examine the financing, education and labor market for effective human resource strategies;
• Learn tools to develop human resources policies (pay for performance, strategic planning, priority setting);
• Apply human resource strategies to other system topics (UHC, quality, politics, etc.);
• Learn critical , negotiation and conflict resolution strategies.
• Create own draft country strategic plans for human resources

The curriculum of the course includes the following:

• Financing Assessment for Human Resources
• Education Assessment and Human Resources
• Management Capacity and Human Resources
• Strategic Planning and Human Resources
• Health Status and Human Resources
• Pay for Performance
• Labor Market Approach
• Leadership and Institutional Change
• Conflict Resolution for Human Resources
• Application of COVID-19 Content

This interactive, hybrid course offers a blend of theory and practice, geared to an audience focused on implementation.  Included throughout the course are lectures, Q&A time, group work, case studies, problem sets, and preparation of group and individual case presentations. Facilitated discussion among participants is expected throughout the course. Participants are encouraged to have on hand their own country material and resources on health systems related to the process of human resources development and management.

This eight-day (over two weeks) course is designed for individuals working in either the public or private sectors who are managing and/or developing strategies and policies for human resources development.  We are seeking experienced participants working in the health sector. Applicants from both government and non-governmental organizations will benefit from this course. Additionally, we encourage participation by teams of participants who can work together in the course to develop draft strategic plans for their own organizations or countries.

Dr. Thomas J. Bossert is director of the International Health Systems Program at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health as well as a Senior Lecturer on Health Policy in the Department of Global Health and Population.  He led the development of the Assessing Financing, Education, Management and Policy Context for Strategic Planning of Human Resources for Health for WHO and has taught courses on strategic planning in several countries for WHO and UNICEF.  Additionally, he has directed technical assistance projects and applied research in Latin America, Asia, and Africa on decentralization, institutional transformation, and health policy

Dr. Diana Bowser  has her primary academic appointment at Brandeis University as an associate professor and is the Course Director for Global Executive Courses within the International Health Systems Program. She has 19 years of experience in health system analysis related to health economics, health policy, and using econometric methods to evaluate health system changes in Latin America, Africa, and the United States. She has provided technical assistance and conducted research with funding from USAID, DFID, WHO, the Global Fund, Save the Children, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IADB, NIH, and the World Bank. She has worked closely with the following governments on these policy issues: Nigeria, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Namibia, Swaziland, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Ukraine, Kosovo, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.