Blok,, Lucie, Plummer, David, Tiendrebeogo, Georges, and Jenniskens, Françoise (2012) Impact of HIV programmes on health systems strengthening in five African countries: methodological challenges in studying complex systems. In: van der Kwaak, Anke, Ormel, Hermen, and Richters, Annemiek, (eds.) Capacity-Building for Knowledge Generation: experiences in the context of health and development. KIT Publishers, Amsterdam, Netherlands, pp. 71-84.

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Abstract

Health is a complicated issue, and health service delivery depends on highly complex systems which are constantly evolving. Moreover, health systems everywhere have a reputation for having insatiable appetites for both money and human resources. The demands on the system are numerous and often only partially met. Because of the complexity of health systems and the budgetary implications of potential innovations, researching health systems is a key development priority. However, researching complex systems poses many challenges – for both developing and wealthy nations – and the multifaceted nature of these systems has important implications for the methods used to understand them. This chapter explores the experience of recent research designed to study the impact of HIV programmes on health systems in five African countries: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Madagascar and Malawi. This chapter is primarily concerned with documenting the methods used to conduct the research, the practical lessons we learned while collaborating with research institutes in the five countries on implementing this study, and the research innovations that we discovered in doing so.

Item ID:	25540
Item Type:	Book Chapter (Research - B1)
ISBN:	978-94-6022-0531
Funders:	Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, STOP AIDS NOW, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria
Date Deposited:	18 Mar 2013 05:13
FoR Codes:	11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	94 LAW, POLITICS AND COMMUNITY SERVICES > 9403 International Relations > 940302 International Aid and Development @ 100%
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