[Development of human resources for working in environmental health]

This paper was presented as a reference document in the First Meeting of the PAHO/WHO Textbook Program Committee for the Teaching of Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sciences, held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 24 to 26 November 1977. It analyzes the human resource development process in terms of the basic components: planning, development itself, and utilization. Its principal objectives are: to encourage the performance of studies and research on human resources in environmental health as sources of information for taking decisions, making policy, and drawing up training plans; to suggest ways of improving the quality of education and training services; to encourage the development of suitable techniques and methods for determining human resource needs; and to highlight some recent studies and publications on human resources in relation to environmental problems.