POLICY, INNOVATION, AND PUBLIC HEALTH: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HEALTH SYSTEMS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
Main Article Content
Keywords
Healthcare policy, emerging economies, public health innovation, India, Brazil, South Africa
Abstract
This comparative study analyses health policies, reforms, and health systems performance in selected emerging economies- India, Brazil, and South Africa. The purpose is to identify each country’s approach to managing healthcare issues, adoption of innovations, and effects on health equity. Using a cross-sectional research design, the study incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data sources, including structured interviews, relevant global health reports, and key health indicators such as life expectancy, maternal mortality, immunization rates, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). India's health system was characterized by a life expectancy of 74 years, maternal mortality rate of 45 per 100,000 live births, and immunization rate of 92%. Brazil with a life expectancy of 72 years had higher maternal mortality of 52 per 100,000 and immunization of 85%. South Africa, which targeted geographical coverage through mobile health facilities, has a life expectancy of 68 years, a maternal mortality ratio of 70/100,000, and immunization coverage of 80%. Challenges included limited budgets, healthcare workforce shortages, and inequitable access to healthcare, especially in rural areas. The study recommends increased budget allocations, public-private partnerships, and incentivized rural services to enhance health equity and progress toward Sustainable Development Goals.
References
2. Atun, R., De Andrade, L. O. M., Almeida, G., Cotlear, D., Dmytraczenko, T., Frenz, P., ... & Wagstaff, A. (2015). Health-system reform and universal health coverage in Latin America. The Lancet, 385(9974), 1230-1247.
3. Buse, K., Mays, N., Colombini, M., Fraser, A., Khan, M., & Walls, H. (2023). Making Health Policy, 3e. McGraw Hill.
4. Caron, R. M., Noel, K., Reed, R. N., Sibel, J., & Smith, H. J. (2024). Health Promotion, health protection, and disease prevention: challenges and opportunities in a dynamic landscape. AJPM focus, 3(1).
5. Clinton, C., & Sridhar, D. L. (2017). Governing global health: Who runs the world and why?. Oxford University Press.
6. de Faria, B. S. F., Carvalho, C., Triches, M. I., de Araújo, L. M. S. M., & de Oliveira Sato, T. (2024). Mobile health technologies for workers’ health and wellbeing: A systematic search of mHealth applications in Brazil. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, 38, 54-59.
7. de Menezes, H. Z., & Borges, L. C. (2024). Bridging Health, Innovation, and Sustainable Development: Achievements and Pitfalls of Vaccination Policies in Brazil. In The Quest for the Sustainable Development Goals: Living experiences in territorializing the 2030 Agenda in Brazil (pp. 113-123). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
8. Filip, R., Gheorghita Puscaselu, R., Anchidin-Norocel, L., Dimian, M., & Savage, W. K. (2022). Global challenges to public health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review of pandemic measures and problems. Journal of personalized medicine, 12(8), 1295.
9. Hunter, B. M., & Shaffer, J. D. (2022). Human capital, risk and the World Bank’s reintermediation in global development. Third World Quarterly, 43(1), 35-54.
10. Hutton, G., & Chase, C. (2018). Water supply, sanitation, and hygiene.
11. Kirkby, K., Bergen, N., Baptista, A., Schlotheuber, A., & Hosseinpoor, A. R. (2023). Data resource profile: World Health Organization health inequality data repository. International Journal of Epidemiology, 52(5), e253-e262.
12. Kose, M. A., & Ohnsorge, F. (2020). Emerging and Developing Economies. Prospects.
13. Kruk, M. E., Gage, A. D., Arsenault, C., Jordan, K., Leslie, H. H., Roder-DeWan, S., ... & Pate, M. (2018). High-quality health systems in the Sustainable Development Goals era: time for a revolution. The Lancet global health, 6(11), e1196-e1252.
14. Lagarde, M., & Palmer, N. (2018). The impact of health financing strategies on access to health services in low and middle income countries. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018(4).
15. Maroju, R. G., Choudhari, S. G., Shaikh, M. K., Borkar, S. K., & Mendhe, H. (2023). Role of telemedicine and digital technology in public health in India: a narrative review. Cureus, 15(3).
16. Massuda, A., Hone, T., Leles, F. A. G., De Castro, M. C., & Atun, R. (2018). The Brazilian health system at crossroads: progress, crisis and resilience. BMJ global health, 3(4), e000829.
17. Mathur, P., Srivastava, S., Lalchandani, A., & Mehta, J. L. (2017). Evolving role of telemedicine in health care delivery in India. Prim Health Care, 7(260), 2167-1079.
18. Mbunge, E., Batani, J., Gaobotse, G., & Muchemwa, B. (2022). Virtual healthcare services and digital health technologies deployed during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in South Africa: a systematic review. Global health journal, 6(2), 102-113.
19. Moses, A., & Sharma, A. (2020). What drives human resource acquisition and retention in social enterprises? An empirical investigation in the healthcare industry in an emerging market. Journal of Business Research, 107, 76-88.
20. National Academies of Sciences, Medicine Division, Board on Global Health, & Committee on Improving the Quality of Health Care Globally. (2018). Crossing the global quality chasm: improving health care worldwide.
21. Roman, A. (2023). A closer look into Brazil’s healthcare system: what can we learn?. Cureus, 15(5).
22. Sridhar, D., McKee, M., Ooms, G., Beiersmann, C., Friedman, E., Gouda, H., ... & Jahn, A. (2015). Universal health coverage and the right to health: from legal principle to post-2015 indicators. International journal of health services, 45(3), 495-506.
23. Tollman, S., & Price, J. (2021). Public health priorities in countries. Oxford Textbook of Global Public Health, 50, 47.
24. Visagie, S., Schneider, M., Scheffler, E., & Schneider, M. (2015). The impact of health service variables on healthcare access in a low resourced urban setting in the Western Cape, South Africa. African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, 7(1), 1-11.
25. Wehrmeister, F. C., Wendt, A. T., & Sardinha, L. (2022). Inequalities and chronic non-communicable diseases in Brazil. Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde, 31, e20211065.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All articles published in JPTCP are licensed under Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Dr Ashwini L H
Ex-Assistant Professor, JJM Medical College and rc Davanagere, Karnataka
Dr Vinaykumar L H
Administrative Medical Officer Phc Aladageri Hirekerur tq, Haveri District
Dr Hanumanaik L
Chief Medical Officer GH Harihara, Harihara tq, Davanagere District