Is health workforce planning recognising the dynamic interplay between health literacy at an individual, organisation and system level?
Lucio Naccarella A D , Brenda Wraight B and Des Gorman CA The University of Melbourne, Health Systems and Workforce Unit, The Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Level 4, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053, Australia.
B BKWraight Consulting, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand. Email: bstar.nz@gmail.com
C The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Email: d.gorman@auckland.ac.nz
D Corresponding author. Email: l.naccarella@unimelb.edu.au
Australian Health Review 40(1) 33-35 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH14192
Submitted: 20 October 2014 Accepted: 23 April 2015 Published: 30 June 2015
Journal Compilation © AHHA 2016
Abstract
The growing demands on the health system to adapt to constant change has led to investment in health workforce planning agencies and approaches. Health workforce planning approaches focusing on identifying, predicting and modelling workforce supply and demand are criticised as being simplistic and not contributing to system-level resiliency. Alternative evidence- and needs-based health workforce planning approaches are being suggested. However, to contribute to system-level resiliency, workforce planning approaches need to also adopt system-based approaches. The increased complexity and fragmentation of the healthcare system, especially for patients with complex and chronic conditions, has also led to a focus on health literacy not simply as an individual trait, but also as a dynamic product of the interaction between individual (patients, workforce)-, organisational- and system-level health literacy. Although it is absolutely essential that patients have a level of health literacy that enables them to navigate and make decisions, so too the health workforce, organisations and indeed the system also needs to be health literate. Herein we explore whether health workforce planning is recognising the dynamic interplay between health literacy at an individual, organisation and system level, and the potential for strengthening resiliency across all those levels.
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