The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey

Objective: Building on the premise that health authorities should govern their health systems in partnership with the full community of stakeholders, we document the contribution of national hospital associations to health policy processes, before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This resear...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bruno Meessen, Sara Perazzi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-12-01
Series:Health Policy Open
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229622000120
_version_ 1811271366958120960
author Bruno Meessen
Sara Perazzi
author_facet Bruno Meessen
Sara Perazzi
author_sort Bruno Meessen
collection DOAJ
description Objective: Building on the premise that health authorities should govern their health systems in partnership with the full community of stakeholders, we document the contribution of national hospital associations to health policy processes, before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This research followed a rapid cross-sectional comparative design. Data were collected through an online survey targeting hospital associations. Eighteen of them shared information on their institutional profile, their areas of activity, their position and participation as policy actors before and during the COVID-19 crisis, the barriers and enablers affecting their participation and the impact of the crisis on their own financial situation. Findings: We have documented a spectrum of situations both for national policy platforms and hospital associations. In some countries, there is the ideal match of well-established associations and national participatory health policy platforms. In others, hospital associations have modest staffing and may struggle to get access to policy platforms of importance. Being a well-established and respected contributor seems to have been an enabling factor for the contribution of the hospital associations to the COVID-19 response. For most associations, the crisis has led to an increased effort to be present in the policy arena; an issue they follow closely is the negative impact of the lockdown on the hospitals’ revenue. Conclusion: The growing pluralism characterizing our societies calls for the establishment of health policy platforms allowing for broader participation. Encouraging hospitals to set up their association for the latter to represent them in decision processes could be one of the components of the rebuilding of national health systems post pandemic.
first_indexed 2024-04-12T22:18:51Z
format Article
id doaj.art-baedea51fdbe4d16bdcd77d84b172210
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2590-2296
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T22:18:51Z
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Health Policy Open
spelling doaj.art-baedea51fdbe4d16bdcd77d84b1722102022-12-22T03:14:26ZengElsevierHealth Policy Open2590-22962022-12-013100077The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online surveyBruno Meessen0Sara Perazzi1Department of Health Systems Governance and Financing, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Corresponding author.International Hospital Federation, Geneva, SwitzerlandObjective: Building on the premise that health authorities should govern their health systems in partnership with the full community of stakeholders, we document the contribution of national hospital associations to health policy processes, before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: This research followed a rapid cross-sectional comparative design. Data were collected through an online survey targeting hospital associations. Eighteen of them shared information on their institutional profile, their areas of activity, their position and participation as policy actors before and during the COVID-19 crisis, the barriers and enablers affecting their participation and the impact of the crisis on their own financial situation. Findings: We have documented a spectrum of situations both for national policy platforms and hospital associations. In some countries, there is the ideal match of well-established associations and national participatory health policy platforms. In others, hospital associations have modest staffing and may struggle to get access to policy platforms of importance. Being a well-established and respected contributor seems to have been an enabling factor for the contribution of the hospital associations to the COVID-19 response. For most associations, the crisis has led to an increased effort to be present in the policy arena; an issue they follow closely is the negative impact of the lockdown on the hospitals’ revenue. Conclusion: The growing pluralism characterizing our societies calls for the establishment of health policy platforms allowing for broader participation. Encouraging hospitals to set up their association for the latter to represent them in decision processes could be one of the components of the rebuilding of national health systems post pandemic.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229622000120Health system governanceHospitalPolicyPrivate sectorNonprofit
spellingShingle Bruno Meessen
Sara Perazzi
The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
Health Policy Open
Health system governance
Hospital
Policy
Private sector
Nonprofit
title The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
title_full The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
title_fullStr The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
title_full_unstemmed The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
title_short The role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an exploratory online survey
title_sort role of national hospital associations in health system governance before and during the covid 19 pandemic findings from an exploratory online survey
topic Health system governance
Hospital
Policy
Private sector
Nonprofit
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590229622000120
work_keys_str_mv AT brunomeessen theroleofnationalhospitalassociationsinhealthsystemgovernancebeforeandduringthecovid19pandemicfindingsfromanexploratoryonlinesurvey
AT saraperazzi theroleofnationalhospitalassociationsinhealthsystemgovernancebeforeandduringthecovid19pandemicfindingsfromanexploratoryonlinesurvey
AT brunomeessen roleofnationalhospitalassociationsinhealthsystemgovernancebeforeandduringthecovid19pandemicfindingsfromanexploratoryonlinesurvey
AT saraperazzi roleofnationalhospitalassociationsinhealthsystemgovernancebeforeandduringthecovid19pandemicfindingsfromanexploratoryonlinesurvey