Box 1. Characteristics of Third Wave Health Research Strategies and Methodologies
Build on active collaboration among researchers and other knowledge producers from different disciplines.
Recognize that certain kinds of evidence, such as results from randomized controlled trials, cannot be generated with respect to many interventions that
address social determinants of health; therefore, a need exists to embrace diverse methodologies—fit for purpose—including a wide range of study designs, generating qualitative and quantitative data, that provide critical insight on the questions being examined.
Involve affected populations, which is often essential to appropriate research designs and their execution.
(3) Health Services and Health System Factors That Influence Health Equity
In the past three decades ‘‘health sector
reform’’ (HSR) around the world involved increased emphasis on market-based and privately financed solutions. This direction was actively promoted by international financial institutions [29] and exacerbated by domestic austerity programmes during the era of structural adjustment. Available research on HSR suggests that many of the reforms have increased barriers to access to essential preventive services and medical treatments. Crucially, out-of- pocket expenditures for public and private health services continue to drive many families into poverty in low- and middle- income countries [30,31]. With increased attention to universal health coverage [32,33], a major area for investigation is how to increase access to health services without catastrophic financial burden. Mechanisms that health systems can use to progress towards universal coverage and increase health equity should be evaluated within countries, with evidence synthesized and shared across countries [34]. An important question is why some jurisdictions do far better in providing health services, to a wider range of people in need, than others where public expen-
diture per capita is comparable. Recog- nizing the limitations of relying only on supply-side approaches, research needs to generate increased understanding of the value of ‘‘demand-side’’ interventions and approaches to enhance the accountability of health service providers to users [35]. Related, new, or updated methodologies (for example, benefit-incidence analysis, micro-simulation, long-range scenario planning, etc.) could contribute to research on health systems and equity.
Health inequities often cannot be ad- dressed adequately if health systems must be financed only from domestic resources. With much work on identifying resource needs already available, research should identify sustainable and innovative mechanisms for longer-term and predictable forms of global financ- ing of health systems in low-income countries. Rapid investigations on how the current financial crisis is affecting public financing for health systems would be timely and practical as inputs to government policy making on health systems and development aid [36]. How are countries or decentralized administra- tive units coping with increased budgetary
pressures and their potential effect on equity? Under what policy and implemen- tation models does decentralization lead to improved local decision-making, net health equity gains, and community em- powerment? The recent rise of ‘‘medical tourism’’ also warrants further study of such questions as whether public funds are subsidizing the creation of private, often state-of-the-art hospitals to attract foreign patients and foreign currencies to the detriment of residents’ access to health services [37].
Health systems deliver better and more equitably distributed health outcomes when organized around primary health care (PHC) that combines prevention and health promotion with treatment and rehabilitation [32,34]. Thus, another area for research is how different funding, delivery, and management models of PHC support comprehensiveness of ser- vices and equity in access. As PHC principles also include intersectoral ap- proaches, research on how health systems can champion and contribute to actions on social and environmental determinants of health would be particularly useful. Relatedly, of major importance are re- search and policy that focus on human resources for health. The quality, commit- ment, and dedication of health workers are critical to the functioning of health systems [38]. The role of women in both formal and informal health services provision is drastically neglected and under-reported, and the gendered nature of human resources for health has not figured largely in health research or policy [39]. Recent assessments indicate that the ‘‘brain drain’’ of providers from low-income countries, especially from those in southern Africa, threatens to precipitate a complete col- lapse of health systems already stretched to the breaking point by financial constraints and the impacts of HIV and AIDS [38]. Key questions include identifying the most important policy actors and entry points to reduce the health inequities arising from health worker migration patterns.
(4) From ‘‘Problem Space’’ to
‘‘Solution Space’’: Effective Policy Interventions to Reduce Health Inequity
Research oriented towards reducing
health inequity has until recently focused on what might be called the ‘‘problem space.’’ Building on the foundation of research evidence about causal processes, it is also important to design research that specifically addresses what might be called
the ‘‘solution space’’ [40]: the strategic drivers of reductions in health disparities, the differential health effects of public policies, and the comparative effectiveness of options for enhancing equity.
Over the short term, more emphasis is needed on evaluation methodologies that capture contextual and other critical influences, to understand not only how interventions work, but also why they work [41]. Because policies that affect health are often made by finance minis- tries and not by health ministries, health impact assessments (HIAs) that specifically incorporate equity analysis and apply to policies outside the health system offer a useful basis for integrating the distribution of health outcomes into governmental decision-making [42]. To evaluate impact, a key question is: How will we know in 20 years which initiatives, by whom, have worked to reduce health inequities within and across countries? Answering this question requires improved baseline data on health out- comes and social conditions, linked data- bases, and study designs that enable understanding of complex causality, cou- pled with research on how policies that do not explicitly target health outcomes affect social determinants of health. Such re- search, in turn, must rely on a plurality of evaluation methodologies and a broader range of knowledge producers.
Knowledge translation to policy makers. Finally, more attention must be paid to making research accessible and useful to policy makers and other potential users, such as civil society organizations. In the context of what is already known about social determinants of health and working within broader development agendas, making research useful implies norms for data collection and disaggregation [43] and more attention to synthesis of relevant evidence generated outside of disciplines familiar to some mainstream health researchers, for example, in development economics, international political economy, and sociology.
Next Steps to Advance an Equity-Focused Health Research Agenda
(a) Building a critical mass of researchers with backgrounds in social sciences and non-medical disciplines, with experience in a plural- ity of methods, complementing existing biomedical and biostatistical competencies and in engaging policy makers to further refine research questions. Notably, this will enhance the quality of technical support