Health System Strengthening for Greater

Health Impact

Dan Kraushaar Management Sciences for Health

We all say we do it and do it well, but what is it?

How strong is the evidence base?

We now have more and better “what”, “why” and “how much”

• Understanding of the problem• Proximal and distal of causes• Evidence on intervention efficacy and

effectiveness• Improved modeling• Much improved normative guidance

Fragmented HSS efforts have created evidence on how to improve inputs and

processes

Leadership & governance

Financing

Information

Health workforce

Delivery

Medical products, vaccines and technologies

Inputs processes outputs outcomes impact

The evidence base on system strengthening for health impact is

weak

• The black box of health system strengthening for health impact remains a black box.

• Weak health systems remains the primary barrier

• Lack of an agreed upon conceptual framework

• Lack of appropriate evaluation designs and limited scientific method applied to HSS efforts

• Consequently limited evidence of what works, why and under what conditions

Two promising practices

1. Causal pathway analysis as a means of linking health system strengthening interventions to health outcomes.

2. Systematic application of key policy and managerial levers applied against concretely defined system bottlenecks.

Most effective programs have defined HSS efforts based on causal pathway

analysis in some way or another

Allowing for system strengthening, program design and management along

that defined causal path.

Higher coverage

Reduced problems,

goals attained

HSS against specific

health system bottlenecks

Evidence based interventions & coverage levels

Problems and causes

Measurable goal

System requirements

Right inputs & processes

That, coupled with use of five policy and management levers for improved system performance

*Modified from Hsiao, William C. (2009). Inside the Black Box of Health Systems: What Are the Policy Control Knobs?

• Five key features of the health system which can be manipulated by policy makers and managers.

• When systematically applied have shown to influence the structure and function of the health system.

• They are a promising approach to improving health system performance for greater health impact.

Health system bottlenecks

Leadership and Governance

Health Information

Health Financing

Medical Products, Vaccine, and Technologies

Health Workforce

Health Services and Delivery

What are those levers?

Applied against system bottlenecks can improve system performance

1. Changing how resources are mobilized and allocated and how risks are pooled

2. Changing the organization of financing and the appropriate involvement of public and private sectors

3. Changing the payment and incentive structures for providers and consumers and modifying costs of inputs

4. Use of the coercive power of government through policy & regulation

5. Influencing beliefs, preferences and behavior of people, organizations and providers

Source: Roberts, Marc, William Hsiao, Peter Berman, and Michael Reich. Getting Health Reform Right - A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Scholarship Online. Oxford University Press.

Convincing evidence

• Retrospective analysis of effective programs

• Bill Hsiao, Harvard: 22 country analyses

• Specific examples of country programs

• Multiple examples the past few days

Thailand national FP program

1. Mobilize, allocate and manage resources

2. Organization, roles of public and private sectors

3. Changing the payment and incentives and costs

4. Policy and regulation

5. Influencing beliefs, preferences and behavior

1. Massive and preferential increase in FP funding sustained by gov’t over time. Subsidies to private sector

2. Expanded community level gov’t facilities. Encouraged private provision. Created midwifery cadre and established midwifery schools for community FP delivery. Expanded FP logistics. Integrated FP into MCH system. Encouraged private sector.

3. Free services. FP currently covered by 30Bht scheme?

4. Policy allowed for private sector innovation. Allowed research on FP methods.

5. Studied KAP of providers and consumers. Identified resistance points. Educated and trained all levels of providers. Multi media campaign.

Lever Policy and management action

HSS in Jordan (Dr. Hamsa’s presentation)

1. Emergency financial allocations for mag sulfate. Cost analysis. Preferential financing.

2. Improved logistics and supply. Altered purchasing processes. Improved monitoring and supervision. Creation of motherhood committees. Improved program execution.

3. Improved accountability through use of motherhood committees.

4. Improved policies on use of mag. Sulfate. Clinical guidelines.

5. Competency based training. Use of expert clinicians. Use of data and access to global evidence to influence provider attitudes and behavior. Self directed learning.

1. Mobilize, allocate and manage resources

2. Organization, roles of public and private sectors

3. Changing the payment and incentives and costs

4. Policy and regulation

5. Influencing beliefs, preferences and behavior

Lever Policy and management action

Thinking Causally and application of policy levers:

What are the benefits?1. Evidence based.

2. Justifies multiple yet calculated policy and managerial actions based on predicted outcomes in a way that is empirically testable. 

3. Defines policy and managerial tools for changing system performance.

4. Identifies the vital few interventions and the critical path to impact.

5. Helps identify the most appropriate indicators along that critical path.

6. Helps policy makers and managers focus on outcomes and impact vs inputs and processes using the 5 levers for HSS.

What needs to be done?• More systematic application of causal pathway

analysis.• Greater attention evidence• More rigorous analysis of health system

bottlenecks based on causal analysis.• More systematic application of policy and

management levers.• Creation of empirical evidence through more

systematic evaluations to determine effectiveness of this approach