Transforming health policy and services: Challenges for comparative research

Abstract

Over the last 20 years or so the comparative study of health policy and services has become a well-established field of research. However, over this same period, health policy and services themselves have undergone significant transformations, and this has changed the business of comparison itself. Comparisons have become more diverse in terms of geographical and substantive scope, in the inclusion of practice in addition to policy, and at the level of analysis with greater interest for sub-national levels. This transformation results in a range of challenges related to ensuring comparability, to comparing beyond the nation-state and to finding appropriate data for comparison. Importantly, although the challenges are not necessarily greater now, they are different ones. Also, as this monograph issue demonstrates, the appeal of a comparative perspective remains strong as does the richness of insights offered.