The International Network for Health Workforce Education (INHWE) has been invited to present at the “Workforce innovations for better performing health systems in Europe” Conference. The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT) of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, with the support of NOVA Saúde and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, hosts the conference, which takes place in 3 and 4  May, 2018 at IHMT’s Aula Magna. The conference is free to attend, for more information please visit: www.ihmt.unl.pt.

The conference will assess numerous factors currently bring European countries to adapt their health services system to changing circumstances.  The ageing of populations comes with an increased prevalence of non-communicable and chronic diseases and of multi-morbidity. Technology, such as ehealth, mhealth, Big Data, robotics, offers new tools to health workers and changes how they perform their tasks and calls for new ways of delivering services. Users of services tend to be better informed and to want a greater say in how their health problems are managed. These and other factors are creating the need for a transformed health workforce. The division of tasks among the various categories of providers, and how these interact needs to be adapted. New competencies, and therefore new education strategies are also needed, just like improved working conditions. In a word, more of the same workforce is not the response that today’s and future needs require.

INHWE will present at 15:30 (CET) on Thursday 3rd May on the subject of "Innovations in educating health workers to address the changing needs of the population".