Urgent need for human resources to promote global cardiovascular health

Abstract

The World Health Organization estimates the existence of a global shortage of over 4 million health-care workers. Given the growing global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the shortfall in global human resources for health (HRH) is probably even greater than predicted. A critical challenge going forward is to determine how to integrate CVD-related human resource needs into the overall global HRH agenda. We describe the CVD implications of core HRH objectives, including coverage, motivation, and competence, in addition to issues such as health-care worker migration and the need for input from multiple stakeholders to successfully address the current problems. We emphasize gaps in knowledge regarding HRH for global CVD-related care and research opportunities. In light of the current global epidemiologic transition from communicable to noncommunicable diseases, now is the time for the global health community to focus on CVD-related human resource needs.