The Nurse Workforce in the Eastern Caribbean: Meeting the Challenges of Noncommunicable Diseases (Directions in Development)

The growing prevalence and incidence of noncommunicable diseases have imposed new burdens on health care systems globally, particularly in the Eastern Caribbean region. Health systems designed to treat acute conditions increasingly now need to retool to meet the needs of patients with long-term needs and to include prevention and patient education in their services. The capacity to successfully meet this challenge of changing health care needs requires a comprehensive approach, from ministries of health at the national level to individual nurses at the service-delivery level. Such an approach involves improved governance for effective strategic policy formulation and evaluation; expanded education and training, including the development of expanded curricula and new protocols to meet the shortage of skilled nurses; and more effective human resources management and planning of core and enhanced functions to better recruit, allocate, and retain trained personnel. The Nurse Workforce in the Eastern Caribbean: Meeting the Challenges of Noncommunicable Diseases examines the status of the nurse workforce in the region and assesses how best to strengthen its capacity to respond to the growing burden. The report is based on four case studies conducted in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The report generated knowledge in support of two critical areas: Provide an understanding of the educational and training opportunities available to nurses to strengthen their capacity to meet the NCD challenges Assess whether a supportive policy environment for nurses is in place in addressing the burden of NCDs. The appendixes include toolkits to strengthen the capacity for human resources planning and management in the following areas: Evidence-based medicine, interprofesssional team building, patient-centered care, utilization of informatics, and quality improvement.