International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 13, Issue 2 (February 2026), Pages: 17-28

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 Original Research Paper

Management of human resources in nursing in Kazakhstan: Analysis of working conditions and professional development in the context of the International Labor Organization’s recommendations

 Author(s): 

 Lyazat M. Aktayeva *

 Affiliation(s):

 Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Republican Research Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Astana, Kazakhstan

 Full text

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0950-678X

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.02.003

 Abstract

Nursing staff play a critical role in healthcare delivery, disease prevention, and public health promotion; however, in Kazakhstan, they continue to face structural challenges such as low wages, high workloads, limited professional autonomy, and unequal access to professional development. Despite recent reforms and the introduction of new educational programs and professional standards, a substantial gap remains between national practices and international labor standards, particularly those outlined in ILO Convention No. 149 and Recommendation No. 157. This study examined the working conditions, labor relations, and professional development of nurses in Kazakhstan in relation to international standards and proposes evidence-based policy recommendations for improvement. A multidisciplinary mixed-methods approach was used, including an online survey of 3,142 nurses, semi-structured interviews with 15 experts, and three focus group discussions, with quantitative data analyzed using IBM SPSS 25 and qualitative data interpreted thematically. The findings revealed regional and institutional disparities in wages and job satisfaction, persistent staffing shortages, and limited access to continuing professional education, while more than 85% of respondents supported the ratification of ILO Convention No. 149. Overall, the results highlight the urgent need for systemic reforms, and the study proposes a policy framework focused on legal modernization, continuous professional development, monitoring of psychosocial well-being, strengthening trade unions, and nursing leadership development to promote decent work and sustainable workforce development in the healthcare system.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Nursing workforce, Working conditions, International labor standards, Professional development, Health policy

 Article history

 Received 20 August 2025, Received in revised form 12 January 2026, Accepted 26 January 2026

 Acknowledgment

The research paper has been prepared within the framework of Contract No. 40478463/0 with the International Labor Organization (ILO), commissioned by the Kazakhstan Sectoral Trade Union of Healthcare Workers (AQNIET). 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants were fully informed about the objectives and procedures of the research and provided their voluntary informed consent prior to participation. The online survey was administered anonymously, with no personal or identifying data collected. All collected information remained strictly confidential and under the exclusive control of the author.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Aktayeva LM (2026). Management of human resources in nursing in Kazakhstan: Analysis of working conditions and professional development in the context of the International Labor Organization’s recommendations. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(2): 17-28

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 Figures

  Fig. 1

 Tables

  Table 1

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