Health Systems Research
We do research to understand and improve how health systems work. Sometimes called "implementation science," "operations research" or "translational research," this growing area of work looks at how interventions or services are delivered in real life, and how they can be improved.
Through this kind of research, governments can see what is working and where gaps exist so they can make more informed management decisions. Our goal is to make sure that innovations in global health can be brought from theory into practice, and reach the people who need them.
We work with a diverse set of partners on health systems research projects: the University of Washington, universities in the countries where we work, ministries of health, and other organizations working to strengthen health systems.
What is a health system?
A health system is the set of resources and activities that work together to improve the health of populations. Elements of a health system include:
• health facilities, including local clinics all the way up to specialty-care referral hospitals
• a health workforce made of up the right mix of well-trained clinical providers
• laboratory and pharmacy products and services, and the related procurement and transport systems
• a health information system that enables health officials to analyze how the system is functioning and whether health outcomes are being achieved
• health financing that raises funds for health and protects people from the financial risk of catastrophic health costs
• leadership and governance structures and policies that ensure all parts of the system work together and are accountable to the populations they serve
• linkages to the community
When one or more of these elements are weak, the health system suffers, and so do the people it serves. Vaccines can sit useless in a warehouse if there are not enough trained health workers to deliver them. A nurse may draw a patient’s blood to test CD4 levels, but if it takes too long for results to come back from the lab, the patient may not return to start antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS. Understanding what works and improving health services requires a reliable central database, accurate data, and the ability to analyze the information and make decisions.