Women leadership for public health: The added value and needs of women driving public health system reform in Ukraine

The Ukrainian health care system is undergoing reforms. Although women constitute a driving force in the Ukrainian health system transformation, their economic and decision-making participation remains extremely low. The existence of barriers such as:  work/life balance, gender bias, stereotypes, lack of confidence, lack of mentoring, and lack of adequate networking and equal access to opportunities prevent women from reaching high leadership positions.With the aim to empower the current and future female public health leaders, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and WHO held a seminar entitled “Women’s Leadership in Public Health” in Kyiv on 16-18 May 2017. The seminar was based on the assumption that contemporary public health demands require a more inclusive and less hierarchical style of leadership – focused on developing and working with stakeholder networks. Such a leadership style is more effective in achieving public health goals.The international, interdisciplinary and inter-professional faculty engaged in the interactive meaning making around such topics as: the self-assessment of leadership competencies, public health leadership, leadership theories, system thinking, dealing with interests, power and stakeholders, barriers to women leadership and methods to address them, special leadership tools for women empowerment and leading change, communication and impact. Strengthening health systems for better health was the red thread throughout the whole seminar

Is there a golden recipe? A scoping review of public health workforce development

Background: This study intended to design a suitable and comprehensive approach for a public health workforce development plan with the ultimate goal of meeting the health objectives in different European Region countries. Methods: We performed a scoping review, including an accurate and exhaustive country-specific hand-search process, mapping the key concepts and practices used in public health workforce development based on the available evidence worldwide. Results: We identified nine comparative measures, based on common features from a scoping literature review, for the assessment of public health workforce development plans available in selected countries. This list of nine comparative measures includes: (i) Alignment between the 10 Essential Public Health Operations (EPHOs) or core public health functions and organizational resources and public health priority areas; (ii) Regulations and Norms; (iii) Capacity Assessment; (iv) Datasets and Databases; (v) Workforce Development Strategies, Planning and Management; (vi) Education, Training, Core Competencies and Models; (vii) Licensing, Accreditation and Credentialing; (viii) Forecasting Strategies for Enumerating and Quotas and (ix) Ethical and Professional Codes of Conduct. These measures are essential to develop, sustain and modernize the public health workforce effectively. Conclusion: We propose a well-balanced set of measures for countries aiming to improve or develop their public health workforce based on instruments that are successfully used and applied in a wide range of countries with different public health systems. However, the implementation should be tailored and adopted according to the specific country context and available recourses

Aligning best practices : a guiding framework as a valuable tool for Public Health Workforce Development with the example of Ukraine

Background: At present, in Ukraine, there is an insufficient capacity for up-to-date surveillance of the health status of the general population; public health (PH) promotion and disease prevention activities are scarce. Additionally, there is an urgent need to ensure, develop and support an efficient public health workforce (PHW) and appropriately address existing health issues. Ukraine currently introduces PH system reforms in line with its current burden of disease, the epidemiological profile and the Essential Public Health Services (EPHOs). This analysis aims to propose a pragmatic framework to provide guidance and recommendations related to the development, support and planning of the PHW in Ukraine. Methods: We constructed a framework based on a previously published scoping review and analyzed various policy analysis approaches. In line with the recommendations found in the literature and the best practices used elsewhere, this method enabled the construction of a framework for facilitating successful PHW development. In addition, an expert workshop was held, serving as a reality check for identifying crucial areas of the PH system in Ukraine. Results: The proposed framework includes a country’s background, the evidence and available policy options, such as the health system (including core functions, organizational resources, regulations and norms), health system capacities (including human resources; PH capacity assessment; datasets and databases; forecasting strategies; licensing, accreditation and quality assurance) and capacity building (including PH education, training, core competencies and ethical and professional codes of conduct). To facilitate and support effective implementation of the framework, we propose (1) implementing strategies to facilitate changes in attitude, behavior and practices among the citizens; (2) implementing strategies to facilitate the necessary behavioral changes in the PHW; (3) implementing strategies to facilitate the necessary organizational and institutional changes; (4) implementing strategies to facilitate system changes and (5) identification of potential barriers and obstacles for the implementation of these strategies. Conclusion: The report highlights the practical tactics and best practices for providing suggestions for PHW support and planning. The employment of prominent analytical tools and procedures in policymaking processes suggests an effective strategy for PHW development in Ukraine