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Showing papers on "Workforce published in 2015"


Journal ArticleDOI
15 Sep 2015-JAMA
TL;DR: There were sex differences in academic faculty rank among physicians with faculty appointments at US medical schools, with women substantially less likely than men to be full professors, after accounting for age, experience, specialty, and measures of research productivity.
Abstract: Importance The proportion of women at the rank of full professor in US medical schools has not increased since 1980 and remains below that of men. Whether differences in age, experience, specialty, and research productivity between sexes explain persistent disparities in faculty rank has not been studied. Objective To analyze sex differences in faculty rank among US academic physicians. Design, Setting, and Participants We analyzed sex differences in faculty rank using a cross-sectional comprehensive database of US physicians with medical school faculty appointments in 2014 (91 073 physicians; 9.1% of all US physicians), linked to information on physician sex, age, years since residency, specialty, authored publications, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, and clinical trial investigation. We estimated sex differences in full professorship, as well as a combined outcome of associate or full professorship, adjusting for these factors in a multilevel (hierarchical) model. We also analyzed how sex differences varied with specialty and whether differences were more prevalent at schools ranked highly in research. Exposures Physician sex. Main Outcomes and Measures Academic faculty rank. Results In all, there were 30 464 women who were medical faculty vs 60 609 men. Of those, 3623 women (11.9%) vs 17 354 men (28.6%) had full-professor appointments, for an absolute difference of −16.7% (95% CI, −17.3% to −16.2%). Women faculty were younger and disproportionately represented in internal medicine and pediatrics. The mean total number of publications for women was 11.6 vs 24.8 for men, for a difference of −13.2 (95% CI, −13.6 to −12.7); the mean first- or last-author publications for women was 5.9 vs 13.7 for men, for a difference of −7.8 (95% CI, −8.1 to −7.5). Among 9.1% of medical faculty with an NIH grant, 6.8% (2059 of 30 464) were women and 10.3% (6237 of 60 609) were men, for a difference of −3.5% (95% CI, −3.9% to −3.1%). In all, 6.4% of women vs 8.8% of men had a trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, for a difference of −2.4% (95% CI, −2.8% to −2.0%). After multivariable adjustment, women were less likely than men to have achieved full-professor status (absolute adjusted difference in proportion, −3.8%; 95% CI, −4.4% to −3.3%). Sex-differences in full professorship were present across all specialties and did not vary according to whether a physician’s medical school was ranked highly in terms of research funding. Conclusions and Relevance Among physicians with faculty appointments at US medical schools, there were sex differences in academic faculty rank, with women substantially less likely than men to be full professors, after accounting for age, experience, specialty, and measures of research productivity.

428 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work proposes a modification of the Triple Aim to acknowledge the importance of physicians, nurses and all employees finding joy and meaning in their work, and adds a fourth aim: improving the experience of providing care.
Abstract: In 2008, Donald Berwick and colleagues provided a framework for the delivery of high value care in the USA, the Triple Aim, that is centred around three overarching goals: improving the individual experience of care; improving the health of populations; and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.1 The intent is that the Triple Aim will guide the redesign of healthcare systems and the transition to population health. Health systems globally grapple with these challenges of improving the health of populations while simultaneously lowering healthcare costs. As a result, the Triple Aim, although originally conceived within the USA, has been adopted as a set of principles for health system reform within many organisations around the world. The successful achievement of the Triple Aim requires highly effective healthcare organisations. The backbone of any effective healthcare system is an engaged and productive workforce.2 But the Triple Aim does not explicitly acknowledge the critical role of the workforce in healthcare transformation. We propose a modification of the Triple Aim to acknowledge the importance of physicians, nurses and all employees finding joy and meaning in their work. This ‘Quadruple Aim’ would add a fourth aim: improving the experience of providing care. The core of workforce engagement is the experience of joy and meaning in the work of healthcare. This is not synonymous with happiness, rather that all members of the workforce have a sense of accomplishment and meaning in their contributions. By meaning, we refer to the sense of importance of daily work. By joy, we refer to the feeling of success and fulfilment that results from meaningful work. In the UK, the National Health Service has captured this with the notion of an engaged staff that ‘think and act in a positive way about the work they do, the people they …

418 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Older people can be valuable economic, social, cultural, and familial resources, but are also likely to be associated with a shrinking workforce and higher demand for health care, social care, and social pensions.

402 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of informal volunteers in emergency and disaster management is reviewed and it is argued that there is an overemphasis on volunteering within, and for, state and formal organizations.
Abstract: Despite highly specialised and capable emergency management systems, ordinary citizens are usually first on the scene in an emergency or disaster, and remain long after official services have ceased. Citizens often play vital roles in helping those affected to respond and recover, and can provide invaluable assistance to official agencies. However, in most developed countries, emergency and disaster management relies largely on a workforce of professionals and, to varying degrees, volunteers affiliated with official agencies. Those who work outside of such systems have tended to be viewed as a nuisance or liability, and their efforts are often undervalued. Given increasing disaster risk worldwide due to population growth, urban development and climate change, it is likely that 'informal' volunteers will provide much of the additional surge capacity required to respond to more frequent emergencies and disasters in the future. This paper considers the role of informal volunteers in emergency and disaster management. Definitions of volunteerism are reviewed and it is argued that there is an overemphasis on volunteering within, and for, state and formal organisations. We offer a broader definition of 'informal volunteerism' that recognises the many ways ordinary citizens volunteer their time, knowledge, skills and resources to help others in times of crisis. Two broad types of informal volunteerism are identified - emergent and extending - and the implications for emergency and disaster management are considered. Particular attention is given to increasing 'digital volunteerism' due to the greater accessibility of sophisticated but simple information and communication technologies. Culture and legal liability are identified as key barriers to greater participation of informal volunteers. We argue that more adaptive and inclusive models of emergency and disaster management are needed to harness the capacities and resilience that exist within and across communities.

314 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Four cross-cutting diversity challenges ripe for scientific exploration and opportunity are identified: research evidence for diversity’s impact on the quality and outputs of science; evidence-based approaches to recruitment and training; individual and institutional barriers to workforce diversity; and a national strategy for eliminating barriers to career transition.
Abstract: The US biomedical research workforce does not currently mirror the nation's population demographically, despite numerous attempts to increase diversity. This imbalance is limiting the promise of our biomedical enterprise for building knowledge and improving the nation's health. Beyond ensuring fairness in scientific workforce representation, recruiting and retaining a diverse set of minds and approaches is vital to harnessing the complete intellectual capital of the nation. The complexity inherent in diversifying the research workforce underscores the need for a rigorous scientific approach, consistent with the ways we address the challenges of science discovery and translation to human health. Herein, we identify four cross-cutting diversity challenges ripe for scientific exploration and opportunity: research evidence for diversity's impact on the quality and outputs of science; evidence-based approaches to recruitment and training; individual and institutional barriers to workforce diversity; and a national strategy for eliminating barriers to career transition, with scientifically based approaches for scaling and dissemination. Evidence-based data for each of these challenges should provide an integrated, stepwise approach to programs that enhance diversity rapidly within the biomedical research workforce.

266 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work aims to provide an overview of education, tasks and remuneration of nurses and other primary care team members in six OECD countries using a framework of team organization across the care continuum to inspire policy makers and researchers to work on efficient and effective teams care models worldwide.

252 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A paradigm shift in the relationship between medical schools in four African countries has created a culture of collaboration, overriding the history of competition, and the positive impact on the quality and efficiency of health workforce training suggests that future funding for global health education should prioritize such south-south collaborations.
Abstract: African medical schools have historically turned to northern partners for technical assistance and resources to strengthen their education and research programmes. In 2010, this paradigm shifted when the United States Government brought forward unprecedented resources to support African medical schools. The grant, entitled the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) triggered a number of south-south collaborations between medical schools in Africa. This paper examines the goals of these partnerships and their impact on medical education and health workforce planning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the Principal Investigators of the first four MEPI programmes that formed an in-country consortium. These interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded to identify common themes. All of the consortia have prioritized efforts to increase the quality of medical education, support new schools in-country and strengthen relations with government. These in-country partnerships have enabled schools to pool and mobilize limited resources creatively and generate locally-relevant curricula based on best-practices. The established schools are helping new schools by training faculty and using grant funds to purchase learning materials for their students. The consortia have strengthened the dialogue between academia and policy-makers enabling evidence-based health workforce planning. All of the partnerships are expected to last well beyond the MEPI grant as a result of local ownership and institutionalization of collaborative activities. The consortia described in this paper demonstrate a paradigm shift in the relationship between medical schools in four African countries. While schools in Africa have historically worked in silos, competing for limited resources, MEPI funding that was leveraged to form in-country partnerships has created a culture of collaboration, overriding the history of competition. The positive impact on the quality and efficiency of health workforce training suggests that future funding for global health education should prioritize such south-south collaborations.

222 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The literature related to aging at work is reviewed, including physical, cognitive, personality, and motivational changes; life-span development theories; age stereotyping; age diversity; and work–life balance.
Abstract: The workforce in most industrialized countries is aging and becoming more age-diverse, and this trend is expected to continue throughout the twenty-first century. Although there has been an increased interest in research on age differences at work, few studies have examined actual interventions designed to support workers at different points across the life span. In this article, we review the literature related to aging at work, including physical, cognitive, personality, and motivational changes; life-span development theories; age stereotyping; age diversity; and work–life balance. Based on this review, we propose a number of avenues for intervention research to address age differences at work. We conclude by identifying critical challenges specific to studying age at work that should be addressed to advance research on interventions.

221 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
15 Sep 2015-JAMA
TL;DR: Sex Differences in Institutional Support for Junior Biomedical Researchers Women are underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce and one reason may be differences in early-career institutional support, which to the authors' knowledge has not been previously examined.
Abstract: Sex Differences in Institutional Support for Junior Biomedical Researchers Women are underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. Only 30% of funded investigators are women.1,2 Junior faculty women have fewer peer-reviewed publications than men3,4 and are more often on clinicianeducator (vs traditional) tracks.5 One reason may be differences in early-career institutional support, which to our knowledge has not been previously examined.

176 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results provided by this study bring an overview of migration among trainees and the challenges faced in this pathway, contributing to the necessary steps into effective policy interventions that optimize the impact of migration for all the concerned.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The expected and potential impact that telemedicine will have on pediatric physicians’ efforts to improve access and physician workforce shortages is described and how the American Academy of Pediatrics can advocate for its members and their patients is described.
Abstract: The use of telemedicine technologies by primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists (henceforth referred to as "pediatric physicians") has the potential to transform the practice of pediatrics. The purpose of this policy statement is to describe the expected and potential impact that telemedicine will have on pediatric physicians' efforts to improve access and physician workforce shortages. The policy statement also describes how the American Academy of Pediatrics can advocate for its members and their patients to best use telemedicine technologies to improve access to care, provide more patient- and family-centered care, increase efficiencies in practice, enhance the quality of care, and address projected shortages in the clinical workforce. As the use of telemedicine increases, it is likely to impact health care access, quality, and education and costs of care. Telemedicine technologies, applied to the medical home and its collaborating providers, have the potential to improve current models of care by increasing communication among clinicians, resulting in more efficient, higher quality, and less expensive care. Such a model can serve as a platform for providing more continuous care, linking primary and specialty care to support management of the needs of complex patients. In addition, telemedicine technologies can be used to efficiently provide pediatric physicians working in remote locations with ongoing medical education, increasing their ability to care for more complex patients in their community, reducing the burdens of travel on patients and families, and supporting the medical home. On the other hand, telemedicine technologies used for episodic care by nonmedical home providers have the potential to disrupt continuity of care and to create redundancy and imprudent use of health care resources. Fragmentation should be avoided, and telemedicine, like all primary and specialty services, should be coordinated through the medical home.

Proceedings ArticleDOI
18 May 2015
TL;DR: This paper uses the main findings of the five year log analysis to propose features used in a predictive model aiming at determining the expected performance of any batch at a specific point in time, and shows that the number of tasks left in a batch and how recent the batch is are two key features of the prediction.
Abstract: Micro-task crowdsourcing is rapidly gaining popularity among research communities and businesses as a means to leverage Human Computation in their daily operations. Unlike any other service, a crowdsourcing platform is in fact a marketplace subject to human factors that affect its performance, both in terms of speed and quality. Indeed, such factors shape the \emph{dynamics} of the crowdsourcing market. For example, a known behavior of such markets is that increasing the reward of a set of tasks would lead to faster results. However, it is still unclear how different dimensions interact with each other: reward, task type, market competition, requester reputation, etc. In this paper, we adopt a data-driven approach to (A) perform a long-term analysis of a popular micro-task crowdsourcing platform and understand the evolution of its main actors (workers, requesters, tasks, and platform). (B) We leverage the main findings of our five year log analysis to propose features used in a predictive model aiming at determining the expected performance of any batch at a specific point in time. We show that the number of tasks left in a batch and how recent the batch is are two key features of the prediction. (C) Finally, we conduct an analysis of the demand (new tasks posted by the requesters) and supply (number of tasks completed by the workforce) and show how they affect task prices on the marketplace.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Four actions that can be implemented now include applying lessons from the MD-PhD training experience to postgraduate training, shortening the time to independence by at least 5 years, achieving greater diversity and numbers in training programs, and establishing Physician-Scientist Career Development offices at medical centers and universities.
Abstract: The 2014 NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce (PSW) Working Group report identified distressing trends among the small proportion of physicians who consider research to be their primary occupation. If unchecked, these trends will lead to a steep decline in the size of the workforce. They include high rates of attrition among young investigators, failure to maintain a robust and diverse pipeline, and a marked increase in the average age of physician-scientists, as older investigators have chosen to continue working and too few younger investigators have entered the workforce to replace them when they eventually retire. While the policy debates continue, here we propose four actions that can be implemented now. These include applying lessons from the MD-PhD training experience to postgraduate training, shortening the time to independence by at least 5 years, achieving greater diversity and numbers in training programs, and establishing Physician-Scientist Career Development offices at medical centers and universities. Rather than waiting for the federal government to solve our problems, we urge the academic community to address these goals by partnering with the NIH and national clinical specialty and medical organizations.

MonographDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors combine newly available data on the distribution of Syrian refugees across Turkey and the Turkish Labour Force Survey to assess their labor market impact, finding that low-educated and women experience net displacement from the labor market and, together with those in the informal sector, declining earning opportunities.
Abstract: Currently 2.5 million Syrians fleeing war have found refuge in Turkey, making it the largest refugee-hosting country worldwide. This paper combines newly available data on the distribution of Syrian refugees across Turkey and the Turkish Labour Force Survey to assess their labor market impact. Syrian refugees are overwhelmingly employed informally, since they were not issued work permits, making their arrival a well-defined supply shock to informal labor. Consistent with economic theory our instrumental variable estimates, which also control for distance from the Turkish-Syrian border, suggest large-scale displacement of natives in the informal sector. At the same time, consistent with occupational upgrading, there are increases in formal employment for the Turkish - though only for men without completed high school education. Women and the high-skilled are not in a good position to take advantage of lower cost informal labor. The low educated and women experience net displacement from the labor market and, together with those in the informal sector, declining earning opportunities.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An investigation of some of the major factors and their geneses at play in explaining the increasing average age to first RO1 is presented and recommendations related to funding, peer review, career paths, and the university–government partnership are provided.
Abstract: A number of distressing trends, including a decline in the share of key research grants going to younger scientists, as well as a steady rise in the age at which investigators receive their first funding, are now a decades-long feature of the US biomedical research workforce. Working committees have proposed recommendations, policy makers have implemented reforms, and yet the trajectory of our funding regime away from young scientists has only worsened. An investigation of some of the major factors and their geneses at play in explaining the increasing average age to first RO1 is presented. Recommendations related to funding, peer review, career paths, and the university–government partnership are provided.

01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: A literature review on recent research results analysing the implications of industry 4.0 and cyber physical systems on human labour and work organisation is presented in this paper, which provides an overview of the current status of discussion on this matter.
Abstract: This article comprises a literature review on recent research results analysing the implications of industry 4.0 and cyber physical systems on human labour and work organisation meant to provide an overview of the current status of discussion on this matter. It therefore provides a summary of the results from several international research studies and initiatives consolidating respective research findings further supplemented by the results of an additional non-representative expert panel review. The main findings indicate that Industry 4.0 would lead to a substantial decrease in standardised low-skill and an increase in high-skill activities, embracing planning, control and IT-related tasks. The majority of researchers expects a growing complexity in many job profiles, along with an increasing need for cross-functional work organisation and cross-company partner networks. They also project a growing importance of continuous learning, training and education in order for the workforce to be able to adapt to future qualification requirements derived from Industry 4.0 technologies. As a result of those developments, a transformation of the tax system is suggested, away from the current focus on labour taxes.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Work-integrated learning includes a range of learning tasks that either resemble those expected of working graduates in their early careers, or are proximal to the workplaces or spaces, physical or digital, where professional work occurs as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Employability features more prominently on the agenda of higher education institutions when the economy falters or changes: the majority of students, and their families, expect a degree to deliver a career pathway as well as an education. This paper explores some of the trends and predictions in the rapidly changing world of work and proposes a re-worked definition of employability (based on Yorke’s widely-accepted definition from 2006): that employability means that students and graduates can discern, acquire, adapt and continually enhance the skills, understandings and personal attributes that make them more likely to find and create meaningful paid and unpaid work that benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy. Likewise, work-integrated learning requires sharper definition than an ‘umbrella term’. This paper proposes that work-integrated learning includes a range of learning tasks that either resemble those expected of working graduates in their early careers, or are proximal to the workplaces or spaces, physical or digital, where professional work occurs. Determining the appropriate spread of tasks across a degree is best done by mapping assessments, ensuring there are more high level tasks in the latter years so that students are prompted to focus on the skills, understandings and personal attributes that make them more likely to find and create meaningful paid and unpaid work that benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the importance of teacher wellbeing as an intentional inclusion in both the professional development of practising teachers and within pre-service teacher education programs, which will empower teachers to better negotiate these imposed systemic constraints.
Abstract: There is an increasing awareness that the wellbeing of a workforce is an important consideration in any organisation. Within the context of education, possibilities for supporting teacher wellbeing are mediated by neoliberal policy technologies that are incongruent with key aspects of wellness. Reviewing the literature, it appears there is value in prioritising teacher wellbeing as an intentional inclusion in both the professional development of practising teachers and within pre-service teacher education programs. This inclusion will empower teachers to better negotiate these imposed systemic constraints. Education for teachers regarding key facets of wellbeing - including managing emotional labour and the importance of professional social networks - is found to be essential in retaining and sustaining the teaching profession, thus enabling greater possibilities for professional flourishing.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results indicate that the HCA workforce is both invisible and ubiquitous; as long as this is the case, governments and healthcare organizations will be limited in their ability to develop and implement feasible, effective H CA workforce plans.
Abstract: Background: Healthcare aides (HCAs) are the primary caregivers for vulnerable older persons. They have many titles and are largely unregulated, which contributes to their relative invisibility. The objective of this scoping review was to evaluate the breadth and depth of the HCA workforce literature. Methods: We conducted a search of seven online bibliographic databases. Studies were included if published since 1995 in English, peer-reviewed journals. Results were iteratively synthesized within and across the following five categories: education, supply, use, demand and injury and illness. Results: Of 5,045 citations screened, 82 studies met inclusion criteria. Few examined HCA education; particularly trainee characteristics, program location, length and content. Results in supply indicated that the average HCA was female, 36–45 years and had an education level of high school or less. Home health HCAs were, on average, older and were more likely to be immigrants than those working in other settings. The review of studies exploring HCA use revealed that their role was unclear – variation in duties, level of autonomy and work setting make describing “the” role of an HCA near impossible. Projected increased demand for HCAs and high rates of turnover, both at the profession and facility-level, elicit predictions of future HCA shortages. Home health HCAs experienced comparatively lower job stability, earned less, worked the fewest hours and were less likely to have fringe benefits than HCAs employed in hospitals and nursing homes. The review of studies related to HCA illness and injury revealed that they were at comparatively higher risk of injury than registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Conclusions: This is the largest, most comprehensive scoping review of HCA workforce literature to date. Our results indicate that the HCA workforce is both invisible and ubiquitous; as long as this is the case, governments and healthcare organizations will be limited in their ability to develop and implement feasible, effective HCA workforce plans. The continued undervaluation of HCAs adversely impacts care providers, the institutions they work for and those who depend on their care. Future workforce planning and research necessitates national HCA registries, or at minimum, directories.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is a lack of evidence from rigorous evaluations on the effectiveness of interventions for improving cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples, and future evaluations should employ more rigorous study designs and extend their measurement of outcomes beyond those relating to health professionals, to those related to the health of Indigenous peoples.
Abstract: Purpose: This article describes the characteristics and reviews the methodological quality of interventions designed to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Data sources: A total of 17 electronic databases and 13 websites for the period of 2002–13. Study selection: Studies were included if they evaluated an intervention strategy designed to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, the USA or Canada. Data extraction: Information on the characteristics and methodological quality of included studies was extracted using standardized assessment tools. Results of data synthesis: Sixteen published evaluations of interventions to improve cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples were identified: 11 for Indigenous peoples of the USA and 5 for Indigenous Australians. The main types of intervention strategies were education and training of the health workforce, culturally specific health programs and recruitment of an Indigenous health workforce. Main positive outcomes reported were improvements in health professionals’ confidence, and patients’ satisfaction with and access to health care. The methodological quality of evaluations and the reporting of key methodological criteria were variable. Particular problems included weak study designs, low or no reporting of consent rates, confounding and nonvalidated measurement instruments. Conclusion: There is a lack of evidence from rigorous evaluations on the effectiveness of interventions for improving cultural competency in health care for Indigenous peoples. Future evaluations should employ more rigorous study designs and extend their measurement of outcomes beyond those relating to health professionals, to those relating to the health of Indigenous peoples.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The concept and causal mechanisms of bureaucratic representation in the context of schools remain largely unfamiliar to education researchers as discussed by the authors, although scholars in those fields long ago recognized that the public school system is a large bureaucracy with diverse street-level bureaucrats (teachers) and clients (students and parents).
Abstract: Bureaucratic representation—the idea that a governmental organization is better situated to serve its clients when its employee composition reflects that of its client population—has received considerable scholarly attention in the study of public institutions in the fields of political science and public administration. In a wide variety of settings, this research has demonstrated important connections between the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of the public sector workforce and how different groups—particularly traditionally underserved groups—interact with street-level bureaucrats and benefit from public services. Although scholars in those fields long ago recognized that the public school system is a large bureaucracy with diverse street-level bureaucrats (teachers) and clients (students and parents) and thus began studying bureaucratic representation in the context of schools, the concept and the causal mechanisms it hypothesizes remain largely unfamiliar to education researchers. This articl...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An empirically based taxonomy of the human resource policies of European employers in relation to older workers shows that the employers clearly use exit policies more intensively than they use development measures, which indicates a dual approach to managing the employment of older workers.
Abstract: Purpose of the Study: We offer an empirically based taxonomy of the human resource policies of European employers in relation to older workers. In particular, 3 age-based strategies are discussed and analyzed in a simultaneous fashion: a focus on exit through retirement, workplace accommodation measures, and employee development measures. Design and Methods: A sample of 3,638 organizations in 6 European countries (Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden) is analyzed to discover which of the 7 antecedents investigated herein are associated with the implementation of these human resource strategies. The key predictors are the proportion of older workers (aged 50 or older), organization size, seniority-based compensation, labor union involvement, training requirement, recruitment problems, and knowledge intensity. Structural equation modeling is used to assess whether these predictors are associated with the 3 latent factors. Results: The 7 key predictors of the 3 strategies show that these strategies are used simultaneously, but that the employers clearly use exit policies more intensively than they use development measures. Organizations thus use a dual approach to managing the employment of older workers. They may sort older workers either upwards (e.g., by encouraging career development and training) or outwards (by promoting early retirement). The same division can be detected when examining the effects of labor union involvement and seniority-based wages. When recruitment problems are encountered, more effort is directed toward accommodation and investment. Implications: Despite the warnings of policymakers about the possible consequences of an aging population, European employers are not yet formulating strategies that promote active aging, often still opting for the easy way out, via exit strategies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Older adults living in residential long-term care or nursing homes have increasingly complex needs, including more dementia than in the past, yet little is known about the unregulated workforce providing care.
Abstract: Older adults living in residential long-term care or nursing homes have increasingly complex needs, including more dementia than in the past, yet we know little about the unregulated workforce providing care. We surveyed 1,381 care aides in a representative sample of 30 urban nursing homes in the three Canadian Prairie provinces and report demographic, health and well-being, and work-related characteristics. Over 50 per cent of respondents were not born in Canada and did not speak English as their fi rst language. They reported moderately high levels of burnout and a strong sense of their work’s worth. Few respondents reported attending educational sessions. This direct caregiver workforce is poorly understood, has limited training or standards for minimum education, and training varies widely across provinces. Workplace characteristics affecting care aides refl ect factors that precipitate burnout in allied health professions, with implications for quality of care, staff health, and staff retention.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Strengthening national health systems to improve maternal and newborn health will only be possible by addressing specific health system bottlenecks during labour and birth, including those within health workforce, health financing and health service delivery.
Abstract: Good outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth are related to availability, utilisation and effective implementation of essential interventions for labour and childbirth. The majority of the estimated 289,000 maternal deaths, 2.8 million neonatal deaths and 2.6 million stillbirths every year could be prevented by improving access to and scaling up quality care during labour and birth. The bottleneck analysis tool was applied in 12 countries in Africa and Asia as part of the Every Newborn Action Plan process. Country workshops engaged technical experts to complete the survey tool, which is designed to synthesise and grade health system "bottlenecks", factors that hinder the scale up, of maternal-newborn intervention packages. We used quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse the bottleneck data, combined with literature review, to present priority bottlenecks and actions relevant to different health system building blocks for skilled birth attendance and basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care. Across 12 countries the most critical bottlenecks identified by workshop participants for skilled birth attendance were health financing (10 out of 12 countries) and health workforce (9 out of 12 countries). Health service delivery bottlenecks were found to be the most critical for both basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric care (9 out of 12 countries); health financing was identified as having critical bottlenecks for comprehensive emergency obstetric care (9 out of 12 countries). Solutions to address health financing bottlenecks included strengthening national financing mechanisms and removing financial barriers to care seeking. For addressing health workforce bottlenecks, improved human resource planning is needed, including task shifting and improving training quality. For health service delivery, proposed solutions included improving quality of care and establishing public private partnerships. Progress towards the 2030 targets for ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths is dependent on improving quality of care during birth and the immediate postnatal period. Strengthening national health systems to improve maternal and newborn health, as a cornerstone of universal health coverage, will only be possible by addressing specific health system bottlenecks during labour and birth, including those within health workforce, health financing and health service delivery.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The rates and costs of nurse turnover across three States in Australia will be reported, particularly in light of protracted and continuing workforce shortages.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It seems important for middle-income countries to start developing LTCI schemes early, before aging becomes a significant problem and substantial revenues are needed and early financing ensures that the service delivery system has time to adapt.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Issues for considering well-being in public policy related to workers and the workplace are identified.
Abstract: Action to address workforce functioning and productivity requires a broader approach than the traditional scope of occupational safety and health. Focus on "well-being" may be one way to develop a more encompassing objective. Well-being is widely cited in public policy pronouncements, but often as ". . . and well-being" (e.g., health and well-being). It is generally not defined in policy and rarely operationalized for functional use. Many definitions of well-being exist in the occupational realm. Generally, it is a synonym for health and a summative term to describe a flourishing worker who benefits from a safe, supportive workplace, engages in satisfying work, and enjoys a fulfilling work life. We identified issues for considering well-being in public policy related to workers and the workplace.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Non–day shift workers may be exposed to more stressful events in this cohort of police work-related stress and interventions to reduce or manage police stress that are tailored by shift may be considered.
Abstract: Background Shift work has been associated with occupational stress in health providers and in those working in some industrial companies. The association is not well established in the law enforcement workforce. Our objective was to examine the association between shift work and police work-related stress.