Cap UHC joined the Third Global Symposium on Health System Research 2014, Cape Town, South Africa On 29 September-3 October 2014, at Cape Town International Convention Centre.More than 1,500 researchers, policy-makers, funders, implementers and other stakeholders from all regions around the world joined the Third Global Symposium on Health System Research 2014. More than 10 delegates from Thailand participated the Symposium including seven researchers from International Health Policy Program (IHPP) i.e., Dr. Phusit Prakongsai, Dr. Weerasak Puttasri, Dr Krisada Swangdee, Dr. Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Dr. Walaiporn Patcharanarumol, Dr. Warisa Panichkraengkrai (funded by CapUHC budget), and Dr. Angkana Sommanustweechai (funded by CapUHC budget).
The theme of the symposium is “people-centered health systems”, which aim to address the current and critical concern of relevance, people’s health. More than 100 sessions and 47 satellite sessions were conducted during the symposium.
With the context of global efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage, it can be linked to generate people-centered health systems. The universal right to health and social protection for health can respond to people’s health. In the panel discussion, Dr.Gita Sen, Adjunct Professor of Harvard School of Public Health, recognized Thailand as the developing country that began rolling out UHC in 2001 and has since achieved more than 99% coverage. Many presentations also addressed experiences towards UHC from African and Asian countries, including Thailand. Dr.Viroj Tangcharoensathein moderated the session “Pathways to progress in health: Lessons from leading performers”, which explored determinants of health driving progress on UHC and post-215 agenda, and Dr. Phusit Prakongsai gave a talk on the “Reducing impoverishment from health payments: impact of UHC in Thailand”.
Dr. Walaiporn Patcharanarumol also presented the strategic purchasing mechanism study, a collaborative research study between the RESYST consortium and APO (Asia Pacific Observatory). The purchasing arrangements in Thailand and four countries in ASEAN plus three and 5 African countries were shared based on the citizen participation.
There are at least six Thai poster presentations; two from NHSO on “Model Development for Consumer Service Center to moderate complaints in hospitals registered under the Universal Health Coverage Scheme in Thailand” and “Admission Rate and Estimated Expenses of Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in Thai HIV Infected Population in Universal Coverage Scheme”; three from Dr. Piya Hanvoravongchai, Chulalongkorn University on “Improving the governance of health research in developing country: A collaborative and integrative approach for priority-setting of national health service research in Thailand”, Dr. Borwornsom Leerapan, Lecturer, Mahidol University, “Lessons learned from implementing the new governance structure of regional healthcare in Thailand: A complexity science perspective” , Areeya Jirathananuwat, Student, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, “Area health research fellowship (AHRF): An innovative national programme to strengthen local health systems research in developing country “; and Dr.Rapeepong Supanchainamart on “Universal health coverage in ‘One ASEAN’: Are migrants included?”
Additionally, strengthening the people-centered health systems can improve the quality of care to accountable to the people. Many speakers highlighted the importance of health professionals who play significant roles to promote the people centeredness on health care delivery system, included enhancing equity, accessibility and efficiency services. In the satellite session, Dr. Viroj and IHPP team served as rapporteurs on the session: “Re-energizing the Human Resources for Health (HRH) agenda for post 2015”, which focused on the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health 2030. Dr. Walaiporn also served as the Rapporteur Coordinator on health financing theme of the Symposium.
Furthermore, the innovative approach for implementation research to generate the evidence in health system decision-making was discussed. It involved using scientific methods to address the challenge related to health. The approach should engage with relevant stakeholders, policy makers, implementers and beneficiaries. It should include the knowledge translation to encourage using knowledge to improve policy implementation. IHPP team did not only participate in the Symposium as participants or speakers but we also used the Symposium as a platform for our learning by conducting daily briefing and de-briefing sessions among the team for sharing together.
The next symposium will be held in Vancouver, Canada in 2016.
