WHO and European Observatory on health systems and policies - book launch webinar "Health system Performance Assessment: a framework for policy analysis"

25 June, 2022

WHO and European Observatory on health systems and policies - book launch webinar "Health system Performance Assessment: a framework for policy analysis"

During a webinar on 24th June 2023, the World Health Organization, UHC2030, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and the UHC Partnership launched the book ‘Health system performance assessment: a framework for policy analysis’ which introduces a new conceptual framework for health system performance assessment. The book is comprehensive and has detailed but helpful flow diagrams to support health system performance assessments [...] [*see note below]

“The Health Systems Performance Assessment Framework for Universal Health Coverage offers a comprehensive attempt at guiding the collection and analysis of health system data in relation to policy goals and 21st century challenges. The definition, scope and boundaries of the health system follow Murray & Frenk’s definition: “health actions whose primary intent is to improve or maintain health (WHO, 2000).

“A key part of any health system framework is outlining the factors that explain health system performance. Outlining the factors that explain health system performance, Murray & Frenk (2000) identify four health system functions: financing; provision of health services; stewardship; and resource generation.

“The book is grounded in the premise that any whole-of-sector assessment exercise should collect information on and examine the performance of both the functions of the health system as well as its performance goals. The book follows through each of the health system functions (i.e., health system governance, financing, resource generation and service delivery), outlining their purpose, the sub-functions needed to fulfil that purpose, and assessment areas to evaluate how well a function performs, helping policy-makers to determine and analyse possible origins or impact of poor performance on a particular health system outcome.

“The framework links the performance of the four health system functions - financing, resource generation, governance and service delivery - to intermediate and final health system goals. The framework helps analyze possible origins of poor performance and the impact of health system bottlenecks on health improvement, people-centeredness, financial protection, efficiency, and equity of the health system.

Moderator: Dr Dheepa Rajan, Health Systems Advisor, WHO

Confirmed speakers:

- Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General, WHO

- Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Director, Country Health Polices and Systems, WHO Europe

- Dr Irene Papanicolas, London School of Economics and Political Science

- Dr Maria Begoña Yarza, Minister of Health, Chile

- Ian Gooding-Edghill, Minister of Health and Wellness, Barbados

- Dr Awad Mataria, Director, Universal Health Coverage/Health Systems, WHO EMRO

- Gerard Schmets, Deputy Director, Primary Health Care Special Programme, WHO

- Dr Tessa Tan-Torres Edejer, Acting Director, Health Systems Governance and Financing, WHO

- Dr Josep Figueras, Director, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies

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HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data

Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com

[*Note from NPW, moderator: The publication is available here: https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/health-system-perfo... ]