Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform

Understanding and managing the political context of health policies is crucial to improving the chances of effectively designing, adopting, and implementing health policies and reforms that can achieve their intended objectives. This article focuses on applied political analysis as an approach to as...

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Main Authors: Michael R. Reich, Paola Abril Campos Rivera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Health Systems & Reform
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2024.2430284
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author Michael R. Reich
Paola Abril Campos Rivera
author_facet Michael R. Reich
Paola Abril Campos Rivera
author_sort Michael R. Reich
collection DOAJ
description Understanding and managing the political context of health policies is crucial to improving the chances of effectively designing, adopting, and implementing health policies and reforms that can achieve their intended objectives. This article focuses on applied political analysis as an approach to assist policymakers and public health professionals in improving political feasibility for policies and reforms. The article draws on our experience in doing applied political analysis and in advising and teaching others how to do applied political analysis. We describe the role of applied political analysis at six stages of the policy cycle (problem definition, diagnosis, policy development, political decision, implementation, and evaluation). We then present four steps for doing applied political analysis, using a concrete example at each step: 1) agree on the objectives and methods of analysis, 2) conduct a stakeholder analysis, 3) design a set of political strategies, and 4) assess the impact of the strategies on policitcal feasibility of the desired change. Political landscapes can change suddenly in unexpected ways. Doing applied political analysis, however, can increase the likelihood that the proposed policy changes will be adopted and achieve the desired outcomes in implementation. Repeating the analysis over time as the policy process unfolds and keeping track of stakeholders and strategies can increase the chances that health reform teams successfully manage the politics of policy change.
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spelling doaj-art-5ed2e4b3db1d4039ba81207dd477a0482025-08-20T03:21:39ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHealth Systems & Reform2328-86042328-86202024-12-0110310.1080/23288604.2024.2430284Applied Political Analysis for Health System ReformMichael R. Reich0Paola Abril Campos Rivera1Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USAEscuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City, MexicoUnderstanding and managing the political context of health policies is crucial to improving the chances of effectively designing, adopting, and implementing health policies and reforms that can achieve their intended objectives. This article focuses on applied political analysis as an approach to assist policymakers and public health professionals in improving political feasibility for policies and reforms. The article draws on our experience in doing applied political analysis and in advising and teaching others how to do applied political analysis. We describe the role of applied political analysis at six stages of the policy cycle (problem definition, diagnosis, policy development, political decision, implementation, and evaluation). We then present four steps for doing applied political analysis, using a concrete example at each step: 1) agree on the objectives and methods of analysis, 2) conduct a stakeholder analysis, 3) design a set of political strategies, and 4) assess the impact of the strategies on policitcal feasibility of the desired change. Political landscapes can change suddenly in unexpected ways. Doing applied political analysis, however, can increase the likelihood that the proposed policy changes will be adopted and achieve the desired outcomes in implementation. Repeating the analysis over time as the policy process unfolds and keeping track of stakeholders and strategies can increase the chances that health reform teams successfully manage the politics of policy change.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2024.2430284Applied political analysishealth politicshealth system reformhealth systems
spellingShingle Michael R. Reich
Paola Abril Campos Rivera
Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
Health Systems & Reform
Applied political analysis
health politics
health system reform
health systems
title Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
title_full Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
title_fullStr Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
title_full_unstemmed Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
title_short Applied Political Analysis for Health System Reform
title_sort applied political analysis for health system reform
topic Applied political analysis
health politics
health system reform
health systems
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23288604.2024.2430284
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