Eastern Europe & Central Asia

Few countries require that physicians demonstrate explicitly that they remain fit to practice. The term revalidation is defined as an evaluation of a medical practitioner’s fitness to practise. Although this definition focuses on assessment, it is recognized that the process leading up to it should be formative, encouraging professional development as well as identifying those unfit to practice. [adapted from author]

The document provides a brief overview of licensing criteria and processes in the European Region, and the arrangements for the regulation of those who hold licenses. [from abstract]

This brief synthesizes best practices in achieving reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP) goals for the Europe and Eurasia region, and highlights the role of the private sector in meeting these goals. [from author]

This paper looks at reproductive health and family planning programs in the Eastern Europe and Eurasian region. It includes: a methodology to analyze the RH/FP market; an overview of opportunities and constraints to the private sector region; a description of current practices in the region that foster a greater private sector role in the provision of FP services and products; and recommendations for leveraging and maximizing private sector contribution to RH/FP goals. [adapted from author]

The migration of medical professionals as a result of the expansion of the European Union is cause for concern. But there is a significant lack of information available about this phenomenon. This study did a search of secondary databases about the presence of european doctors working abroad and a survey of professional organisations and regulators in countries of the European Union. [from abstract]

As part of the process for implementation of the WHO Global Initiate, Making Pregnancy Safer in the European Region, a regional course in follow-up after training of providers in Essential Obstetric and Neonatal Care and Breastfeeding, was held in Samara. The main objectives of the workshop were to train local and regional supervisors for MPS/PEPC training activities and to facilitate the first use of the regional follow-up tools; the workshop also focused on providing knowledge and skills reinforcement as a follow-up to training in obstetric care, neonatal care and breastfeeding, when appropriate.

This report presents an overview of the policy implications of the international migration of health workers in Europe, based on case studies conducted in five countries – Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and the United Kingdom – and draws on information from other WHO European Region countries, such as Israel and Latvia. [from introduction]

Health Systems in Transition (HiT) profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of each health care system and of reform and policy initiatives in progress or under development. [publisher’s description] Each report contains a section on human resources for health including an overview of the situation and specific health workforce statistics.

This is a report of a Workshop organised by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, with the objectives of building the evidence base for Human Resources for Health (HRH) in Europe by identifying the key policy questions that policy makers face in HRH, agreeing upon an agenda for development of options, and undertaking further validation of the WHO HQ/HRH framework. The workshop allowed further exploration of the framework and validation for theEuropean region; and, with the participation of policy makers, enabled the identification of thekey HRH issues/policy questions for the region, and identification of initial priorities for building capacity and action.

This document attempts to review the HRH situation in the WHO European Region. Section 2 addresses the problems associated with varying definitions to ensure a common understanding of the issues involved. In section 3, a number of key methodological issues (the relevance of HRH, education, management, regulation, etc.,) are analyzed. Section 4 summarizes the key HRH facts and figures for the region. In conclusion, section 5 describes the way forward and the main EURO policy proposals for supporting member states in this complex sphere. [author’s description]

This book examines some of the major challenges facing health care professions in Europe and the potential responses to these challenges. The authors document how health care systems in Europe are confronting existing challenges in relation to the health workforce and identify the strategies that are likely to be most effective in optimizing the management of health professionals in the future. [from publisher]

The paper outlines a conceptual framework that integrates the key strategies that must be addressed and linked if policy-makers are to create the kinds of health care system to which the citizens of [central and eastern Europe and Eurasia] are entitled. It examines how financing, coordinated service delivery and quality measures matter independently, and it highlights the need to interweave them effectively with citizen and community participation mechanisms and a far-reaching concern for public health. It also reviews the complex issues that hinder or help the implementation of reforms and suggests how an understanding of context, stakeholders and capacity will be critical to delivering change.

This report is the outcome of a seminar held in Brussels on 15th June 2004. The aims of the seminar were firstly to share information on gender and occupational safety and health (OSH) issues, including a gender-sensitive approach in OSH and how gender can be mainstreamed into OSH, and secondly to facilitate discussion and debate among EU and national authorities, social partners and experts on how to take forward gender issues in OSH. It includes proposals for taking forward gender issues in OSH. [Publisher’s description]

Countries in the Europe and Eurasia region are facing a significant and expanding HIV/AIDS epidemic that is largely concentrated among particularly vulnerable populations. A window of opportunity exists to respond effectively to the epidemic and to halt its spread, both within and beyond vulnerable populations. However, available evidence indicates that this opportunity is being missed. One explanation for this is that significant barriers exist within the region’s health systems that prevent rapid scale–up of effective HIV/AIDS programs.

This study seeks to examine these barriers and ways they can be overcome.