05.03.2018
Power in health policy

Health Policy and Planning Social systems and social interactions are shaped by power structures. Power dynamics are also present in every actor interface in health systems and in health policy and influence all actions, processes and results.These interactions include the dynamics between patients and service providers in primary health care settings, as well as the negotiations between national and global actors on resource allocation and health priorities. Understanding power concepts and structures could foster more transparent and equitable health systems, but this has been an almost neglected field of research so far. (Photo: OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development / flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)