Launched in September 2024 by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe and funded by the European Commission (DG Sante) under the EU4Health Programme to address the shortage of nurses in the European Union, this 3.5-years EU project aims to develop and implement evidence-based strategies for recruiting and retaining nurses, improving working conditions, and strengthening the nursing workforce.
Key activities include:
- developing evidence-informed strategies to improve nurse retention and recruitment
- scaling up mentorship programmes to support the next generation of nurses
- promoting measures to protect nurses’ health and well-being
- supporting countries in implementing safe staffing practices
- enhancing the integration of digital solutions into nursing workflows.
EFN Work within the project
The EFN was contracted in November 2024 by WHO/Europe to deliver two Policy Briefs, one on Safe Staffing Levels and one on Nursing Students Mentorship. To this end, EFN conducted two literature reviews and two mappings involving the EFN Members, who provided crucial expertise on these topics.
Thanks to the expertise of the EFN Members, the EFN developed two Policy Briefs with good examples, and lessons learned, and with key recommendations, to be implemented across the EU and Europe to ensure the provision of high-quality mentorship for nursing students.
The two Policy Briefs were delivered and accepted by WHO/Europe in July 2025, and they will support the development of the final deliverables of the project.
> EFN Policy Brief on Safe Staffing Levels (July 2025)
> EFN Policy Brief on Nursing Student Mentorship (July 2025)
Next steps for EFN in the project
The EFN members are expected to support/engage in the upcoming “Learning Cycles” which will be organised by WHO/Europe together with the National Focal Points in the Nursing Actions. EFN’s contribution will mainly focus on the Learning Cycle on Safe Staffing Levels (building on the developed Policy Brief), where EFN will present the results of its work on SSL and APN.