Health Policy Framework PDF

Chapter 1: The health policy framework Why is health policy important? • Health sector is a major part of the economy • Some view it as a sponge that absorbs national resources, while others view it as a driver of the economy through innovation, investment, sale, and productivity • Health is affe...

Chapter 1: The health policy framework Why is health policy important? • Health sector is a major part of the economy • Some view it as a sponge that absorbs national resources, while others view it as a driver of the economy through innovation, investment, sale, and productivity • Health is affected by many decisions • Policies affect people’s health. Examples? • Understanding the relationship between health policy and health is essential. Why? What is health policy? • Policy “is often thought of as decisions taken by those with responsibility for a given policy area” • Policy makers are people who make policies at any level • Policy elites are policy makers who have high positions in an organization, and privileged access to other top members of the same or other organization • Policies are made in both public and private sector. • Public policy “refers to government policy or the policies of government agencies” • Policies can be made by a single decision or bundles of decision. • Health policy includes “courses of action and inaction that affect the set of institutions, organizations, services and funding arrangements o the health and health care system” Health policy is linked to politics and deals with who influences policy making, and how they exercise their influences under different conditions Analyzing health policy Politics affect every aspect of daily life To understand politics, analysts should go beyond the content of a particular health policy. Explain! The ‘health policy triangle’ Walt and Gilson (1994) Individuals The actors who make or influence policy Organizations Multinational companies Governments “Social movements” form when many different groups get together to demonstrate strong feelings about particular issues Actors influence to policy depends on their perceived or actual power Contextual factors that affect policy • Context is systemic factors which may have an affect on health policy. Factors provided by Leicheter (1979): • Situational factors • Structural factors • Cultural factors • International or exogenous factors The process of policy making Process is the way in which policies are initiated, developed or formulated, negotiated, communicated, implemented and evaluated ‘Stages heuristic’ by Sabatier and Jankins-Smith 1993 Problem identification and issue recognition Policy formulation Policy implementation Policy evaluation Institutions mean • Organization OR • Rules, authority and values Interests mean actors Using the health policy triangle Analysis of policy is a retrospective and explanatory Analysis for policy is a prospective process