[Learning from the United Kingdom on public health human resource development: A report of the Committee on Public Health Nursing].

Abstract

Objectives　We aimed to learn about public health human resource development in the United Kingdom (UK), where recent reforms have been made in public health nursing education. Our objective was to obtain transferable lessons that could inform the education of public health professionals in Japan.Methods　The Committee on Public Health Nursing organized an online lecture cosponsored by the Internationalization Promotion Committee and the Japan Academy of Public Health Nursing. The lecture, titled "Supporting the development of the public health nursing workforce in the UK: the example of health visiting," was given in June 2024 by Dr. Karen Whittaker, Senior Education and Workforce Lead at the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV). It was available live and on-demand for one month. Members of each committee were present on the day of the lecture to deepen their understanding through dialogue.Results　The lecturer introduced the position of public health in the UK, the challenge of health inequalities, and an overview of the relevant service systems. Specific attention was given to the Universal Healthy Child Program for England, public health nursing with a focus on health visiting, and iHV activities. The Q&A session expanded the discussion to cover topics such as service design, workforce education on diversity to address health inequalities, and multi-disciplinary team working. It also explored the potential career pathways for health visitors and requirements for education, which now include a post-graduate Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) - Health Visiting qualification. Additionally, the importance of professional proficiency and continuing professional development (CPD) was emphasized, as these are required to renew registration every three years with the independent regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The role and purpose of iHV in supporting health visitors and the issues addressed by iHV were also covered. Including both live and on-demand participation, the session received a total of 636 views.Conclusion　The UK approach to health inequalities is based on proportionate universalism. In the UK, a multi-ethnic country, education on ethnic diversity is provided to personnel involved in public health, which is helpful when considering education in Japan. In the UK, basic education and CPD based on uniform standards for SCPHN are systematically provided and are considered necessary to support quality assurance as a profession. Since basic education and CPD for public health nurses are not standardized in Japan, there is a need to systematically provide education based on common standards.