Analysis of Health Workforce Retention and Attraction Policies in Lao PDR

Worldwide, Lao PDR has been identified among 57 countries with a critical shortage and skewed distribution of its health workforce, especially in remote and rural areas (Guilbert 2006, World Bank 2015). Healthcare education is provided by the public sector through nine public health training institutes in the country: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Vientiane Capital provides medical related programs including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, medical technology, nursing basic sciences and post graduate studies, with the other institutions located at provincial levels: three Regional Public Health Colleges, four Provincial Public Health Schools and one Nursing School. The annual output from these institutions is approximately 2,000 (Department of Organization and Personnel (DOP), 2013). This study focuses on supply-side policies to determine the key challenges and policy implications regarding improved availability and retention of staff in remote areas. This possibly stems from, among other reasons, the following: (a) limited government quotas to recruit and place health workers in rural areas (i.e. in 2013 1,045 recruitment quotas were allocated to MOH, of which 882 (84.4 percent) were given to provinces, districts and health centers nationwide); (b) health workers’preference to work in urban areas with better income and professional career development opportunities; and (c) low self-confidence of new graduates to work independently in rural areas which is attributable to insufficient clinical practice during training, due in part to the excessive number of student intakes to training institutes. The shortage of middle and high level health workers at primary and secondary health care facility levels leads to a major gap in access to quality health care services between urban and rural areas.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Vangkonevilay, Phouthone, Paphassarang, Chanthakhath, Theppanya, Khampasong, Phathammavong, Outavong, Rotem, Arie
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014-03
Subjects:	HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, EMPLOYMENT, QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH, COLLEGE, NURSING SCHOOLS, WORKFORCE, BASIC EDUCATION, LOCAL AUTHORITIES, IMPACT OF POLICIES, TEACHERS, STUDENT INTAKE, BIG CITIES, MIDWIFERY, CAREER DEVELOPMENT, TUITION, TRAINING INSTITUTIONS, HEALTH EDUCATION, DISCRIMINATION, HEALTH RESEARCH, HEALTH CARE, CAREER, HIGHER EDUCATION, BASIC KNOWLEDGE, FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS, PAPERS, HEALTH, CAPACITY BUILDING, LABOR MARKET DEMAND, SELF-CONFIDENCE, ETHNIC GROUP, HEALTH WORKERS, PROFESSIONAL WORKING, COLLEGES, DENTISTRY, LABOR MARKET DYNAMICS, NATIONAL LEVEL, HEALTH FACILITIES, FACULTY, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, HOSPITAL, PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH SECTOR, KNOWLEDGE, PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, LABOR MARKET, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, TRAINING, PATIENT, GRADUATE, INTERVENTION, HEALTH SYSTEMS, CIVIL SOCIETY, HEALTH CENTERS, NURSES, HEALTH CARE SERVICES, MINISTRIES, HEALTH MANAGEMENT, OBSERVATION, VIOLENCE, DISSEMINATION, GRADUATES, RESEARCH, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS, WORK ENVIRONMENT, TEACHING, GLOBAL HEALTH, PROFESSIONAL DEGREE, INTERVIEW, SOCIAL SUPPORT, GRADUATE STUDIES, MEDICAL STUDENTS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, MIDWIFE, TRAINING FACILITIES, SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, TRANSPORTATION, POLICY DEVELOPMENT, WORKERS, PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, SURGERY, POLICIES, SCIENCE, EQUAL ACCESS, PATIENT SATISFACTION, STUDENT, SCHOOLS, NURSE, ECONOMIC STATUS, POLICY MAKERS, HEALTH POLICY, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, FACULTIES, BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE, WORKSHOP, JOB SATISFACTION, SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PEER REVIEW, URBAN AREAS, NURSING STUDENTS, HOME AFFAIRS, RESEARCHERS, LITERATURE, MANDATES, DISADVANTAGED GROUPS, MEASUREMENT, POLICY, CURRICULUM, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, PROVINCIAL HOSPITALS, TERTIARY LEVEL, HEALTH SYSTEM, SEX, GOVERNMENT POLICIES, PHYSICIANS, MINORITY, CHILDREN, LACK OF AWARENESS, TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, INSTITUTES, HUMAN RESOURCES, MIDWIVES, RURAL AREAS, INSTRUCTION, RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, RESEARCH FINDINGS, FACULTY OF MEDICINE, POPULATION, NATIONAL POLICY, EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, UNIVERSITY, STUDENTS, RURAL STUDENTS, LIVING CONDITIONS, STRATEGY, POLICY FORMULATION, FOREIGN LANGUAGES, FAMILIES, DEGREES, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, HOSPITALS, POLICY ANALYSIS, CONTINUING EDUCATION, SCHOOL, CIVIL SERVICE, SECONDARY EDUCATION, HEALTH SERVICES, IMPLEMENTATION, MALE HEALTH, NURSING, UNIVERSITIES,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/05/24482410/lao-peoples-democratic-republic-health-human-resource-study-analyses-health-workforce-retention-attraction-policies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22109
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!