The role of task shifting in mitigating health workforce shortages - the ambitions and results of the TaSHI project

The shortage in the health workforce is a long-standing phenomenon while the importance of the human factor in health is constantly increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the burden of the health sector, the workload, the stress and the risk of burnout. At the same time, the pandemic acted as a catalyst as professionals had to take on new roles, join new teams and increase collaboration with other health professionals. Task shifting can reduce the workload and skill-mix imbalances by sharing and redistributing tasks between health professionals, involving patients and the digital ecosystem. Task shifting can be an effective way to improve cultural sensitivity and openness thereby increasing a positive working environment. Moreover, task shifting can enlarge resilience while addressing HWF shortages and geographical imbalances, particularly in remote rural areas. TaSHI “Empowering EU health policies on Task SHIfting” aims to provide a novel understanding and up-to-date knowledge on task shifting, transferability and uptake of good practices in implementation. The project performs (regional) pilots in five European countries (Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway). It gathers evidence and data on the different types of task shifting in primary care, mental health care, wound care and eye care including the role of telemedicine and digital health. Through the involvement of health professionals TaSHI delivers a collection of good practices, useful tools and methods through case studies of the pilot experiences, producing a guidebook on task shifting supporting implementation, with practical training materials and curricula, and a set of recommendations. The deliverables on tangible solutions aim to support EU Member States at national, regional and organisational level to implement their own actions and promote sustainability of practices adapted to local settings. TaSHI project is co-funded by the Health Programme of the EU.