Skill mix
Determining and achieving the right mix of health personnel are major challenges for most health care organisations and health systems. Health care is labour-intensive and health care managers strive to identify the most effective mix of staff that can be achieved with the available resources while also taking into consideration local priorities.
Skill mix in the health care workforce: reviewing the evidence by Jim Buchan and Mario Dal Poz reviews publications that examine the skill mix in health care. Much of the literature is based on experiences from the USA , although analyses from other countries are used, where available. The paper gives a brief overview of the determining factors that should be taken into consideration when assessing and adjusting skill mix. It then summarises the main findings from a literature review, highlighting the evidence on skill mix that is available to inform health system managers, health professionals, health policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Coverage and skill mix balance of human resources for health in Myanmar considers the current distribution and balance of skill mix in various townships. The paper explores the expansion of township hospital beds, Rural Health Centres (RHCs) and sub-centres and questions whether the current skill mix is appropriate and cost-effective for the rural areas.
Further resources
Skill mix in the health care workforce: reviewing the evidence by Jim Buchan and Mario Dal Poz reviews publications that examine the skill mix in health care. Much of the literature is based on experiences from the USA , although analyses from other countries are used, where available. The paper gives a brief overview of the determining factors that should be taken into consideration when assessing and adjusting skill mix. It then summarises the main findings from a literature review, highlighting the evidence on skill mix that is available to inform health system managers, health professionals, health policy-makers and other stakeholders.
Coverage and skill mix balance of human resources for health in Myanmar considers the current distribution and balance of skill mix in various townships. The paper explores the expansion of township hospital beds, Rural Health Centres (RHCs) and sub-centres and questions whether the current skill mix is appropriate and cost-effective for the rural areas.
Further resources
- Skill mix in the health care workforce: reviewing the evidence
- ( J. Buchan; M. Dal Poz / World Health Organization , 2002)
- One of the major challenges for health care organisations is to find the right mix of personnel. This article, taken from the ‘Bulletin of the World Health Organisation’, reviews publications that exa...
- Skills-mix and policy change in the health workforce: nurses in advanced roles
- ( J. Buchan; L. Calman / OECD Development Centre , 2005)
- This working paper from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) examines "skills-mix" between nurses and physicians in hospital and primary-care settings. The research was pa...
