We examine the scope of inquiry into the measurement and assessment of the state public health policy environment. We argue that there are gains to be made by looking systematically at policies both within and across health domains. We draw from the public health and public policy literature to develop the concepts of interdomain and intradomain policy comprehensiveness and illustrate how these...

This article addresses policymaking related to Emergency Care Units (ECU) in the State of Rio de Janeiro between 2007 and 2013, duly identifying the relationships between the various levels of government in this process. It prioritized the context of policy formulation, the factors that motivated the inclusion and maintenance of ECUs on the state agenda and the process of how the policy was imp...

In France, the last decade has been marked by the institutionalisation of evaluation as part of the landscape of public policies. This movement started with science and technology, which, compared to other public policies, went through a specific institutionalisation process. In this chapter I shall present the main transformations and draw some preliminary conclusions on the specific choice ma...

Policy capacity focuses on the managerial and organizational abilities to inform policy decisions with sound research and analysis, and facilitate policy implementation with operational efficiency. It stems from a view of the policy process that is rational and positivistic, in which optimal policy choices can be identified, selected, and implemented with objectivity. By itself, however, policy...

Background A free obstetric care policy (FOCP) has been implemented in Morocco in 2008 in order to further decrease maternal mortality.   Methods Through in-depth interviews we explored the perceptions of health professionals in public Moroccan h...

BACKGROUND Studies show that when the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is implemented breastfeeding rates increase. However, there are likely to be various barriers to BFHI implementation. This article reports on an empirical study of government-directed BFHI implementation in the New Zealand public hospital system. It focuses primarily on the barriers encountered through implementing t...

In sharp contrast with the experiences of all other industrialized nations, the size of the labor force of the United States is growing rapidly while, simultaneously, its age, gender, and ethnic composition are changing markedly. Consequently, human resource issues present an unprecedented challenge in the nation's quest to achieve a fully employed and equitable society. New public policies tha...

Historically, new drug introductions have played a central role in medical progress and the availability of cost-effective therapies. Nevertheless, public policy toward pharmaceuticals has been characterized in recent times by increasingly stringent regulatory controls, shorter effective patent terms, and increased encouragement of generic product usage. This has had an adverse effect on the in...