"Task Shifting", 1st topic of The Exchange
The 1st topic of the recently launched COP, Human Resources for Health (HRH) Exchange (The Exchange) held by the Global Health Workforce Alliance and facilitated by the Implementing Best Practice (IBP) Knowledge Gateway closed on 8 May 2009.
Moderated by the Alliance and facilitated by experts from the field of Public Health the issue of Task Shifting was considered for a period of nine (9) days. Over that period membership grew to 243 individuals from 56 countries. The CoP engaged with a total of 86 valuable contributions. We were treated to not only direct responses to the questions posed each day but to living examples of where and how task shifting has been used and is currently in use.
Our discussion showed that task shifting is used in many arena - mental health, women's health, primary health care, rural and urban areas, disaster and non-disaster situations. Like all other products it has its protagonists and its opposers but evident throughout the whole discussion was that health professionals' primary concern is for patient health care.