2019 GENEVA DECLARATION ON PERSON-CENTERED PROMOTION OF WELL-BEING AND OVERCOMING BURNOUT

Abstract

The growing disparity between the capacity to provide health care effectively and
the burden of disease in the world signals an urgent need to change the way health
care is currently being provided in the 21st century. The signs of the inadequacy of
health care systems around the world come from both the providers and the
recipients of health care. There is an increasing shortage and maldistribution of
health care professionals in all continents and in more than 50 countries,
particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa where the shortage is critical. In addition, a
majority of health care professionals in high-, middle-, and low-income countries
are suffering from burnout, which leads to poor access and quality of health care.
Likewise, recipients are dissatisfied with the focus on the symptoms and
complications of disease rather than person-centered promotion of well-being.
Consequently, there is a growing trend for both health care professionals and
seekers of health care to turn away from organized medical systems and engage
with more accessible and less costly alternative providers and consultants with
variable training. This is even welcomed in some countries as health care providers
with a low level of education and training are a cheap workforce. Consequently,
human dissatisfaction and suffering increase along with impaired provision and
access to care due to growing social and financial inequities.