Technical brief on strengthening the nursing and midwifery workforce to improve health outcomes: what is known about advancing roles for nurses: evidence and lessons for implementation

Overview

During the COVID-19 pandemic, policy-makers and the wider public recognized the important contribution nurses made to the fight against the pandemic and the challenging conditions under which they operated. As a result, the nursing workforce is receiving increased policy attention in Europe and globally. Higher nursing education contributes to patient safety and improved outcomes for individuals, patients, population groups and health systems. Advancing the roles of nurses has been identified as one of the health workforce solutions that would increase access for underserved and remote populations and address understaffing in primary health-care settings, thereby contributing to achieving universal health coverage. This technical brief focuses on the ways in which Member States in the European Region are advancing the roles of nurses and highlights what can be done to facilitate implementation.