A new paper in BMJ Global Health. Citation, abstract, extract and comment from me below.
CITATION: Jackson-Morris AM, Mutungi G, Maree E, et al‘Implementability’ matters: using implementation research steps to guide and support non-communicable disease national planning in low-income and middle-income countriesBMJ Global Health 2022;7:e008275. https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/4/e008275
ABSTRACT: The ‘implementation gap’ between national plans and successful implementation is a central theme in addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is a factor that has undermined Sustainable Development Goal 3.4, which aims to achieve a one-third reduction in premature mortality from four major NCDs by 2030. Responding to the potential of implementation research to support low-income and middle-income countries to effectively advance their strategies, we describe ways to make NCD plans more robust by including implementation steps. These steps are (1) choosing some (but not all) effective and cost-effective options; (2) tailoring interventions and their scale-up to national capacity; and (3) making the priorities implementable. We illustrate with examples from several countries.
SELECTED EXTRACT
'The 2008 Tanzanian National NCD Strategy did not include or draw on capacity and readiness assessment, whereas subsequent assessments identified important gaps and weaknesses to explain the plan’s limited effectiveness. Tanzania’s 2016 National NCD Strategy explicitly included situational analysis using the SARA tool and could thereby articulate more detailed policy priorities and implementation activities. The lesson is that steps to determine exactly what capabilities are needed and where — in the health system, ministries or wider parts of government, and in civil society — should precede implementation.'
COMMENT (NPW): Determining 'exactly what capabilities are needed and where... should precede implementation' seems to be obvious. Civil society organisations have a vital role to play in helping to assess and define population health needs, research priorities and implementation strategies. Civil societ are particularly valuable to know what will work and what will not work in terms of 'implementability'.
I invite HIFA members to give an example of national (or subnational) policymaking where civil society organisations had a voice (or did not have a voice) in these processes.
Best wishes, Neil
Joint Coordinator, HIFA SUPPORT-SYSTEMS
https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is global coordinator of the HIFA global health movement (Healthcare Information For All - www.hifa.org ), a global community with more than 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting on six global forums in four languages in official relations with WHO. HIFA brings stakeholders together to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information.
Twitter: @hifa_org neil@hifa.org
