Improving workforce planning and service delivery through better data and evidence
WHO is improving the quality, completeness and accessibility of health and care workforce and service delivery data, ensuring that countries have the evidence needed to plan, deploy and retain the workforce needed to meet people’s changing health needs. By doing so, it enables national authorities to generate strategic intelligence, inform workforce projections and align service delivery planning with evolving population needs and health systems priorities.
Building a clearer picture of workforce and service delivery
Reliable data when it comes to the workforce and service delivery are key to strong and resilient health systems in the WHO European Region.
Comprehensive national and subnational data are also essential to policy-making that is based on science and evidence. Yet, many countries in the Region face persistent challenges in compiling a full picture of their workforce, service delivery structures and activity levels.
Fragmented data sources, limited interoperability, and capacity constraints often hinder consistent reporting and analysis.
In response, this workstream supports Member States in strengthening minimum, interoperable data sets and strengthening national data systems.
WHO response
WHO works with Member States and partners through a series of tools, data collection mechanisms and technical support.
National Health Workforce Accounts
The National Health Workforce Accounts (NHWA) provide a standardized system that helps countries systematically improve the availability, quality and use of health and care workforce data. Through a comprehensive set of indicators, the NHWA support evidence-informed policy-making and strengthen national capacity for monitoring health workforce performance.
Joint data collection with Eurostat and OECD
In the WHO European Region, Member States report data through the WHO/Europe–OECD–Eurostat Joint Data Collection, using the Joint Questionnaire (JQ) on Non-Monetary Health Care Statistics.
The JQ is a long-standing tri-agency collaboration implemented across 61 countries to collect harmonized, comparable and policy-relevant data on health workforce and service delivery.
The JQ includes data on workforce employment, graduates and migration flows, as well as information on physical resources and health service activities, including levels of care such as hospital and long-term care.
By aligning data collection efforts, the JQ reduces reporting burden, facilitates standardization and improves consistency across countries. The data submitted through the JQ feeds directly into the National Health Workforce Account (NHWA) process, strengthening coherence and use for informed planning and policy decisions across the Region.
Policy frameworks and global commitments
In May 2016, WHO Member States adopted the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030 at the Sixty-Ninth World Health Assembly. The Strategy urges all Member States to progressively implement the NHWA system.
In October 2023, Member States in the European Region adopted the Framework for action on the health and care workforce in the WHO European Region 2023–2030, a document that calls on all countries to strengthen health workforce information systems and make optimal use of data and research, with WHO support.
Making data accessible and useful
Data dissemination is facilitated through the NHWA data portal and the Health for All family of databases, supporting monitoring progress and informing health policies across the Region. Information is updated on an annual basis and validated through systematic processes.
Regular updates and stakeholder engagement are essential to gather feedback and improve data systems. This approach enhances transparency and accessibility; supports country use of data, an example being the Baltic Policy Dialogue on long-term care; and enables the publication of comprehensive reports, such as the Health and care workforce in Europe: time to act or the Health workforce migration in the WHO European Region.
As part of its broader support to Member States, WHO/Europe works directly with countries to strengthen their national health and care workforce information systems. This includes improving data architecture, governance, interoperability and the use of digital tools for more timely and reliable reporting.
JQ troubleshooting sessions: coordinating data collection and supporting Member States
JQ troubleshooting sessions provide coordinated guidance from WHO/Europe, Eurostat and OECD. These sessions support Member States in addressing challenges encountered during the data cycle, including issues related to definitions, data sources, metadata, time series adjustments and platform submissions.
