Supporting Canada’s health workers by improving health workforce research, planning and data

by ahnationtalk on July 12, 202438 Views

July 11, 2024

Health workers are the backbone of the Canadian health care system, yet they continue to face increased workloads and responsibilities. Now more than ever, there is a need to improve health workforce planning and advance research to better support health workers.

Today, The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, and Taleeb Noormohamed, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, visited BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute to announce $750,000 in support for its project, A New Provincial Training Hub: Building capacity for clinicians who care for children and youth with eating disorders. This project will improve clinician well-being, expand system capacity and ensure the availability of quality, evidence-based care for children and youth with pediatric eating disorders.

This project is part of the $11.6 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and its partners to support 15 research teams and one Evidence Support and Knowledge Mobilization Hub. These teams and hub are investigating ways to strengthen and support Canada’s health workforce and alleviate the health workforce challenges that threaten the provision of timely, equitable, accessible and quality health care.

By supporting health care workers, we’re supporting a stronger healthcare system. Government of Canada investments will inform retention and recruitment practices, support the mobility of physicians across Canada to help communities facing shortages, and investigate solutions to strengthen the health workforce. Information practices will also be improved to support health employers and governments in the planning of the health workforce across the country.

The Government of Canada will address health workforce challenges
alongside provinces and territories and other key partners. Budgets 2023 and 2024 outlined the government’s plan to invest close to $200 billion to improve health care for Canadians, which includes supporting the health workforce through retention, recruitment and planning.

Quotes

Working together to support health workers is crucial to people in Canada receiving the care they need, when they need it. Through these initiatives to strengthen and support Canada’s health workforce, our government is working to improve access to timely and equitable care and better health outcomes for people in Canada.”

The Honourable Mark Holland
Canada’s Minister of Health
“Health workers step up every day to support us. So, we’re going to support them with better working conditions, better training, and more mental health support. By taking care of health workers, we’ll improve the healthcare system for all of us.”

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough
Minister of Sport and Physical Activity

Quick facts

A February 2024 report from the OurCare Initiative found that 6.5 million Canadians—about 22 percent of the adult population—do not currently have a family doctor. The State of the Health Workforce in Canada, 2022 also confirmed a national shortage of 60,000 registered nurses. Canada anticipates a shortage of 78,000 doctors by 2031 and 117,600 nurses by 2030.
Funding for the new research investment is provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and Michael Smith Health Research BC. This is CIHR’s largest investment in health workforce research. The projects funded through this program align with the key themes identified by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Assessment on Health Human Resources, which was commissioned by Health Canada.
This announcement is part of the Government of Canada’s larger and ongoing efforts to support the health workforce, including:
- A federal, provincial and territorial statement on supporting Canada’s health workforce, which outlines collaborative actions underway to address challenges facing Canada’s health workforce, including reducing the time it takes for internationally educated health professionals to join our health workforce.
- Welcoming the establishment of Health Workforce Canada, a new, independent organization that is working closely with Canadian Institute for Heath Information and all health care system stakeholders to improve the collection and sharing of health workforce data and share practical and innovative solutions.
- An announcement of a 50 percent increase to the maximum amount of forgivable Canada Student Loans for eligible family physicians, family medicine residents, nurses and nurse practitioners working in underserved rural and remote communities. This change will help approximately 3,000 doctors and nurses in the first year of implementation, reaching up to 8,000 per year by 2032–2033.
- An investment of up to $86 million to 15 organizations across Canada to increase capacity for foreign credential recognition of approximately 6,600 internationally educated health professionals. This investment will support highly educated and skilled immigrants receive proper recognition for their international credentials.
- An investment of $3.5 million over five years to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada to develop a National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being to help improve health workforce retention.
- Initiatives to help internationally educated health professionals put their skills to work in Canada more quickly, including $1.49 million to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada to expand and expedite the specialist Practice Eligibility Route for International Medical Graduates, and $500,000 to the Medical Council of Canada to better understand the barriers to existing programs.
- A plan, outlined in Budget 2023, to invest close to $200 billion over 10 years to improve health care for Canadians.
- The first-ever launch of category-based selection for Canada’s flagship economic immigration management system, Express Entry. Category-based selection allows Canada to issue invitations to apply to prospective permanent residents with specific work experience, including in health care.
- An investment of $2.4 million in the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing to support the implementation and evaluation of a National Nurse Residency Program, which aims to support newly graduated registered nurses by helping them effectively manage the transition from classroom to workplace through competency-based workshops and mentorship.

Supporting Canada’s health workers by improving health workforce research, planning and data

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