Health Policy

Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is a new discipline that attempts to study and improve how societies organise themselves to achieve collective health objectives, as well as how many elements interact in policy and implementation processes to influence policy results.

Health policy and systems research may be used at many stages of the policy cycle, from putting a problem on the policy agenda to reviewing and learning from policies that have already been enacted. Political dynamics that regulate health systems govern health policies. Understanding these processes is crucial not just for the development of good policies, but also for the generation of evidence to support such policies.