Strengthening health system responsiveness to citizen feedback about health services in South Africa and Kenya
This study was undertaken in South Africa and Kenya to understand the architecture, implementation and effectiveness of feedback and response mechanisms in health system settings in LMICs
Project period
01 January 2018- 31 March 2021
Project Summary
While responsiveness to citizen rights, needs, expectations and values is understood to be an essential quality of health systems, there is a limited understanding of the architecture, implementation and effectiveness of feedback and response mechanisms in health system settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
This embedded health policy and systems research study undertaken in South Africa and Kenya seeks to answer two questions:
- What policies and mechanisms (formal and informal) work for receiving and responding to citizen feedback on health systems?
- How can health systems responsiveness be strengthened towards the development of learning, equitable health systems?
Begun in 2018, this three-year project has involved policy mapping and in-depth, multiple case studies of feedback mechanisms in each country, with an explicit strategy for cross-country analysis and embedding the research in policy processes to inform future improvements. The project is a partnership between the SOPH, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI, the University of Oxford and University of Cape Town (which also plays the co-ordinator role); an advisory role is undertaken by the Public Health Foundation of India.
Funders
Health Systems Research Initiative (HSRI) through the Medical Research Council, UK
Related Publication
Khan G, Kagwanja N, Whyle E, Gilson L, Molyneux S, Schaay N, Tsofa B, Barasa E & Olivier J. (2021). Health system responsiveness: a systematic evidence mapping review of the global literature. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01447-w