The complexity of achieving UHC through PHC: how do we connect the
competing narratives?
- Akiko Maeda
Abstract
The commentary discusses the importance of developing Universal Health
Coverage strategies through the lens of complex systems framework that
evaluates policies not only in terms of the final desired outcome but
also as an interplay of disparate views among diverse actors in the
system. This view also confers a degree of agency and autonomy on the
individual actors, whether they be patients or healthcare workers, and
necessitates the inclusion of bottom-up participatory process in the
development of UHC policies and interventions. These are consistent with
the Primary Health Care principles articulated in the 1978 Alma Ata
Declaration and will need to be integrated into the health system
development framework to achieve UHC. Ultimately, this approach would
encourage the creation of a more cooperative and adaptive policy
environment in which each actor is encouraged to collaborate and are
nudged toward a desirable outcome rather than through coercive means.03 Oct 2021Submitted to Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 04 Oct 2021Submission Checks Completed
04 Oct 2021Assigned to Editor
20 Oct 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Oct 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Nov 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
Apr 2022Published in Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice volume 28 issue 2 on pages 335-337. 10.1111/jep.13637