title: Mapping the governance of human resources for health in Serbia.
abstract: This article maps the current governance of human resources for health (HRH) in relation to universal health coverage in Serbia since the health sector reforms in 2003. The study adapts the Global Health Workforce Alliance/World Health Organization four-dimensional framework of HRH in the context of governance for universal health coverage. A set of proxies was established for the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of HRH. Analysis of official HRH documentation from relevant institutions and reports were used to construct a governance profile of HRH for Serbia from the introduction of the reform in 2003 up to 2013. The results show that all Serbian districts (except Sremski) surpass the availability threshold of 59.4 skilled midwives, nurses and physicians per 10,000 inhabitants. District accessibility of health workforce greatly differed from the national average with variances from +26% to -34%. Analysis of national averages and patient load of general practitioners showed variances among districts by ± 21%, whilst hospital discharges per 100 inhabitants deviated between +52% and -45%. Pre-service and in-service education of health workforce is regulated and accredited. However, through its efforts to respond to population health needs Serbia lacks a single coordinating entity to take overall responsibility for effective and coordinated HRH planning, management and development within the broader landscape of health strategy development.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica 15, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia; Centre - School of Public Health and Health Management, Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade, Pasterova 2, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: msantric@med.bg.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santric Milicevic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health of Serbia, Department for International Cooperation and Project Management, Dr Subotica 5, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vasic
authors.affiliation: Centre for Workforce Intelligence, 209-215 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NL, UK.
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D014943:Global Health; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006285:Health Planning; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006280:Health Workforce / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D055771:Serbia; D013192:Staff Development; D019472:Universal Health Insurance
keywords: Health strategy; Health workforce planning; Healthcare governance; Human resources for health; Serbia; Universal health coverage