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The state of Health Policy and Systems Research

Edited by: Abdul Ghaffar and Zubin Shroff

Return to Health Research Policy and Systems.

This series is based on background papers developed to inform the World Report on Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR), launched in April 2017.  Reflecting the report’s contents, the papers examine the growth and evolution of HPSR, funding for HPSR, the state of HPSR in terms of knowledge generation and research capacity as well as the road ahead and HPSRs relevance for UHC and the SDGs.  Publication as a collection of journal articles enables a more in-depth exploration of issues highlighted in the report, something that is of particular interest to the community of health policy and systems researchers.

The Journal independently managed the peer-review for the Series papers. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Series and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the World Health Organization. The Series Editors declare no conflict of interest.  Payment for publication of the Series articles was made by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research.

  1. Evidence-informed policymaking on human resources for health (HRH) has been directly linked with health system productivity, accessibility, equity, quality, and efficiency. The lack of reliable HRH data has ma...

    Authors: Zhila Najafpour, Mohammad Arab and Kamran Shayanfard
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2023 21:41
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Communities of Practice (CoPs) are a promising approach to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) to improve care for chronic conditions like heart failure (HF). CoPs involve a comple...

    Authors: Anju Sahay, Brian S. Mittman, Parisa Gholami, Shoutzu Lin and Paul A. Heidenreich
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2022 20:79
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. To explore the health research capacity (HRC) and factors associated with professional and technical personnel (PTP) in a first-class tertiary hospital in northwest China.

    Authors: Peijing Yan, Yongfeng Lao, Zhenxing Lu, Xu Hui, Biao Zhou, Xinyu Zhu, Xiaojie Chen, Li Li, Zixuan Wang, Min Zhang and Kehu Yang
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2020 18:103
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is an inherently cross-disciplinary field of investigation. However, conflicting conceptualisations about inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary research have contribute...

    Authors: Gordon Dugle, Joseph Kwame Wulifan, John Paul Tanyeh and Wilm Quentin
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2020 18:79
    Content type: Review Published on:

  5. Cancer is the third-leading cause of mortality in Kenya, resulting in unique challenges to the country’s health system. An increase in the number of cancer cases in Kenya over the past decade resulted in legis...

    Authors: Louise Kathini Makau-Barasa, Sandra Greene, N. A. Othieno-Abinya, Stephanie B. Wheeler, Asheley Skinner and Antonia V. Bennett
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2020 18:2
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Many schemes have been implemented by the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to provide equity in health service utilisation. Initially, health service utilisations were fully supported by the ...

    Authors: Somdeth Bodhisane and Sathirakorn Pongpanich
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2019 17:99
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. The complexity and increasing burden of zoonotic diseases create challenges for the health systems of developing nations. Public health systems must therefore be prepared to face existing and future disease th...

    Authors: Sandul Yasobant, Walter Bruchhausen, Deepak Saxena and Timo Falkenberg
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2018 16:124
    Content type: Study Protocol Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Health Research Policy and Systems 2019 17:78

  8. A review of research priorities completed by WHO technical units was undertaken. Results of the mapping were recorded in a database that was used to generate analysis and compare research priorities and the di...

    Authors: R. F. Terry, E. Charles, B. Purdy and A. Sanford
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2018 16:116
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Health policy and systems research (HPSR) has changed considerably over the last 20 years, but its main purpose remains to inform and influence health policies and systems. Whereas goals that underpin health s...

    Authors: David H. Peters
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2018 16:84
    Content type: Commentary Published on:

  11. Evidence-informed decision-making for health is far from the norm, particularly in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Health policy and systems research (HPSR) has an important role in providing th...

    Authors: Zubin Cyrus Shroff, Dena Javadi, Lucy Gilson, Rockie Kang and Abdul Ghaffar
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2017 15:94
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. The need for sufficient and reliable funding to support health policy and systems research (HPSR) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been widely recognised. Currently, most resources to support su...

    Authors: Karen Ann Grépin, Crossley Beth Pinkstaff, Zubin Cyrus Shroff and Abdul Ghaffar
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2017 15:68
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. For 20 years, substantial effort has been devoted to catalyse health policy and systems research (HPSR) to support vulnerable populations and resource-constrained regions through increased funding, institution...

    Authors: Krista M. English and Babak Pourbohloul
    Citation: Health Research Policy and Systems 2017 15:64
    Content type: Research Published on: