Health

­This collection of documents on health policy has been developed to support the work of researchers, policymakers, community members, and stakeholders who wish to contribute to greater access to quality healthcare through research and evidence-based policy development.

In South Africa healthcare funding mechanisms­, particularly national health insurance, are being researched and debated widely and this is reflected in the materials included in this section.

Policy briefs

• Econex National Health Insurance notes 
  
  To date Econex has released seven policy notes on goverment's proposed National Health Insurance plan.
  Econex, October 2009
• Improving equitable domestic public financing to reach universal coverage in East and Southern Africa 
  
  This policy brief draws policy makers’ attention to the demands and challenges in health financing for universal coverage, suggesting options.
  Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), July 2010
• Influencing health systems policy and practice 
  
  Relays some experiences from the Consortium for Research on Equitable Health Systems (CREHS) of getting research into policy and practice.
  Consortium for Research on Equitable Health Systems, March 2010
• Innovations in insuring the poor: Innovations in health insurance: Community-based models 
  
  Reviews policy challenges around scaling up community-based health insurance schemes.
  International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , December 2009
• Innovative Medicines South Africa NHI policy briefs 
  
  ­To date Innovative Medicines South Africa has released 10 policy briefs on government's proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) plan. ­
  Innovative Medicines South Africa, September 2009
• Mental Health and Poverty Project policy briefs 
  
  A series of nine policy briefs on policy development and analysis aimed at breaking the cycle of mental ill­-health and poverty.
  Mental Health and Poverty Project, University of Cape Town, 2010
• Nursing in a new era: policy brief 1 
  
  Examines the shifts in training and employment patterns between 1997 and 2007.
  Education, Science and Skills Development Programme, Human Sciences Research Council, November 2009
• Tackling implementation gaps through health policy analysis 
  
  Guidelines for predicting political and institutional barriers to strengthening equitable health systems.
  Centre for Health Policy, September 2008
• The need for the active and strategic management of local-level policy implementation  
  
  Reviews research seeking to document key influences over policy implementation - exercise of power by managers and frontline implementers and factors such as managerial trust and organisational culture.
  Centre for Health Policy, October 2009

Research reports & papers

• An evaluation of the Ghana national health insurance scheme in the context of the health MDGs 
  
  E­valuates Ghana's NHIS to determine whether it is fulfilling the needs for which it was established, by focusing on the health status of women.
  Global Development Network, March 2010
• An overview of health and health care in South Africa 1994 – 2010: Priorities, progress and prospects for new gains 
  
  Discussion document on macro health policy and planning which identifies key priorities and opportunities for consideration.
  Harrison, D., January 2010
• Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health 
  Commission on Social Determinants of Health, WHO, November 2008
• Community-based health insurance and social protection policy 
  
  Reviews the role of community health financing for protection against the impoverishing effects of illness.
  Social Protection Unit, World Bank, March 2007
• Debate: National health insurance 
  
  Opinion pieces on national health insurance from Health-e news service.
  Health-e, June 2009
• Developing good taste in research: facilitators of and hindrances to evidence informed health-policy making in state government  
  Millbank Quarterly, November 2008
• Evidence and healthy public policy: insights from health and political sciences  
  
  Looks at what constitutes evidence in policy-making and models of policy-making in political science, to show how evidence is used or not to develop health public policy.
  Canadian Policy Research Networks, May 2008
• Financial implications of a National Health Insurance plan for South Africa 
  
  Final report on a ­study commissioned by the Hospital Association of South Africa on estimated economic costs of a NHI plan.
  Econex, March 2010
• Fixing health systems 
  
  Argues for allocating budgets towards the 'burden of dise­ase', with Tanzanian case studies
  International Development Research Centre, January 2008
• Health as a human right: the wrong prescription 
  
  H­uman rights academic Jacob Mchangama argues that the political and legal ascendance of the right to health is unwarranted and counterproductive.
  International Policy Network, December 2009
• Intellectual property and access to medicines: an analysis of legislation in Central America 
  
  How intellectual property provisions impact on medicines access in developing countries.
  Bulletin of the World Health Organisation, October 2009
• National health insurance in South Africa: stakeholder perspectives on NHI 
  
  A collation ­of various positions on NHI compiled by Innovative Medicines South Africa.
  Innovative Medicines South Africa, August 2009
• Nursing in a new era: The profession and education of nurses in South Africa 
  
  Considers the profile, image and status of nursing and the nature and role of nursing education.
  Human Sciences Research Council, 2009
• Promoting mental health in scarce-resource contexts: Emerging evidence and practice 
  
  Recommends actions that empower individuals, families and communities to enhance resilience and the development of ­health enhancing policy and legislative frameworks.
  Human Sciences Research Council, February 2010
• Reclaiming the resources for health: A regional analysis of equity in health in East and Southern Africa 
  
  Research aimed at influencing h­ealth policies and­ programmes in the region.
  EQUINET, September 2008
• Social or national health insurance? 
  
  Summarises key South African debates about mandatory health insurance.
  Health Systems Trust, 2007
• Strengthening health systems: the role and promise of policy and systems research 
  
  A biennial review of health policy and systems research from the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, an initiative of the Global Forum for Health Research in collaboration with the World Health Organization (2004).
  Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, 2004
• The effects of education and health on wages and productivity 
  
  A staff working paper using a human capital earnings function and data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to estimate the effects of education and health status on wages.
  Productivity Commission, March 2010
• The Health Systems Knowledge Network of the World Health Organisation Commission on the Social Determinants of Health 
  

  Selected documents from this project conducted in partnership with the South African Centre for Health Policy­.

  World Health Organisation, 2008
• Would social health insurance improve South African health care? What other middle income countries can teach us 
  
  Reviews the impact social health insurance would have on healthcare in South Africa.
  Transformation, 1994

Case studies

• Health innovation networks to help developing countries address neglected diseases 
  
  Highlights an important means to improve health equity: the growing ability of some developing countries to undertake health innovation.
  Science, July 2005
• Research to policy and action: the case of vitamin A in South Africa 
  
  Explores the potential for reducing the schism between research and policy by examining the existing gap between research and policy action.
  Council on Health Research for Development, 2000
• What it takes to successfully translate research into policy and action 
  
  An interview with Director of the Centre for Microbiology Research and Chief Research Officer, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Dr Njeri Wamae, about translating research into action, and successes and pitfalls of engaging with policy makers.
  TropIKA.net, November 2008

Country studies

• Are South Africa’s new health policies making a difference?  
  
  Since 1994 the South African government has prioritised equity as a health policy goal.  Considers how successful the policies have been by referring to evidence from household studies carried out between 1992 and 2003.
  Health Economics Unit, Centre for Health Policy, 2007
• Comparative health systems research in a context of HIV/AIDS: lessons from a multi-country study in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia  
  
  Comparative research conducted in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, to determine preconditions for the success of health care reforms, for affirming common issues faced by these countries, and to develop research capacity.
  Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division, 2007
• Country notes: National Health Insurance 
  
  Newly launched research notes being collated for researchers, policymakers and stakeholders who are considering health reforms. ­
  Innovative Medicines South Africa, April 2010
• Health in South Africa 
  
  A collaboration between the Lancet and academic centres to assess the health status in South Africa.
  Lancet, August 2009
• International profiles of health care systems 
  
  Presents overviews of the health care systems of 13 countries, including information on health system financing, innovations and reforms. ­
  Commonwealth Fund, June 2010
• What is the impact of social health protection on access to health care, health expenditure and impoverishment?: a comparative analysis of three African countries 
  
  Investigates health care systems in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, followed by a short description of the methodology and data used in the research. The later sections focus on empirical results and policy implications.
  International Labour Organisation, 2006

Toolkits & guidelines

• A user-friendly guide/toolkit for applying the human rights-based framework 
  
  With information on the basic project management cycle.
  People's Health Movement, July 2009
• Advocacy in action: a toolkit to support NGOs and CBOs responding to HIV and AIDS 
  
  Guidelines for developing practical advocacy skills.
  International AIDS alliance, December 2003
• Benchmarks of fairness for health care reform: a policy tool for developing countries 
  
  Also read further documents on health equity policy issues from the Global Equity Gauge Alliance. 
  Global Equity Gauge Alliance, 2008
• Developing decentralisation and reproductive health services: guidelines for policymakers  
  University of Leeds, 2007
• Monitoring and evaluation toolkit: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria 
  
  ­Revised indicators at the output, outcome and impact levels for HIV/AIDS.
  Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, March 2008
• Rand Compare  
  
  Evidence-based approach for understanding, designing and evaluating health policies.
  2009
• Research as a tool for advocacy 
  
  A presentation outlining approaches to achieving research-based­ policies.
  Institute for Security Studies (ISS), 2010
• SUPPORT tools for evidence-informed health policymaking (STP) 
  
  A series of 17 articles, each proposing a tool for use­ by those involved in finding and using research evidence to support evidence-informed health policymaking.
  Health Research Policy and Systems, December 2009

Conference & seminar papers

• 1st Latin American conference on research and innovation for health  
  
  This conference worked towards ensuring that research deals with the countries’ health priorities and contributes to equitable development in Latin America.
  Pan American Health Organisation, April 2008
• Best practices in health research policy development 
  
  This report summarises presentations and discussions that took place during the session entitled National health research: developing a policy framework, during the Global Forum for Health Research 11, ­Beijing, Peoples’ Republic of China.
  COHRED, October 2007
• Board of Healthcare Funders conference  
  
  BHF 2009 ­conference papers with National Health Insurance theme.
  July 2009
• Colloquium: Health within a comprehensive system of social security 
  
  Addressed challenges facing the South African health system, aiming to influence health policy developers on issues related to national health insurance.
  Human Sciences Research Council, August 2007
• Fair financing for health: mobilising domestic resources and managing commercialisation of health systems 
  
  ­Reviews research on domestic public resource mobilisation­ focusing on ‘success stories’ in allocations towards the health sector.
  The Regional Network on Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), September 2009
• Financing South Africa’s national health system through national health insurance: Possibilities and challenges – colloquium proceedings 
  
  Report on colloquium on ‘Health within a comprehensive system of social security’.
  Human Sciences Research Council, 2008
• Global ministerial Forum for Health: strengthening research for health, development and equity 
  
  Download background documents and presentations from this conference, held from 17-19 November 2008 in Bamako,Mali­.
  Global Health Forum, November 2008
• Health systems and antiretroviral access - key findings and policy recommendations 
  
  Report on a round table which debated current understanding on developments in health systems aspects of HIV in South Africa, to make recommendations for future policy and operational research. Presentations can be downloaded here.
  October 2007
• National Health Insurance: Can it solve South Africa's health crisis?  
  
  Comprehensive analysis of the public health system in South Africa, towards national health insurance­.
  Sanders, D., September 2009
• Strengthening health systems in Southern Africa 1992-2007 
  
  A platform for a review of HSTs contribution to health research utilisation in policy making and the use of information to inform management decisions.
  Health Systems Trust, 2007

Reading lists

• Centre for Health Policy reading list 
  
  The Centre for Health Policy reading list includes publications on health policy from 1999 to 2007.
  Centre for Health Policy, 2007
• Literature reviews on knowledge and policy 
  
  Extensive literature review on kno­wledge and policy in the health and education sectors.
  Know&Pol, June 2007

Advocacy initiatives

• Advocacy toolkit for health 
  
  Describes advocacy techniques and activities for the health professionals and students. Includes aids such as templates, phone scripts, sample letters and other downloadable tools.
  Physicians for Human Rights, 2007
• HIV/AIDS and human rights in Southern Africa: an advocacy resource manual  
  
  Gives practical information on how law and policy can protect and promote human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS, and how Southern African Development Community countries have et this challenge.
  AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, 2006
• Rural Health Advocacy Project 
  
  Aims to work towards ­the progressive realization of the constitutional right of health for all, including the rural poor.
  September 2009
• September National Imbizo 
  
  A new Facebook forum for a national citizens' dialogue, currently working against xenophobia and planning for ­a National Indaba in September 2010.
  July 2010
• The People's Health Movement 
  
  Grassroots movement with representation in many countries including South Africa.
  January 2009