WHO CC HRH of KU Leuven hosted on first discussion on Goldmark Report, 1923 in Leuven on April 20, 2024. The first meeting Nursing Workforce, Nursing education and public health nursing education in line with UHC 2030 based on Goldmark Report and today’s challenges were discussed by Prof. Walter Sermeus and Dr. Sule Kurt and Prof. Anne Marie Rafferty from Florence Nightingale University, the UK.
WHO CC for Human Resources for Research and Policy hosted international meetings on workplace conditions and Mental Health of Healthcare Workers on April 26, 2024 in Leuven, Belgium. International experts discussed their updates in line with literature and challenges for further.
The Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery (GNWHOCCNM) held a meeting on May 22nd. Dr.Sule Kurt was delegate of WHO CC Human Resources for Research and Policy. The meeting, hosted by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Development at the University of Technology Sydney (WHO CC UTS).
The GNWHOCCNM meeting had representatives from 34 Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery. Additionallly, representatives of the Midwifery Network, Sigma Nursing, and Jhpiego were participiants of meeting to share their updates in meeting which was both in-person and online. Our center, inline with International Coordination Action (IC-A) involved the meeting where strengthening connections and collaboration between Collaborating Centres and key institutional stakeholders, including WHO, ICM, and ICN and in line with the WHO Strategic Directions in Nursing and Midwifery (SDNM) Policy Priorities 2021-2025.
The EHMA 2024 Conference took place from 5 to 7 June at the Politehnica University of Bucharest in Romania. It was focused on theme ‘Shaping and managing innovative health ecosystems’, capturing the essence of health megatrends, focusing on digital transformation, sustainability, and the evolving skill sets required in healthcare. Dr Sule Kurt illustrated a cross-sectional study aimed to assess the nursing and midwifery workforce across 29 WHO Europe member states in Scientific dialogue - Shaping the future of healthcare education. The study identified two primary educational pathways for becoming a midwife. These pathways include training as an independent profession at either the vocational or bachelor level, as well as pursuing post-track studies at the bachelor or master’s level in countries such as Cyprus, Finland, Israel, Iceland, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain. The duration of midwifery education varies greatly between countries. In some cases, it takes three years for vocational and bachelor-level training, while in others, such as Portugal, the process to become a fully qualified midwife can extend up to eight years. In countries like Finland, Israel, Cyprus, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal, the length of education ranges from 4.5 to 8 years, reflecting significant differences in national requirements. Additionally, the title of ‘registered midwife’ (RM) varies across different nations.
Prof. Walter Sermeus presented ‘Magnet4Europe: results from a randomised intervention trial to improve clinician wellbeing in the healthcare workplace’ in session of Job satisfaction and wellbeing . Conducted as a wait-list cluster randomised controlled trial with a nested mixed-methods evaluation, the study involved 67 acute general hospitals across six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, England) and 63 US hospitals. Each European hospital was paired with a US hospital to facilitate data collection and feedback. Implementation began in 2021-2022, leading to improvements in the nursing work environment, clinician well-being, patient safety, and care quality. With over 40 years of evidence, the Magnet Model has been proven to create better work environments and job outcomes, and its principles have demonstrated replicability. The study anticipated significant reductions in nurse burnout (18%), intent to leave (15%), and job dissatisfaction (12%) if hospitals achieve at least 80% implementation of the Magnet Blueprint, indicating that work environments are modifiable and can enhance job outcomes through targeted improvements.
Prof. Walter Sermeus and Dr. Sule Kurt attended a national meeting which was organized by FPS Health ofFederal Public Service Health/SPF Santé Publique - FOD Volksgezondheid in Brussels, Belgium, on 2nd of July 2024.
The attendees were: Dirk Ramaekers; Lieven De Raedt (FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment); Enrico Balducci (FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation); Ronny Bruffaerts (KU Leuven, Mental Health); Olivier Degomme (Ghent university, WHO CC for Research on Sexual and Reproductive Health); Jozef Vercruysse (Ghent University; WHO CC for the monitoring of anthelminthic drug efficacy for soil-transmitted helminthiasis); Jan De Maeseneer (Ghent University) Oliver VanHecke, (Ghent University, WHO CC on Family Medicine and Primary Health Care ); Nick Van Reet (HO CC for Research and Training on human African trypanosomiasis diagnostics) Jean-Yves Reginster (University of Liege, WHO CC for Epidemiology of Musculskeletal Conditions and Aging); Brecht Devleesschauwer (Sciensano, Foodborne Disease; Kevin Arien (Institute of Trophical medicine, WHO CC for HIV/AIDS Diagnostics and Laboratory Support), Philippe Beutels (Antwerp University, WHO CC for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases).
The attendees discussed on evidence based practice and approaches in Public Health Policy. During the meeting discussed the matters which are “A more solid governance requires evidence-based approaches in public health policy. We’re currently lacking the evidence-based part. How can we bridge the divide between the need for evidence-based policies, and the existing expertise? Can we establish a new ‘evidence’-network towards the future?”; “the security aspect of public health issues and how these are embedded in the societal fabric. Need for an environment where public health challenges can be discussed on an intellectual level, where politically sensitive aspects of health issues (such as commercial determinants) can be addressed. increase policy-evaluation.”
Prof. Walter Sermeus and Dr. Sule Kurt attended to WHO CCs Conference on Nursing Kyrgyzstan- Bishkek 07.07.2024 - 13.07.2024 as an expert and a workshop was conducted by Prof. Walter Sermeus in the Nursing Conference of WHO CCs. In the conference, evidence-based practice, research ethics, structuring of nursing and midwifery associations, nursing and midwifery education and social and legal responsibilities of nurses and midwives were discussed by attendees and representatives of Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan.
 | Prof. Walter Sermeus, WHO CC for Human Resources for Health Research and Policy, Belgium |
 | Dr. Sule Kurt, WHO CC for Human Resources for Health Research and Policy, Belgium |
 | Dr. Gordon Hill (Scotland); WHO CC for Nursing and Public Health Education and Research, Scotland. |
 | Prof. Jurate Macijauskiene (Lithuania), WHO CC for Nursing Education and Practice, Lithuania |
 | Prof. Irma Brito(Portugal), WHO CC for Nursing Practice and Research, Portugal |
 | Dr. Martin Duignan (Ireland), WHO Consultant (Nursing and Midwifery Policy), Ireland. |
 | Dr. Soshy Goldberg, WHO CC for Leadership and Governence in Nursing, Israel |
 | Dr. Rivka Hazoref, WHO CC for Leadership and Governence in Nursing, Israel |
Prof. Walter Sermeus and Dr. Sule Kurt attended Nordic Conference in Nursing Research in Stocholm, Sweden, on 2-4 October, 2024. A workshop was conducted by Prof. Walter Sermeus. The main conference theme was research methods and qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, within the subject of nursing science. The conference was hosted by The Swedish Nurses' Association.
The third meeting on Nursing Workforce, Nursing Education and Public Health Nursing education in line with UHC 2030 and today’s challenges were discussed by Prof. Walter Sermeus, Dr. Sule Kurt, Prof. Edward Halloran, Dr. Magrieta Langings on 8th of August, 2024 via online meeting.
Prof. Edward Halloran, The University of North Carolina, USA
Magrieta Langins, Nursing and midwifery policy advisor to the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen/ Denmark.
The conference’s theme, “Sailing the Waves of European Public Health: Exploring a Sea of Innovation,” encapsulates our collective mission. Aimed to seek to push the boundaries, discover new approaches, and chart the course for the future of public health in Europe. Prof. Walter sermeus and Dr. Sule Kurt did a poster display presentation to show whether ISCO classification response to the all graduate nurses from different education level or not. The researchers used graphical abstract.
