Health Systems
- “You Can’t Look at an Orange and Draw a Banana”: Using Research Evidence to Develop Relevant Health Policy in Ghana
We explored inhibitors and enablers of using health policy and systems research to inform the policy process in Ghana. The findings suggest a myriad of factors influencing evidence-based policy development, including the strength of the relationships between policy makers and research producers.
- The African Health Initiative’s Role in Advancing the Use of Embedded Implementation Research for Health Systems Strengthening
The African Health Initiative has demonstrated the feasibility of changing the traditional knowledge generation paradigm by using an embedded implementation research approach to improve health systems’ performance and strengthen capacity for knowledge generation and use.
- Health Policy and Systems Research Capacities in Ethiopia and Ghana: Findings From a Self-Assessment
Government investment in strengthening health policy and systems research capacities is needed to enhance the generation of evidence for effective policy making. Researchers’ engagement in the policy-making process helps shape policy-relevant research and support policy-relevant decisions.
- Embedding Research on Implementation of Primary Health Care Systems Strengthening: A Commentary on Collaborative Experiences in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Mozambique
The African Health Initiative prioritized embedded implementation research using a multidisciplinary partnership model that empowered decision makers and embedded research and capacity building at multiple levels of health systems.
- Learning Health Systems to Bridge the Evidence-Policy-Practice Gap in Primary Health Care: Lessons From the African Health Initiative
The compilation of lessons in this supplement on the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s African Health Initiative’s work in the application of implementation research in primary health care in sub-Saharan Africa reflects the evolution of the discipline that is now increasingly recognized as integral to health systems strengthening.
- Using Health Systems and Policy Research to Achieve Universal Health Coverage in Ghana
Health system implementation research, combined with knowledge management processes, directly contributed to Community-based Health Planning and Services geographic coverage expansion. Research was less deliberately employed for guiding financial access expansion through the National Health Insurance Scheme.
- Learning From the Past: The Role of Social and Behavior Change Programming in Public Health Emergencies
The contributions of social and behavior change research/programming in 6 recent epidemics highlight the importance of further integrating such expertise into outbreak response.
- Uganda National Institute of Public Health: Establishment and Experiences, 2013–2021
Since 2013, the Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH) has successfully collaborated with partners and secured donor funding as it works toward legal establishment as an autonomous entity eligible for government funding. Countries in Africa and beyond can learn from the process Uganda undertook to develop the UNIPH.
- Costs and Cost-Effectiveness of mCME Version 2.0: An SMS-Based Continuing Medical Education Program for HIV Clinicians in Vietnam
This cost analysis found that a mobile phone-based continuing medical education (mCME) intervention, involving daily text messages with links to relevant materials, for HIV clinicians in northern Vietnam was relatively low-cost and cost-effective, particularly for future nationwide models. Such mobile approaches to CME are worthy of attention in resource-constrained settings.
- Calculating the Cost and Financing Needs of the Basic Package of Health Services in Afghanistan: Methods, Experiences, and Results
We present a methodology for calculating the funds necessary to provide primary health care services and apply it to the Basic Package of Health Services in Afghanistan.