Abstract
As the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR) continues to grow, there is a recognition of the need for training in HPSR. This aspiration has translated into a multitude of teaching programmes of variable scope and quality, reflecting a lack of consensus on the skills and practices required for rigorous HPSR. The purpose of this paper is to identify an agreed set of core competencies for HPSR researchers, building on the previous work by the Health Systems Global (HSG) Thematic Working Group on Teaching & Learning. Our methods involved an iterative approach of four phases including a literature review, key informant interviews and group discussions with HPSR educators, and webinars with pre-post surveys capturing views among the global HPSR community. The phased discussions and consensus-building contributed to the evolution of the HPSR competency domains and competencies framework. Emerging domains included understanding health systems complexity, assessing policies and programs, appraising data and evidence, ethical reasoning and practice, leading and mentoring, building partnerships, and translating and utilizing knowledge and HPSR evidence. The development of competencies and their application were often seen as a continuous process spanning evidence generation, partnering, communicating and helping to identify new critical health systems questions. The HPSR competency set can be seen as a useful reference point in the teaching and practice of high-quality HPSR and can be adapted based on national priorities, the particularities of local contexts, and the needs of stakeholders (HPSR researchers and educators), as well as practitioners and policy-makers. Further research is needed in using the core competency set to design national training programmes, develop locally relevant benchmarks and assessment methods, and evaluate their use in different settings.
Highlights
Health systems everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges as they seek to respond to ageing populations, changing patterns of disease, new technologies and models of care, and catastrophic events such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
The public can gain an understanding of the kinds of research competencies that address problems in various health systems and be better able to be involved in health systems research and advocate for training programs for health professionals who need to be able to engage with the public
HPSR Competencies Scoping (Phase 1) The only model that fit our requirements of an explicit HPSR competency framework was the set of HPSR leadership capabilities and competencies by the CHEPSAA and specific to African Health Policy and Systems Research and Analysis (HPSR+A).[25,26]
Summary
Health systems everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges as they seek to respond to ageing populations, changing patterns of disease, new technologies and models of care, and catastrophic events such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A field that seeks to understand and improve how societies organize themselves in achieving collective health goals, and how different actors interact in the policy and implementation processes to contribute to policy outcomes.”[4,5] HPSR aims to answer questions that inform policy and practice concerns and generate lessons for application in solving health systems challenges; the field draws on many established disciplines such as medicine, economics, anthropology, sociology, and public health and utilizes a range of methods to respond to the research questions identified.[4,6] In recognition of the pressing demands on health systems, the field of HPSR has seen rapid expansion and evolution in recent years with the creation of HPSR courses and teaching programmes worldwide as well as communities of practice. Investments in HPSR training, in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), by governments and local development agencies has contributed to this expansion
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