New WHO and WHPA report reveals the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare professionals
WHO and WHPA report shows COVID-19's impact on healthcare professionals, providing recommendations for future data collection and pandemic response.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected healthcare professions, including dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and physiotherapists. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA), of which FDI is a member, collaborated to document the pandemic's impact on the global health workforce.
FDI obtained data from its national dental associations (NDAs) to compare and analyze the pandemic's impact on dental professionals. Other WHPA members utilized a similar approach to gather data from their respective national professional associations. The findings were utilized to identify key themes and recommendations for future data collection efforts, underscoring the need for a collaborative approach to tackle global health challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report represents the first assessment of its kind that combines the perspectives of professional associations with the standardized measurement and reporting framework developed by the WHO. The insights presented in the report are crucial for guiding future pandemic preparedness and response efforts, ultimately benefiting both patients and health systems.