Impact of COVID-19 on Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management System: A Scoping Review of Healthcare Workforce Management in COVID-19

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries faced a shortage as well as maldistribution of healthcare workers and a misalignment between healthcare needs and worker skills. In this scoping review, we have sought to identify the country-level responses to health workforce shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the advantages/best practices and disadvantages/lessons learned. We have reviewed 24 scientific papers in four electronic databases: Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL, and TRIP. The main strategies implemented by countries were financial coordination mechanisms, relaxing standards/rules, worker redeployment, recruitment of volunteers, fast-tracking medical students, and using other workforce resources such as the recruitment of inactive healthcare workers and returnees whose registration had lapsed within the preceding 1–2 years. These strategies demonstrated numerous advantages, such as establishing mutual support across nations and organizations, boosting motivation among healthcare workers, and creating a new staffing model for future pandemics. However, several important lessons were also learned during the implementation process. Managing volunteers, including ensuring their safety and allocating them to areas in need, required significant effort and high-level coordination, particularly in the absence of a comprehensive needs assessment.