Health Systems and Policies

Coordination: Catarina Delaunay

Presentation and objectives:

This subgroup seeks to cover the different frameworks of strategic policies that encompass the definition, planning, regulation, implementation, and evaluation of health systems. In this context, attention must be paid to the various stakeholders involved in the process, whether the state/policy makers (national and/or regional governmental agencies and organizations), health service providers (public, private, cooperative, along with professional associations and/or unions, and healthcare networks), and citizens (patient associations, Non-Governmental Organizations, representatives of civil society, etc.).

This work subgroup intends to analyze and discuss the objectives of current health systems and the orientation of public policies and legislation necessary for their implementation. This research takes into account a set of principles that highlight equity and universal access to health care, the quality and safety of the care provided to the population, as well as the sustainability, efficiency, and accountability of providers.

The ultimate objective of this workgroup is, therefore, to document the strengths, gaps, and challenges of health systems, from a comparative perspective at an international level by benchmarking the Portuguese case.

The production of multi and interdisciplinary knowledge will be preferred, along with the promotion of scientific debate based on collaborative work, to produce outputs such as the submission of articles in indexed international journals and project applications for funding. national and European, as well as dissemination of the work developed in scientific events.

Research topics:

The research topics within this subgroup can be divided into two main areas:

1) Governance

– Governance models of the health system(s), with a focus on organizational structure and political articulation at each level.

– The specificities of the Portuguese case, compared to other countries, in terms of processes and actors involved in the local/national design/formalization of public health governance policies and models, including the role of citizens.

– The changes and impacts of the implementation of the New Public Management (NGP) in the models of public governance and organizational management, and the specificities depending on the different contexts (hospitals, primary health care).

– The role of new information technologies and the so-called digital transformation in health in Portugal, compared to other national contexts.

2) Regulation

– The health regulation strategies, models, and mechanisms developed in Portugal, in close correlation with public policies in the sector; principles of technical, operational, and economic efficiency versus ethical-normative and social principles.

– The main difficulties and current challenges to health regulation, namely in terms of evaluation and monitoring of the performance of health services and systems, access to care, and quality of services provided.

– The sustainability of health systems in their different aspects: economic (technical, financial, and political dimensions), ethical-social (responsiveness, decentralization/proximity, right to health), and environmental (reduction of ecological footprint and waste production, avoidance of waste).

– The impact of global crises and emergencies (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic, migratory flows of refugees), on the resilience of health systems and the definition of public policies suited to emerging needs (new pathologies, new target groups).

Coordination: José Carlos Pinto da Costa

Presentation, objectives and research topics:

The researchers of the Saúde Digital group propose to listen to the positions of institutions and the experiences of agents from the four helices of innovation (governance, academia, industry and society) along the process of implementing digital health in Portugal and to analyse how the differences that eventually arise among those positions are managed in order to produce discursive coalitions and collaborative practices. Starting from here, the group seeks to obtain a comprehensive picture of the processes of involvement of the different stakeholders on the implementation of digital health in terms of policies (conceptualization and design of models and implementation and regulation strategies), practices (management of resources and local services of health and therapeutic interactions) and access (adoption of help-seeking behaviours and designing of new itineraries of using the health care services).

For the development of the work, the depth and diversity of experiences and skills of the members of the group is counted on. The team remains open and receptive to welcoming new elements from different scientific backgrounds and areas, including doctoral students and post-doctorate researchers. This expansion will serve to expand the existing critical mass to respond to calls for highly competitive contests and projects in the near future and to possible expressions of interest heading to the formation of research and development consortia in the field of digital health implementation in Portugal and abroad.

Coordenação: João Paulo Magalhães

Context

Health services management and governance research are a fundamental asset for an organization, including the development of theories, models, instruments and tools, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health systems overall. New governance and management models have been adopted, with the aim of improving both the efficiency of processes and the quality of the services provided, taking into account the numerous social, economic and environmental challenges that currently exist. Health services management and governance consist on processes of continuous learning, as health services are highly complex organizations that are part of a vast and diversified network, taking into account their mission and people expectations, the multidisciplinary teamwork, the high degree of technical-scientific specialization, and the range of services provided, including preventive, curative and rehabilitation healthcare services, using advanced technology.

Strategic goals

• Identify the current and future challenges for health services management and governance, focusing on population health
• Generate information and knowledge about governance models, instruments and tools that support quality, effective and efficient health services delivery and be able to meet population and health workforce needs

Research Pilars

1. Access to health – Tools for improve access to healthcare
2. Integrated governance – Components and tools for a multi-level health governance

Coordination: Inês Fronteira

Background and objectives

Human resources for health are fundamental to universal health coverage and the achievement of sustainable development goals. Although it is in low-income countries that the largest HRH deficit is found, all countries without exception experience some type of difficulty (e.g., employment, placement, retention, performance).

As such, the health workforce situation needs to be well documented, the reasons for its weaknesses understood and intervention options – what works and what does not – identified.

This group aims to promote an integrated and collaborative vision among academics and health professionals dedicated to the study of human resources for health in its different components. It also aims to expand the knowledge base on human resources for health by sharing research results and potential solutions. Finally, it aims to create a critical mass in human resources for health capable of contributing to the implementation of effective policies in this area.

Research topics:

• Education and professional development
• Funding
• Policies
• Planning, monitoring and analysis
• Leadership
• Partnerships
• Health of health workers
• Information systems on human resources for health