Health System Resilience: Withstanding Shocks and Maintaining Progress.

Abstract

<h3>Key Messages</h3> As evidenced by the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak and the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the lack of resilient health systems results in an ineffective and delayed response to emergency health threats and disruptions to the delivery of essential health services. Embedding implementation research within health systems enables health care workers and policy makers to rapidly identify facilitating and challenging contextual factors as well as to devise and adapt strategies to respond to emerging obstacles. Ensuring accessibility and affordability of health care and building a health system capable of providing a range of services starting at the primary care level between crises is crucial to maintaining progress in health outcomes during a health threat. Implementation science can play a critical role in sharing transferable lessons on how strategies and programs can be implemented to build and maintain resilient health systems.