Abstract
BackgroundThis Special Issue represents a critical response to the frequent silencing of qualitative social science research approaches in mainstream public health journals, particularly in those that inform the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), and the study of equity in health.MethodsThis collection of articles is presented by SHAPES, the thematic working group of Health Systems Global focused on social science approaches to research and engagement in health policy and systems. The issue aims to showcase how qualitative and theory-driven approaches can contribute to better promoting equity in health within the field of HPSR.ResultsThis issue builds on growing recognition of the complex social nature of health systems. The articles in this collection underscore the importance of employing methods that can uncover and help explain health system complexities by exploring the dynamic relationships and decision-making processes of the human actors within. Articles seek to highlight the contribution that qualitative, interpretivist, critical, emancipatory, and other relational methods have made to understanding health systems, health policies and health interventions from the perspective of those involved. By foregrounding actor perspectives, these methods allow us to explore the impact of vital but difficult-to-measure concepts such as power, culture and norms.ConclusionThis special issue aims to highlight the critical contribution of social science approaches. Through the application of qualitative methods and, in some cases, development of theory, the articles presented here build broader and deeper understanding of the way health systems function, and simultaneously inform a more people-centred approach to collective efforts to build and strengthen those systems.
Highlights
Editorial This Special Issue represents a critical response to the frequent silencing of qualitative social science research approaches in mainstream public health journals, in those that inform the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), and the study of equity in health [1,2,3]
The issue is presented by SHAPES, a thematic working group of Health Systems Global
* Correspondence: globalstopp@gmail.com 1College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville 4810, QLD, Australia 2Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne 3002, VIC, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article researchers, policymakers and implementers to develop the field of HSPR) focused on social science approaches. By bringing together this collection of articles, the special issue highlights the critical contribution of qualitative social sciences including interpretivist, critical, emancipatory, and other relational methods to our understanding of health systems, policies and interventions
Summary
Editorial This Special Issue represents a critical response to the frequent silencing of qualitative social science research approaches in mainstream public health journals, in those that inform the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR), and the study of equity in health [1,2,3]. By bringing together this collection of articles, the special issue highlights the critical contribution of qualitative social sciences including interpretivist, critical, emancipatory, and other relational methods to our understanding of health systems, policies and interventions.
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