Table 1.
Systematic barriers to PHN workforce development internationally
| • A lack of investment in workforce growth, despite clear recognition of the need for strategic action |
| • A lack of recognition of the utility of a specialist PHN workforce tier in many countries |
| • Under-developed professional structures specifically for PHN |
| • Poor role delineation relating to responsibility for PHN functions in the health workforce |
| • Limited and unsophisticated approaches to workforce development such as equating workforce development with training rather than understanding it as a multi-strategy system for preparedness |
| • Lack of data enumerating and profiling the PHN workforce and its continuing education needs |
| • Lack of consensus about the basic and cross-cutting competencies or curricula needed in PHN |
| • Lack of an integrated system for life-long learning |
| • Inadequate incentives for participation in training and continuing education |
| • The variability and diversity of need for PHN interventions between countries, services and workforce capacities |
| • Limited frameworks for national and international certification/credentialing |
| • Limited research to evaluate the relationship among individual competency, organisational performance and health outcomes |
| • Limited data regarding effective strategies for sustaining workforce preparedness and translating research findings into interventions |