PhD Defence Olga Gershuni

Keywords: Public Health Workforce, PH development and professionalization, European Public Health, Public Health in Ukraine 
 

"Public Health Workforce Development and Professionalization The Implications for Ukraine"

This dissertation looks at how to build and strengthen a sustainable public health workforce (PHWf) in Ukraine while adapting to changes in public health (PH) services. Current research doesn’t fully address issues like high staff turnover, keeping professionals in the field, or clearly defining PH roles. In Ukraine, healthcare reforms are shifting the focus from treating diseases to preventing them, following European health policies. To support this change, ongoing training and professional development are crucial to help current PHWf and attract new talents. The findings suggest the need to increase the capability of the current PHWf through continuing education, retraining, and cross-training, improve the educational system through academic preparation of PH professionals, and pathways for PH careers. The WHO-ASPHER Roadmap provides a framework with practical recommendations. It highlights key skills for training and services, sets accreditation standards, promotes ethics and self-governance, and helps create job classifications and workforce data systems for better planning. 

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