Comparative health policy and politics

Countries around the world have organized their health systems in different ways and taken different approaches to address health problems. Despite comparatively lower health spending, many low- and middle-income countries have made remarkable progress in health and human development. Yet, health systems in most countries have been plagued by inequities and policy dilemmas. This unit will provide you with a comparative global perspective to the organization of health systems and orient them towards developing comparative skills to analyze contemporary issues in healthcare. It aims to help you understand the evolution of health systems, think critically about their respective strengths and weaknesses, and appreciate how health priorities are established in a world of limited resources and the factors that influence key policy decisions.

The unit will explore the policy challenges of health systems, advantages, and challenges of comparative policy analysis in the health sector, contrasting models of health service delivery, need for addressing social determinants of health, and issues in collaborative governance and cross-border healthcare. It will also highlight how health agendas and policies are shaped by politics, the uniqueness of healthcare and its politics, and how awareness of its politics can facilitate more meaningful comparative policy analysis.