Health Workforce Retention in Low-Income Settings: An Application of the Root Stem Model Publisher Pubmed



Makuku R^{1, 2, 3} ; Mosadeghrad AM²
Source: Journal of Public Health Policy Published:2022

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes a critical shortage of health workers as a growing global crisis. The shortage persists despite local and global efforts to recruit health workers ethically. Unequal migration of healthcare professionals, most often from low to high-resource countries, overwhelmingly defeats the objective of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). If not addressed, especially given emerging global pandemics like COVID-19, the critical shortage of health workers could decimate vulnerable public health systems. This Viewpoint describes the Root-Stem Model, a six-stage process of strategic factors affecting work life that could help policymakers address the challenge of brain-drain among healthcare workers in low-income countries. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.