Handbook

This course is offered in two modes: either face to face (on-campus) and fully online.

This course focuses on the principles and practice of health system analysis, the sources and utilisation of information relating to the development, organisation and operation of healthcare systems, and frameworks for assessing the performance of different health systems. It draws on material from healthcare systems of both developed and less developed countries to examine the economic, social, epidemiological, and political environments within which healthcare systems operate and the various patterns that emerge. We examine the key building blocks of healthcare systems: financing arrangements including revenue generation, risk pooling and purchasing; health workforce including migration of health workers and health labour market dynamics; health system governance; models of health service delivery and access to essential medicines. The impact of some recent attempts at health system reform in different countries, including reform seeking to achieve universal health coverage, is assessed and proposals for future re-structuring are critically reviewed.