Scoping study: Improving the quality of nursing and midwifery education and regulation in Pacific Island countries and areas

In January 2021, World Health Organisation Collaboration Centre with University of Technology Sydney (WHO CC UTS) completed the WHO, South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers (SPCNMOA), scoping study to provide recommendations, including a roadmap, for improving the quality of nursing and midwifery education and regulation in Pacific Island countries and areas. WHO CC UTS in collaboration with WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support (DPS) and the Ministries/Departments of Health in the Pacific Island countries and areas, set up and convened virtual meetings and consultations to perform a desktop review of; publications and grey literature drawn from regional and national reports, peer reviews papers and minutes from regional meetings of both nursing and other healthcare leaders to develop a strategic roadmap for improving the quality of nursing and midwifery within the region.

The scoping study is timely as the Pacific Health Ministers at the 13th Pacific Health Ministers Meeting in 2019 committed to ‘identifying the health workforce indicators needed for decision–making for the issues of development shortages, retention and regulations of the health workforce across primary health care and specialised services in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals were again emphasised at the 68th Regional Committee Meeting of WHO Western Pacific Region, to put health workers as a priority action domain to achieve UHC and to strengthen the regulatory systems to improve the quality and safety of the health system’s performance. Key areas identified to support the nursing and midwifery community include good governance, accreditation, regulation, quality education and strong professional associations (M. Rumsey, 2020).

The second half of the review focuses on recommendations and frameworks to create the Roadmap for Improving Quality of Nursing and Midwifery Education and Regulation in Pacific Island Countries. The roadmap acts as a guide for nursing and midwifery to develop a regional partnership in which strategic planning can be applied to ensure qualifications and quality assurance. The outlined roadmap focuses on whole programs and cadres of nurses and examines local and regional standards and competencies that are generic and relevant across countries and levels of nursing. Regional quality improvement programs aim to build the nursing and midwifery workforce capacity and ensure continued improvements into the future. As the program matures, it will provide the basis for benchmarking minimum regional qualification standards.

A set of guiding principles of the partnership was applied in the development of the Roadmap as in line with the ‘grounds up’ approach advocated by WRPO’s Vision for the Future. The key principles include safety, respect, collaboration, beneficence and reciprocity, relationship-based and justice (M Rumsey et al., 2021). Applying a ‘grounds up’ approach was prioritised in the scoping review as it can help improve ownership and engagement of key stakeholders, whereas top-down approaches potentially alienate member countries, and the locus of control won’t be placed with the broader Pacific community.

The review further provides a thorough and well-justified process for the roadmap that will enable the development of a regional framework with a set of agreed principles, practices, procedures, and standardised terminology. This allows effective comparability of qualifications among Pacific Island Countries, harmonise qualifications wherever possible, and create acceptable regional standards and practices.

Source: WHO Workforce Development in the Pacific, 2017: scoping paper, p6 (18)

To find out more, please click here.

Please find the final scoping report with roadmap here.

 

Rumsey, M. (2020). Global Health and Nursing. In J. Daly & D. Jackson (Eds.), Contexts of Nursing (6th Edition ed.). Australia: Elsevier.

Rumsey, M., Neill, A., Simpson, C., Stowers, P., Daly, J., & Brooks, F. (2021). Development of PARcific approach: participatory action research methodology for collectivist health research. Qualitative Health Research(manuscrip in press).