SCOHPICA - Swiss Cohort of Healthcare Professionals and Informal Caregivers : healthcare professionals part

The Swiss health system faces several challenges: aging population, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, health workforce shortages and increasing health costs. Healthcare professionals and informal caregivers play critical roles in health systems, yet recent publications have highlighted continuing health workforce shortages, difficult working conditions, growing mental and physical strains, early exits from the profession, lack of good quality and comprehensive data, precluding appropriate monitoring and management of the health workforce. Establishing favorable conditions for the sustained engagement of healthcare professionals (HCPs) is essential for a resilient and high-performing healthcare system. Switzerland lacks comprehensive and longitudinal data to guide such efforts. The Swiss COhort of Healthcare Professionals and Informal CAregivers (SCOHPICA) seeks to fill this gap, producing knowledge that will support evidence-informed health workforce policies and initiatives. The main objectives of the HCPs part of SCOHPICA (SCOHPICA-HCPs) are to understand the career trajectories, wellbeing and lived experiences of HCPs to identify the conditions and circumstances that influence their intention to stay in the health sector. By observing determinants over time, SCOHPICA-HCPs will provide insights into creating optimal conditions for professional practice. This national cohort includes a wide range of HCPs (e.g. general practitioners, specialists, nurses, pharmacists, paramedical staff, support workers, etc.) from various health sectors —including inpatient, outpatient, community, and homecare, and practicing in a variety of settings, irrespective of their working status. By considering a mixed-methods approach, gathering quantitative and qualitative data through instruments such as annual online surveys, life calendars, and focus group discussions, SCOHPICA will allow an in-depth analysis of the elements influencing intention to stay and well-being. Through long-term longitudinal follow-up of career trajectories, wellbeing, socio-demographic and socio-professional characteristics as well as factors contributing to sustained engagement or attrition, SCOHPICA will be able to generate practical recommendations to enhance the health and sustainability of the healthcare workforce.