04.03.2016

Bulletin of the World Health Organisation

Where is the policy in health policy and systems research agenda?

World Health Organisation (WHO) « In the last 15 years there has been considerable growth in the body of and funding for health policy and systems research. However, research addressing health policy decision-making, across all stages of the policy process, has been relatively neglected. Here we argue for an increased emphasis on policy in health systems research. We focus specifically on low- and middle-income country contexts where such research has an important role to play in improving health systems and health care delivery. (...)

While much health policy and systems research is characterized by its pursuit of better health policies, only a part of it concerns research on policy, i.e. how policies emerge, are formed and are implemented (health policy analysis)." (Photo: UNAMID/ flickr)