Roundtable Discussion: Health Systems Global, the New International Society for Health Systems Research

Roundtable Discussion: Health Systems Global, the New International Society for Health Systems Research

By: Dan Kraushaar, Marie-Paule Kieny, Jeffrey V. Lazarus
Publication: Health Policy and Planning27 (7) (2012): 535-40. doi:10.1093/heapol/czs079.

Abstract

A few underlying facts drove the decision to create a new society for health systems research (HSR). There is growing acknowledgement that health systems performance problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are a major impediment to making more rapid progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ensuring universal health coverage. More research is needed to address the reasons for health system weaknesses and the ways and means of improving performance. Further, an increasing number of researchers are focusing their work on health systems research and while there is now substantial research ongoing in this area, there is no regular forum to share findings, methodologies and tools. Therefore, the participants of the First International Symposium on Health Systems Research, in Montreux, Switzerland (2010), called for the creation of an international society for health systems research.