Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: Health policy makers need high quality evidences to make scientific decisions on some important health issues or innovations. How to provide evidences is a big opportunity and challenge for the researchers.
Objectives: Explore systematic review method and supply evidences which are to satisfy the needs of health policy makers.
Methods: Literature review, key informant discussion and group discussion were conducted. Key important websites and organizations were searched to get the materials about how to conduct systematic review; Six experts on health economics, health policy and public health were invited to discuss the applicability of the current methods in health policy; group discussions were conducted once 2 weeks for nearly 1 year.
Results: Two-phase systematic review method in health policy was explored and practiced via three systematic reviews about health financing. The scoping review is the first step to get enough information on different angles which showed the characters of strategies, contexts and outcomes; Evaluative review is the second phase to get high quality evidences which based on the scoping review, needs of health policy maker, context of health system are considered when to select the theme topic. Three systematic reviews were conducted using this method. Some challenges of systematic review method in health policy faced by researchers in the future: searching method to get accurate information about health policy topic; controlled studies are scare in health policy; the applicability of the outcomes of the systematic reviews in different health systems.
Conclusions: Two-phase systematic review method in health policy need to be developed especially some key technologies such as searching, quality assessment of observational studies and applicability.
Objectives: Explore systematic review method and supply evidences which are to satisfy the needs of health policy makers.
Methods: Literature review, key informant discussion and group discussion were conducted. Key important websites and organizations were searched to get the materials about how to conduct systematic review; Six experts on health economics, health policy and public health were invited to discuss the applicability of the current methods in health policy; group discussions were conducted once 2 weeks for nearly 1 year.
Results: Two-phase systematic review method in health policy was explored and practiced via three systematic reviews about health financing. The scoping review is the first step to get enough information on different angles which showed the characters of strategies, contexts and outcomes; Evaluative review is the second phase to get high quality evidences which based on the scoping review, needs of health policy maker, context of health system are considered when to select the theme topic. Three systematic reviews were conducted using this method. Some challenges of systematic review method in health policy faced by researchers in the future: searching method to get accurate information about health policy topic; controlled studies are scare in health policy; the applicability of the outcomes of the systematic reviews in different health systems.
Conclusions: Two-phase systematic review method in health policy need to be developed especially some key technologies such as searching, quality assessment of observational studies and applicability.