Health Systems Health Wealth And Societal Well Being Assessing The Case For Investing In Health Systems

This book argues that health systems are not, as is often believed, simply a drag on resources, but rather part and parcel of improving health and achieving better economic growth.

Governments across the WHO European Region need to take urgent action to address the growing public health inequality economic and environmental challenges in order to achieve sustainable development (meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs) and to ensure health and well-being for present and future generations. Based on a scoping review this report concludes that current investment policies and practices (doing business as usual) are unsustainable with high costs to individuals families communities societies the economy and the planet. Investment in public health policies that are based on values and evidence provides effective and efficient inclusive and innovative solutions that can drive social economic and environmental sustainability. Investing for health and well-being is a driver and an enabler of sustainable development and vice versa and it empowers people to achieve the highest attainable standard of health for all.

This book seeks to identify the current ‘state of the art’ of health system comparison, identifying data and methodological issues and exploring the current interface between evidence and practice.

Ensuring a robust and resilient health system involves policy actions which need to be implemented based on the best available evidence. This requires health systems to be monitored regularly to build on their strengths and to overcome any apparent shortcomings. In order to assist in that process, this volume, a collaboration between the World Health Organization and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, presents a new framework to support monitoring of health system performance, with a focus on detailed conceptual links between health system functions and overall system goals. This HSPA framework for Universal Health Coverage thus represents a comprehensive attempt to address fundamental questions regarding regular assessment of health systems, including health system boundaries, component elements and outcomes. In this book, each of the health system function chapters outlines the purpose of the function, the sub-functions that enable it to carry out the key activities necessary to fulfil its purpose, as well as the assessment areas and proposed indicative measures to evaluate how well a system performs. The framework will thus assist policy-makers in understanding possible origins or impact of poor performance on a particular health system outcome, triggering more in-depth analysis.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

This Handbook covers major topics in global health economics and public policy and provides a timely, systematic review of the field. Edited by Richard M Scheffler, Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy and Director of the Global Center for Health Economics and Policy Research at the University of California, Berkeley, the Handbook features academics and practitioners from more than a dozen countries. Contributors are from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, University of York, University of Oslo, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of California - Berkeley, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Toronto, University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School, OECD, the World Health Organization and the World Bank, many of whom have also acted as economic and policy advisors to government and non-governmental organizations across the world. Experts in these areas who provide critical analyses and relevant data for further exploration and research include: Thomas E Getzen, Executive Director of the International Health Economics Association (iHEA); Douglas E Hough, Associate Scientist and Associate Director of the Master in Healthcare Management programme at the Bloomberg School of Public Health of John Hopkins University; Guillem López-Casasnovas, former President of iHEA and member of the Advisory Council of the Spanish Health and Social Welfare Ministry and of the Advisory Council of the Catalan Health Ministry since 1984; Alistair McGuire, Professor of Health Economics at the London School of Economics and Political and advisor to a number of governments and governmental bodies across Europe; Tor Iversen, Research Director at the Health Economics Research Programme at the University of Oslo and former member of the iHEA Arrow Award Committee 2007-2011; William H Dow, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at University of California ,Berkeley and former Senior Economist for the Council of Economic Advisors (White House); Audrey Laporte, the Director of the Canadian Centre for Health Economics; Alexander S Preker, President and CEO of Health Investment & Financing Corporation; Ayda Yurekli, who initiated and developed the World Health Organization TaXSiM simulation model that has been used by many Ministries of Finance around the world for the development of tax policies; Marko Vujicic, Managing Vice President of the Health Policy Resources Center at the American Dental Association; Mark Sculpher, Director of the Programme on Economic Evaluation and Health Technology Assessment at the University of York and former President of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) (2011-2012); and Peter Berman, who has had almost 40 years of experience in global health and was formerly a Lead Health Economist at the World Bank. The Handbook spans across three volumes. The chapters deal with key global issues in health economics, are evidence-based, and offer innovative policy alternatives and solutions. The Handbook's approach toward global health economics and public policy will make it a useful resource for health economists, policymakers, private sector companies, NGOs, government decision-makers and those who manage healthcare systems.

The importance of scientific investigation and research is becoming more pronounced in today’s society, with many organizations relying on this research to make informed decisions. As such, research methodology courses have been integrated into undergraduate and master’s programs at most academic institutions where students are being challenged to conduct and write research. Social Research Methodology and New Techniques in Analysis, Interpretation, and Writing is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the main concepts of research writing, including the guidelines of research methodology and proposal designing. While highlighting topics such as mixed method research, research objectives, and project proposals, this publication provides examples of eight PhD proposals and the frameworks used in organizing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method research. This book is ideally designed for graduate-level students, academicians, researchers, educators, scholars, education administrators, and policymakers seeking current research on the key steps and techniques used in organizing social research proposals.

Economic shocks pose a threat to health and health system performance by increasing people’s need for health care and making access to care more difficult – a situation compounded by cuts in public spending on health and other social services. But these negative effects can be avoided by timely public policy action. While important public policy levers lie outside the health sector, in the hands of those responsible for fiscal policy and social protection, the health system response is critical. This book looks at how health systems in Europe reacted to pressure created by the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008. Drawing on the experience of over 45 countries, the authors:  analyse health system responses to the crisis in three policy areas: public funding for the health system; health coverage; and health service planning, purchasing and delivery assess the impact of these responses on health systems and population health identify policies most likely to sustain the performance of health systems facing financial pressure explore the political economy of implementing reforms in a crisis The book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the choices available to policy-makers - and the implications of failing to protect health and health-system performance - in the face of economic and other forms of shock.