Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), no studies have been documented to analyze the equity aspects of public health policies. The aims of the study were to identify policy documents in the KSA relevant to public health and to explore whether these include an equity approach. Twenty health-related d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2020-10-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020962776 |
| _version_ | 1818249705139732480 |
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| author | Leena Eklund Karlsson Anne Leena Ikonen Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani Pernille Tanggaard Andersen Subash Thapa |
| author_facet | Leena Eklund Karlsson Anne Leena Ikonen Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani Pernille Tanggaard Andersen Subash Thapa |
| author_sort | Leena Eklund Karlsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), no studies have been documented to analyze the equity aspects of public health policies. The aims of the study were to identify policy documents in the KSA relevant to public health and to explore whether these include an equity approach. Twenty health-related documents were identified from various ministries’ websites and analyzed through directed content analysis. The results showed that the term “equity” was neither defined nor explained in the documents and suggestions on how to tackle health inequities were lacking. None of the suggested measures communicated an explicit focus on promoting health equity or the social gradient. Several upstream, midstream, and downstream measures were suggested to improve justice and public health for the people. The study reveals that there is a need for an in-depth assessment of the policy measures across sectors and their influence on health equity to inform future health policy development and action in the KSA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:40:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e24f4e1397694c03a76fe6931371eadd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-2440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T15:40:44Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-e24f4e1397694c03a76fe6931371eadd2022-12-22T00:19:54ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402020-10-011010.1177/2158244020962776Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document AnalysisLeena Eklund Karlsson0Anne Leena Ikonen1Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani2Pernille Tanggaard Andersen3Subash Thapa4University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, DenmarkUniversity of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, DenmarkKing Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaUniversity of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, DenmarkUniversity of Southern Denmark, Odense, DenmarkIn the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), no studies have been documented to analyze the equity aspects of public health policies. The aims of the study were to identify policy documents in the KSA relevant to public health and to explore whether these include an equity approach. Twenty health-related documents were identified from various ministries’ websites and analyzed through directed content analysis. The results showed that the term “equity” was neither defined nor explained in the documents and suggestions on how to tackle health inequities were lacking. None of the suggested measures communicated an explicit focus on promoting health equity or the social gradient. Several upstream, midstream, and downstream measures were suggested to improve justice and public health for the people. The study reveals that there is a need for an in-depth assessment of the policy measures across sectors and their influence on health equity to inform future health policy development and action in the KSA.https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020962776 |
| spellingShingle | Leena Eklund Karlsson Anne Leena Ikonen Kothar Mohammed Alqahtani Pernille Tanggaard Andersen Subash Thapa Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis SAGE Open |
| title | Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis |
| title_full | Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis |
| title_short | Health Equity Lens Embedded in the Public Health Policies of Saudi Arabia: A Qualitative Document Analysis |
| title_sort | health equity lens embedded in the public health policies of saudi arabia a qualitative document analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020962776 |
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