Decentralizing Health Services: A Global Perspective

by Krishna Regmi

Overview

Decentralizing Health Services

A Global Perspective

Krishna Regmi, editor

Current economic, demographic, and environmental shifts are presenting major challenges to health care systems around the world. In response, decentralization—the transfer of control from central to local authorities—is emerging as a successful means of meeting these challenges and reducing inequities of care. But as with health care itself, one size does not fit all, and care systems must be responsive to global reality as well as local demand.

Decentralizing Health Services explores a variety of applications of decentralization to health care delivery in both the developing and developed worlds. Outfitted with principles, blueprints, and examples, this ambitious text clearly sets out the potential role of decentralized care as a major player in public health. Its models of service delivery illustrate care that is effective, inclusive, flexible, and in tune with the current era of preventive and evidence-based healthcare . Contributors point out opportunities, caveats, and controversies as they:

• Clarify the relationships among decentralization, politics, and policy
• Differentiate between political, fiscal, and administrative decentralization in health care systems
• Consider public/private partnerships in health systems
• Explain how the effects of decentralization can be evaluated.
• Present the newest data on the health outcomes of decentralization
• Explore some challenges and global issues of health systems in the 21st century
• And each chapter features learning goals, discussion questions, activities, and recommendations for further reading

Heralding changes poised to revolutionize care, Decentralizing Health Services will broaden the horizons of researchers and administrators in health services, health economics, and health policy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493954162
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	09/17/2016
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2014
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

Dr Krishna Regmi, PhD, MPH, has been Principal Lecturer in Public Health and Academic Public Health Portfolio Lead at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. He has got more than 20 years of experience of public health and health systems teaching and research at the national and international levels. He is the author of several book/book chapters and a number of journal articles. Krishna is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.

Table of Contents

Health Service Decentralization: An Overview.-Health systems and decentralization.-Decentralisation and public health.-Decentralization and good governance.-Fiscal decentralization of health services.-Decentralised Planning Processes.-Measuring health services – problems and potentials.-Impact of decentralization in health – existing evidences.-Participation in the new Public Health Landscape.-Public-Private Partnerships as Decentralisation Strategy in Health Sector.-Gender analysis and use of intersectionality in health.-Decentralization - Challenges and Global Issues of the 21st Century.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Carole A. Kenner, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, ANEF (The College of New Jersey)
Description: Globally, healthcare systems are in flux, looking for strategies to address challenges in care delivery. This book suggests decentralization of services as a strategy for reducing inequities of care and making healthcare more accessible.
Purpose: The overarching purpose is to present methods of applying decentralization of healthcare services in various countries while acknowledging challenges as well as opportunities with this type of control.
Audience: The intended audience is healthcare researchers, administrators, health economists, and those interested in health policy. Students in these fields also will find the book useful.
Features: The book moves from a good description of decentralization to specific examples at country level. Some chapters delve into fiscal and outcomes measures as well as the trend in public-private partnerships. Chapters include objectives, textboxes with key points, activities, or questions to guide readers or for classroom discussion, and recommended readings for added depth. Good examples are given of potential areas for research. The book does not discuss universal access to care and how that links or does not link to decentralization, nor does it mention the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals as a factor in health services delivery.
Assessment: There are many books on the market that focus on healthcare reform and health services delivery. This is the only one that takes the very narrow perspective of decentralization of services.

Doody's Review Service

From the reviews:

“This book suggests decentralization of services as a strategy for reducing inequities of care and making healthcare more accessible. … The intended audience is healthcare researchers, administrators, health economists, and those interested in health policy. Students in these fields also will find the book useful. … There are many books on the market that focus on healthcare reform and health services delivery. This is the only one that takes the very narrow perspective of decentralization of services.” (Carole A. Kenner, Doody’s Book Reviews, January, 2014)

From the Publisher