Health Systems Research

In a first approximation, health systems consist of the population to be served, their health needs, perceptions, behavior, demand for health care, socioeconomic and educational status etc. and on the other hand the health services, their organization, infrastructure, management, financing and the quality of services delivered. In this system new interventions are introduced whose effectiveness are sometimes drastically reduced due to system imperfections. 

One of our study showed that of the potential (clinical trial derived) effectiveness of malaria treatment with Chloroquine, 93% was lost due to imperfect delivery systems. Low utilization combined with low provider and user compliance.

The projects, developed in this research group, have for a main objective improved understanding of the impact of different factors on the loss of effectiveness, from the bench to the field, in developing countries, in order to inform current strategies to increase interventions’ effectiveness. This includes:

1. analysing the mechanisms involved in the recognition of illness at household levels and perceptions related to health
2. evaluation of factors involved in the decision to seek formal care
3. evaluation of barriers to reaching an appropriate facility
4. assessment of reception of appropriate care in health facilities
5. assessment of patients’ adherence to treatment and retention in case of chronic conditions