Health Systems
- 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.
- Optimizing the Health Management Information System in Uttar Pradesh, India: Implementation Insights and Key Learnings
The Uttar Pradesh Health Management Information System has allowed managers across all levels of the state’s health system to access routinely collected data through a comprehensive online portal, contributing to a culture of information use.
- 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.
- Maintaining Continuity of Care for Expectant Mothers in Kenya During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of MomCare
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya, the MomCare platform enabled care-seeking behaviors to increase and quality of care to be maintained for expectant mothers despite social, economic, and access barriers.
- 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.