Guideline

WHO guideline on health workforce development, attraction, recruitment and retention in rural and remote areas

Year of Publication

2021

Issuing Institution

World Health Organization

Links

Recommendations

17 included recommendations

Enrol students with a rural background in health worker education programmes

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Locate health worker education facilities closer to rural areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Bring students in health worker education programmes to rural and remote communities

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Align health worker education with rural health needs

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Facilitate continuing education for rural and remote health workers

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Enable rural health workers to enhance their scopes of practice to better meet the needs of their communities

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Expand range of health worker occupations to meet rural health needs

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Ensure that compulsory service agreements respect the rights of health workers and are accompanied with appropriate support and incentives

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Tie education subsidies for health workers to agreements for return of service in rural areas and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Provide a package of attractive incentives to influence health workers’ decisions to relocate to or remain in a remote or rural area

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Improve living conditions in rural and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Ensure workplace safety in rural and remote health facilities

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Ensure decent work for health workers in rural and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Foster the creation of health workforce support networks. Identify and implement appropriate health workforce support networks for health workers in rural and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Develop and strengthen career pathways for rural health workers

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Low

Facilitate knowledge exchange between health workers. Support the development of networks, associations and journals for health workers in rural and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Raise the profile of rural health workers. Adopt social recognition measures at all levels for health workers in rural and remote areas

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low