When considering public health and health care systems and the services they provide, it is important to think about how these systems and services are integrated. Systems thinking tools are helpful to consider the various links, feedback loops, and decision points within a system to identify opportunities for improvement and increase efficiency.
For this assignment, select a low- or middle-income country of interest and assess its health system. In a 1,000-1,250-word paper, address the following:
- Describe the major components of the health system.
- Discuss core services the health system provides and who manages them(government, private sector, a mix of both, etc.).
- Discuss who is responsible for paying for those services or who funds the provided services.
- Apply a systems thinking tool, such as a causal diagram or process map, to identify opportunities for how gaps in public health services can be bridged through a strong health system.
- Conclude by considering how the convergence of communicable and noncommunicable diseases can be addressed more effectively through an integrated health system in the selected country.
General Requirements
You are required to cite at least SIX sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the discussion question criteria and public health content.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is not required.
While APA style is required, solid academic writing is expected as well, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
PLEASE make sure APA citation and permalink for articles are complete and correct.
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PLEASE add the links/sites below to the reference list if you use any of these readings and make sure everything is in proper APA format.
Read “The Health Impacts of Globalisation: A Conceptual Framework,” by Huynen, Martens, and Hilderink, from Globalization and Health (2005).
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Read “Participant Guidelines: Systems Tools for Complex Health Systems: A Guide to Creating a Causal Loop Diagrams,” by de Pinho (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health) (2015), located on the World Health Organization (WHO) website.
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Read “Guide: How to Process Map,” by the Agency for Clinical Innovation (2015).
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Read “Building From Common Foundations: The World Health Organization and Faith-Based Organizations in Primary Healthcare,” by Bandy et al. (2008), located on the World Health Organization website.
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Read “Globalization of Health Care: Designing, Developing, and Implementing a Just World Class Health System in a Frontier Market,” by Waruingi et al., from Journal of Global Health Care Systems (2013).
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Read “The Global Health System: Actors, Norms, and Expectations in Transition,” by Szlezak et al., from PLOS Medicine (2010).
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Read “Assessing the Health Impact of Transnational Corporations: Its Importance and a Framework,” by Baum et al., from Globalization and
Health (2016).
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Read “Framing International Trade and Chronic Disease,” by Labonte, Mohindra, and Lencucha, from Globalization and Health (2011).
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Read “Declaration of Alma-Ata,” by the International Conference on Primary Health Care (1978), located on the World Health Organization (WHO) website.
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Read “A View of Health Care Around the World,” by Wallace, from Annals for Family Medicine (2013).
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Read “Health Care Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” by Mills, from New England Journal of Medicine (2014).
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Read “The WHO Health Systems Framework,” located on the World Health Organization (WHO) website.
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Read “Five Capitalist Democracies and How They Do It,” by Frontline (2008), located on the PBS website.
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Explore the Management Sciences For Health website.
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MUST haveat least 5 citations with the page numbers and 5 references in APA format.(The List of References should not be older than 2016 and should not be included in the word count.) Include at least one scholarly reference and appropriate in-text citations and Address all points on the DQ. One point will be deducted for not addressing each item mentioned above. Remember that presenting someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
It is important that you cover all the topics identified in the assignment. Covering the topic does not mean mentioning the topic BUT presenting an explanation from the context of ethics and the readings for this class
I am a stickler for good organization in everything. I do not want to have to dig for your answers. For instance, if an assignment asks you to provide three examples of something, I suggest that you number them 1-3 so I can find them easily. I also expect that when you submit something as a narrative, you pay attention to how you organize your thoughts: use paragraphs with a topic sentence and supporting sentences; and change paragraphs whenever you introduce a new idea. Also, if there are multiple parts to an assignment, use sub-heads within the paper to organize them.
To get maximum points you need to follow the requirements listed for this assignments 1) look at the word/page limits 2) review and follow APA rules 3) create subheadings to identify the key sections you are presenting and 4) Free from typographical and sentence construction errors.
REMEMBER IN APA FORMAT JOURNAL TITLES AND VOLUME NUMBERS ARE ITALICIZED.
References
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This assignment requires an assessment of a low- or middle-income country’s health system and the tools that can be used to enhance its public health services. The paper should analyze the major components of the health system, the core services that the health system provides, who manages them, and who is responsible for paying for or funding the services. Additionally, a systems thinking tool should be applied to identify the opportunities available to bridge the gaps in the public health services through a strong health system. Lastly, the convergence of communicable and noncommunicable diseases should be addressed comprehensively through an integrated health system in the chosen country.
Answer:
Low- to middle-income countries’ health systems comprise essential health services designed to meet the population’s health care needs. The major components of a health system include the health workforce, service delivery, health information system, medical products, vaccines, and technologies, financing, and leadership and governance. Service delivery entails the delivery of health programs and interventions, which are essential for maintaining the community’s health. Furthermore, the health system’s service delivery encompasses primary, secondary, and tertiary care levels (Mills, 2014).
The core services provided by a health system include health communication, disease prevention and control, human resources development, and public health provisioning, among others. The health system services’ management varies, with some being privately managed, some are government-managed, and others are under private-public partnerships. In some low- to middle-income countries, the private health sector invests in the health delivery system, which raises the standard of the health services available to the population (Frontline, 2008).
Financing the health care services is a significant component of the health system. In low- to middle-income countries, financing occurs majorly through out-of-pocket expenses, government expenditure, and donor funding. However, out-of-pocket expenses are high and primarily driven by the lack of appropriate financial protection policies, which lead to excess financial burdens on the households (Wallace, 2013). Donor funding plays a significant role in financing public health services in low- and middle-income countries because these countries often cannot fund their health systems independently.
A useful systems thinking tool that can be deployed to bridge the gaps in public health services is the causal loop diagram. The causal loop is an engaging tool that assists health care managers to visualize the interdependencies and links among various service delivery programs and health concerns (WHO, n.d.). Applying the system thinking tool can enable stakeholders to easily identify the gaps or barriers developed at any point in the health system and formulate effective strategies to address them.
The convergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases can be addressed more effectively through an integrated health system in the selected country. Integration can be achieved through cohesive strategies that promote health care service delivery from primary care institutions to tertiary health care services. Furthermore, the government should put in place policy measures that improve the health system’s governance while also supporting innovations in the health sector to improve disease management. Finally, reducing financial barriers and investing in financial protection schemes, including the expansion of health insurances, can help increase the demand for health care services and reinforces timely health-seeking behaviors.
In conclusion, an assessment of the health system in low- to middle-income countries is imperative for ensuring effective public health service delivery. The health system comprises essential components such as service delivery, governance, finance, medical products, vaccines, health information, and human resources. Deploying a causal loop diagram as a tool of systems thinking can help close vital gaps in public health service delivery while comprehensive health care provision can merge communicable and non-communicable diseases.