IPCHS. Integrated People-Centred Health Services

Publications

This growing repository holds WHO documents, scientific publications, policy documents, implementation reports, presentations and others with information and insights about integrated people-centred health services. Share your publication by clicking “Add publication”.

Dec. 26, 2018 Global

Strengthening performance-based financing as a health system approach for quality improvement

Over the last decade, a significant reduction of maternal and child mortality has been achieved in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is largely attributable to the substantial improvement in access to essential reproductive, maternal and child health services. However, in some countries, expansion of health services has not resulted in the expected mortality reduction. Low quality of care (QoC) is an important cause of this discrepancy, and it calls for putting quality improvement on the global health agenda. As an approach to enhance QoC in LMICs, performance-based financing (PBF), which incentivizes health providers based on predetermined indicators, has been ...

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Dec. 12, 2018 Global

Developing more participatory and accountable institutions for health: identifying health system research priorities for the Sustainable Development Goal-era

Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is vital to guiding global institutions, funders, policymakers, activists and implementers in developing and enacting strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  The findings from this exercise identify HPSR funding priorities and future areas for evidence production and policy engagement.

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Dec. 6, 2018 Europe Global

Using concept mapping to identify policy options and interventions towards people- centred health care services: a multi stakeholders perspective

People-centred health care (PCC) services are identified by the WHO as important building blocks towards universal health coverage. In 2016 the WHO formulated a comprehensive framework on integrated PCC services based on an international expert consultation. Yet, expert opinions may fail to recognize the needs of all health system stakeholders. Therefore, a consultation method that includes the health workforce and laypersons, can be instrumental to elaborate this framework more in-depth. This research sought to identify participants’ perspectives on policy options and interventions to achieve people-centred health care services from a multi stakeholder perspective.

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Nov. 7, 2018 Global

Community health workers and accountability: reflections from an international “think-in”

Community health workers (CHWs) are frequently put forward as a remedy for lack of health system capacity, including challenges associated with health service coverage and with low community engagement in the health system, and expected to enhance or embody health system accountability. During a ‘think in’, held in June of 2017, a diverse group of practitioners and researchers discussed the topic of CHWs and their possible roles in a larger “accountability ecosystem.” While CHWs are often conceptualized as cogs in a mechanistic health delivery system, at the end of the day, CHWs are people embedded in families, communities, and the ...

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Nov. 5, 2018 Global

Best practices in scaling digital health in low and middle income countries

Healthcare challenges in low and middle income countries (LMICs) have been the focus of many digital initiatives that have aimed to improve both access to healthcare and the quality of healthcare delivery. Moving beyond the initial phase of piloting and experimentation, these initiatives are now more clearly focused on the need for effective scaling and integration to provide sustainable benefit to healthcare systems.

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Oct. 23, 2018 Europe Global

Innovation of the governance of integrated care

Interest in integrated care is growing. This is reflected in the rising numbers of scientific publications, IJIC’s increased impact factor and the increasing number of participants at IFIC’s international conferences. It is stimulating to see that organizations like the World Health Organisation are developing conceptual frameworks that embrace integrated care. At the same time we know that integrated care does not become reality automatically; it takes a long timeframe. That can be conflicting with ambitions like ‘implementing good practices as fast as possible’ and with the pressure to deliver results in politically set tight time frames.

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Sept. 16, 2018 Global

Health systems around the world – a comparison of existing health system rankings

Existing health systems all over the world are different due to the different combinations of components that can be considered for their establishment. The ranking of health systems has been a focal points for many years especially the issue of performance. In 2000 the World Health Organization (WHO) performed a ranking to compare the Performance of the health system of the member countries.
Since then other health system rankings have been performed and it became an issue of public discussion. A point of contention regarding these rankings is the methodology employed by each of them, since no gold standard exists ...

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Aug. 29, 2018 Global

Public involvement in health research systems: a governance framework

Growing interest in public involvement in health research has led to organisational and policy change. Additionally, an emerging body of policy-oriented scholarship has begun to identify the organisational and network arrangements that shape public involvement activity. Such developments suggest the need to clearly conceptualise and characterise public involvement in health research in terms of governance.

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Aug. 29, 2018 Global

Health policy and systems research: the future of the field

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 systems have endured – such as a focus on health equity – contexts and priorities change, research methods progress, and health organisations continue to learn and adapt, in part by using HPSR. For HPSR to remain relevant, its practitioners need to re-think how health systems are conceptualised, to keep up with rapid changes in how we diagnose and manage disease and use information, and consider factors affecting people’s health ...

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May 7, 2018 Americas Global

Characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models: a systematic scoping review

Indigenous populations have poorer health outcomes compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. The experience of colonisation, and the long-term effects of being colonised, has caused inequalities in Indigenous health status, including physical, social, emotional, and mental health and wellbeing. This systematic scoping review aims to identify the characteristics of Indigenous primary health care service delivery models. 

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