Health workforce management under shocks: evidence from the 2023 Türkiye earthquake

Read this BMC Health Services Research paper here [opens new tab].

Health workers were both responders and victims themselves during the 2023 Türkiye earthquakes, working under immense physical and emotional strain while responding to an unprecedented health emergency. This paper, produced with colleagues at Istanbul University, explores how the health workforce was mobilised, managed, coordinated and supported during the earthquake response.

We found that while national disaster plans provided an important foundation, the scale of the disaster challenged formal systems. In the critical early stages, professional commitment, individual initiative and informal coordination played an essential role, alongside volunteers and emergency medical teams providing vital surge capacity. More structured rotations and inter-provincial deployments subsequently helped stabilise the response.

The findings highlight an important lesson for health system resilience: preparedness is not only about having plans in place, but about having a health workforce and governance system able to adapt when those plans are tested by an extreme shock.

Suggested citation

Mansour, W, Dede, D, Kırık, H et al. Health workforce management under shocks: evidence from the 2023 Türkiye earthquake. BMC Health Serv Res (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15329-w

Further information

This paper is based on the study Exploring health workforce preparedness for shocks in Türkiye. You will find related briefs and presentations here.

Image: Post-earthquake scenes in Türkiye. ©️Prof. Dr. İsmail TAYFUR ismailtayfur@yahoo.com