Two workforce totals can use the same everyday label while counting different occupations. Before combining them, inspect how each source defines the group. An occupation crosswalk is often more useful than an unexplained total with additional decimal places.
WHO’s 31 July 2019 Classifying health workers publication describes a mapping largely based on ISCO’s 2008 revision. The overview explains its hierarchical occupational categories, included and excluded examples, and alignment with NHWA. It also acknowledges that a classification cannot capture every feature of a national health labour market.
Make the boundary explicit
| Worksheet field | Question |
|---|---|
| Source label and code | Which occupation category was actually counted? |
| Included groups | Which titles or functions belong in that source’s total? |
| Excluded groups | Which similar labels belong elsewhere? |
| Mapping decision | Can the categories be aligned, partly aligned or left separate? |
This is a suggested comparison record. It does not assign a national job title to an international code. That assignment needs the applicable classification and the actual source definition.
Retain the original total
If an editor constructs a broader group from several categories, preserve the original components and show the addition. Check that the categories do not overlap before summing them. Where the source does not explain the boundary, mark the combined total as unresolved instead of guessing which workers it includes.
Population density calculations add another denominator question. First establish what the workforce numerator represents, then inspect the population and period used for the ratio. A matching denominator cannot repair mismatched occupational categories.
Keep statistics separate from professional entitlement
A statistical mapping does not establish an individual’s licence, credentials or right to practise. This guide concerns aggregate data preparation and makes no judgement about a named worker or profession’s legal scope.
No country counts were reclassified here. The practical aim is a comparison whose categories and limits remain visible, so a change in a label is not mistaken for a measured change in the workforce.
Official source read 21 October 2026. The workflow and explicitly hypothetical example, where present, are editorial; no clinical or country-level finding is asserted.
Primary source: WHO Classifying health workers2019 / ISCO2008 mapping. Related discussion: health information source quality.
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