healthcare policy research paper topics

Research Topics & Ideas: Healthcare

100+ Healthcare Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a healthcare-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of healthcare-related research ideas and topic thought-starters across a range of healthcare fields, including allopathic and alternative medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacology and public health.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the healthcare domain. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. In it, we cover the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from start to end. Be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic.

Overview: Healthcare Research Topics

• Allopathic medicine
• Alternative /complementary medicine
• Veterinary medicine
• Physical therapy/ rehab
• Optometry and ophthalmology
• Pharmacy and pharmacology
• Public health
• Examples of healthcare-related dissertations

Allopathic (Conventional) Medicine

• The effectiveness of telemedicine in remote elderly patient care
• The impact of stress on the immune system of cancer patients
• The effects of a plant-based diet on chronic diseases such as diabetes
• The use of AI in early cancer diagnosis and treatment
• The role of the gut microbiome in mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety
• The efficacy of mindfulness meditation in reducing chronic pain: A systematic review
• The benefits and drawbacks of electronic health records in a developing country
• The effects of environmental pollution on breast milk quality
• The use of personalized medicine in treating genetic disorders
• The impact of social determinants of health on chronic diseases in Asia
• The role of high-intensity interval training in improving cardiovascular health
• The efficacy of using probiotics for gut health in pregnant women
• The impact of poor sleep on the treatment of chronic illnesses
• The role of inflammation in the development of chronic diseases such as lupus
• The effectiveness of physiotherapy in pain control post-surgery

Topics & Ideas: Alternative Medicine

• The benefits of herbal medicine in treating young asthma patients
• The use of acupuncture in treating infertility in women over 40 years of age
• The effectiveness of homoeopathy in treating mental health disorders: A systematic review
• The role of aromatherapy in reducing stress and anxiety post-surgery
• The impact of mindfulness meditation on reducing high blood pressure
• The use of chiropractic therapy in treating back pain of pregnant women
• The efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine such as Shun-Qi-Tong-Xie (SQTX) in treating digestive disorders in China
• The impact of yoga on physical and mental health in adolescents
• The benefits of hydrotherapy in treating musculoskeletal disorders such as tendinitis
• The role of Reiki in promoting healing and relaxation post birth
• The effectiveness of naturopathy in treating skin conditions such as eczema
• The use of deep tissue massage therapy in reducing chronic pain in amputees
• The impact of tai chi on the treatment of anxiety and depression
• The benefits of reflexology in treating stress, anxiety and chronic fatigue
• The role of acupuncture in the prophylactic management of headaches and migraines

Topics & Ideas: Dentistry

• The impact of sugar consumption on the oral health of infants
• The use of digital dentistry in improving patient care: A systematic review
• The efficacy of orthodontic treatments in correcting bite problems in adults
• The role of dental hygiene in preventing gum disease in patients with dental bridges
• The impact of smoking on oral health and tobacco cessation support from UK dentists
• The benefits of dental implants in restoring missing teeth in adolescents
• The use of lasers in dental procedures such as root canals
• The efficacy of root canal treatment using high-frequency electric pulses in saving infected teeth
• The role of fluoride in promoting remineralization and slowing down demineralization
• The impact of stress-induced reflux on oral health
• The benefits of dental crowns in restoring damaged teeth in elderly patients
• The use of sedation dentistry in managing dental anxiety in children
• The efficacy of teeth whitening treatments in improving dental aesthetics in patients with braces
• The role of orthodontic appliances in improving well-being
• The impact of periodontal disease on overall health and chronic illnesses

Tops & Ideas: Veterinary Medicine

• The impact of nutrition on broiler chicken production
• The role of vaccines in disease prevention in horses
• The importance of parasite control in animal health in piggeries
• The impact of animal behaviour on welfare in the dairy industry
• The effects of environmental pollution on the health of cattle
• The role of veterinary technology such as MRI in animal care
• The importance of pain management in post-surgery health outcomes
• The impact of genetics on animal health and disease in layer chickens
• The effectiveness of alternative therapies in veterinary medicine: A systematic review
• The role of veterinary medicine in public health: A case study of the COVID-19 pandemic
• The impact of climate change on animal health and infectious diseases in animals
• The importance of animal welfare in veterinary medicine and sustainable agriculture
• The effects of the human-animal bond on canine health
• The role of veterinary medicine in conservation efforts: A case study of Rhinoceros poaching in Africa
• The impact of veterinary research of new vaccines on animal health

Topics & Ideas: Physical Therapy/Rehab

• The efficacy of aquatic therapy in improving joint mobility and strength in polio patients
• The impact of telerehabilitation on patient outcomes in Germany
• The effect of kinesiotaping on reducing knee pain and improving function in individuals with chronic pain
• A comparison of manual therapy and yoga exercise therapy in the management of low back pain
• The use of wearable technology in physical rehabilitation and the impact on patient adherence to a rehabilitation plan
• The impact of mindfulness-based interventions in physical therapy in adolescents
• The effects of resistance training on individuals with Parkinson’s disease
• The role of hydrotherapy in the management of fibromyalgia
• The impact of cognitive-behavioural therapy in physical rehabilitation for individuals with chronic pain
• The use of virtual reality in physical rehabilitation of sports injuries
• The effects of electrical stimulation on muscle function and strength in athletes
• The role of physical therapy in the management of stroke recovery: A systematic review
• The impact of pilates on mental health in individuals with depression
• The use of thermal modalities in physical therapy and its effectiveness in reducing pain and inflammation
• The effect of strength training on balance and gait in elderly patients

Topics & Ideas: Optometry & Opthalmology

• The impact of screen time on the vision and ocular health of children under the age of 5
• The effects of blue light exposure from digital devices on ocular health
• The role of dietary interventions, such as the intake of whole grains, in the management of age-related macular degeneration
• The use of telemedicine in optometry and ophthalmology in the UK
• The impact of myopia control interventions on African American children’s vision
• The use of contact lenses in the management of dry eye syndrome: different treatment options
• The effects of visual rehabilitation in individuals with traumatic brain injury
• The role of low vision rehabilitation in individuals with age-related vision loss: challenges and solutions
• The impact of environmental air pollution on ocular health
• The effectiveness of orthokeratology in myopia control compared to contact lenses
• The role of dietary supplements, such as omega-3 fatty acids, in ocular health
• The effects of ultraviolet radiation exposure from tanning beds on ocular health
• The impact of computer vision syndrome on long-term visual function
• The use of novel diagnostic tools in optometry and ophthalmology in developing countries
• The effects of virtual reality on visual perception and ocular health: an examination of dry eye syndrome and neurologic symptoms

Topics & Ideas: Pharmacy & Pharmacology

• The impact of medication adherence on patient outcomes in cystic fibrosis
• The use of personalized medicine in the management of chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
• The effects of pharmacogenomics on drug response and toxicity in cancer patients
• The role of pharmacists in the management of chronic pain in primary care
• The impact of drug-drug interactions on patient mental health outcomes
• The use of telepharmacy in healthcare: Present status and future potential
• The effects of herbal and dietary supplements on drug efficacy and toxicity
• The role of pharmacists in the management of type 1 diabetes
• The impact of medication errors on patient outcomes and satisfaction
• The use of technology in medication management in the USA
• The effects of smoking on drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics: A case study of clozapine
• Leveraging the role of pharmacists in preventing and managing opioid use disorder
• The impact of the opioid epidemic on public health in a developing country
• The use of biosimilars in the management of the skin condition psoriasis
• The effects of the Affordable Care Act on medication utilization and patient outcomes in African Americans

Topics & Ideas: Public Health

• The impact of the built environment and urbanisation on physical activity and obesity
• The effects of food insecurity on health outcomes in Zimbabwe
• The role of community-based participatory research in addressing health disparities
• The impact of social determinants of health, such as racism, on population health
• The effects of heat waves on public health
• The role of telehealth in addressing healthcare access and equity in South America
• The impact of gun violence on public health in South Africa
• The effects of chlorofluorocarbons air pollution on respiratory health
• The role of public health interventions in reducing health disparities in the USA
• The impact of the United States Affordable Care Act on access to healthcare and health outcomes
• The effects of water insecurity on health outcomes in the Middle East
• The role of community health workers in addressing healthcare access and equity in low-income countries
• The impact of mass incarceration on public health and behavioural health of a community
• The effects of floods on public health and healthcare systems
• The role of social media in public health communication and behaviour change in adolescents

Examples: Healthcare Dissertation & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a healthcare-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various healthcare-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• Improving Follow-Up Care for Homeless Populations in North County San Diego (Sanchez, 2021)
• On the Incentives of Medicare’s Hospital Reimbursement and an Examination of Exchangeability (Elzinga, 2016)
• Managing the healthcare crisis: the career narratives of nurses (Krueger, 2021)
• Methods for preventing central line-associated bloodstream infection in pediatric haematology-oncology patients: A systematic literature review (Balkan, 2020)
• Farms in Healthcare: Enhancing Knowledge, Sharing, and Collaboration (Garramone, 2019)
• When machine learning meets healthcare: towards knowledge incorporation in multimodal healthcare analytics (Yuan, 2020)
• Integrated behavioural healthcare: The future of rural mental health (Fox, 2019)
• Healthcare service use patterns among autistic adults: A systematic review with narrative synthesis (Gilmore, 2021)
• Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Combatting Burnout and Compassionate Fatigue among Mental Health Caregivers (Lundquist, 2022)
• Transgender and gender-diverse people’s perceptions of gender-inclusive healthcare access and associated hope for the future (Wille, 2021)
• Efficient Neural Network Synthesis and Its Application in Smart Healthcare (Hassantabar, 2022)
• The Experience of Female Veterans and Health-Seeking Behaviors (Switzer, 2022)
• Machine learning applications towards risk prediction and cost forecasting in healthcare (Singh, 2022)
• Does Variation in the Nursing Home Inspection Process Explain Disparity in Regulatory Outcomes? (Fox, 2020)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

Need more help?

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about how to find a research topic for your healthcare dissertation or thesis, check out Topic Kickstarter service below.

16 Comments

I need topics that will match the Msc program am running in healthcare research please

Hello Mabel,

I can help you with a good topic, kindly provide your email let’s have a good discussion on this.

Can you provide some research topics and ideas on Immunology?

Thank you to create new knowledge on research problem verse research topic

Help on problem statement on teen pregnancy

This post might be useful: https://gradcoach.com/research-problem-statement/

can you provide me with a research topic on healthcare related topics to a qqi level 5 student

Please can someone help me with research topics in public health ?

Hello I have requirement of Health related latest research issue/topics for my social media speeches. If possible pls share health issues , diagnosis, treatment.

I would like a topic thought around first-line support for Gender-Based Violence for survivors or one related to prevention of Gender-Based Violence

Please can I be helped with a master’s research topic in either chemical pathology or hematology or immunology? thanks

Can u please provide me with a research topic on occupational health and safety at the health sector

Good day kindly help provide me with Ph.D. Public health topics on Reproductive and Maternal Health, interventional studies on Health Education

may you assist me with a good easy healthcare administration study topic

May you assist me in finding a research topic on nutrition,physical activity and obesity. On the impact on children

I have been racking my brain for a while on what topic will be suitable for my PhD in health informatics. I want a qualitative topic as this is my strong area.

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From Health in All Policies to Health for All Policies

Scott l greer.

a Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Michelle Falkenbach

b Department of Public and Ecosystem Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Luigi Siciliani

c Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, York, UK

Martin McKee

d Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

Matthias Wismar

e European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels, Belgium

Josep Figueras

Worldwide responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have shown that it is possible for politicians to come together across departmental boundaries. To this end, in many countries, heads of government and their health ministers work closely with all other ministries, departments, and sectors, including social affairs, internal affairs, foreign affairs, research and education, transport, agriculture, business, and state aid. In this Viewpoint, we build on the Health in All Policies approach by which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) support intersectoral collaboration to promote health but argue that this relationship should be bidirectional and that health enables the attainment of other SDGs—Health for All Policies. We contend that strengthening health policies and improving health outcomes have major and tangible co-benefits for other sectors.

The Health in All Policies concept was first introduced in health policy circles in 2006. Its promise is attractive and straightforward: all sectors should work together to improve health, for example through urban design that encourages walking and cycling, or through education that enables people to make informed choices when these exist. According to WHO, “One in eight deaths is linked to air pollution exposure – mostly from heart and lung disease, and stroke” and “To tackle air pollution, a health ministry cannot act alone.” 1 From this example, it follows that collaboration between many other sectors is needed (eg, energy, urban planning, transport, industry, and health). The Health in All Policies approach uses this relationship between health and other sectors, and it allows the health sector to promote health and initiate dialogues to keep health on policy agendas, thereby generating co-benefits (ie, outcomes that benefit all sectors involved).

Tools such as the Health Impact Assessment have been developed and deployed to inform and assess Health in All Policies, and governments worldwide have issued plans that incorporate Health in All Policies precepts, 2 although implementing them has not always been simple. Still, we now know much more about the political, professional, and bureaucratic challenges and how to overcome them, from basic problems of conflicting accountability and organisational inertia to the difficulty of coordinating policies among many stakeholders. 3 , 4 , 5 The mutual benefits are increasingly apparent, with examples of how the concept of Health in All Policies can contribute to increased investment in poverty reduction, education, and urban development. 6 , 7 , 8 Looking forward, an approach that incorporates Health in All Policies is the only way to achieve the health-related goals governments are pursuing. Otherwise, health systems will remain locked in a never-ending struggle as they respond to the ill health that often arises from weaknesses in other sectors.

However, engaging other sectors has often proven difficult. In some cases, policy makers have supported measures that are damaging to health, often drawing on overly narrow economic arguments that prioritise short-term benefits to some sectors over long-term costs to society—for example, by promoting polluting extractive industries. Some policy makers have reservations that Health in All Policies means health ministers expect other people to solve their problems.

After two decades and an unprecedented public health crisis, it might be time to rethink these arguments. Everything affects health, but not everybody thinks health is their problem. Yet, maybe this point of view is changing as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how a health threat can cause massive disruption and affect most aspects of life. We have also seen how countries can step up to the challenge, with different branches of government working together to create large-scale intersectoral responses to safeguard health, provided the threat is perceived as sufficiently great and the measures needed are agreed upon. 9 Most countries have implemented measures to prevent disease transmission that were previously almost unimaginable, including reorienting health systems, controlling borders and internal mobility, redirecting the economy, and taking sometimes draconian civil protection measures. 10 Heads of government have had no alternative but to work with their health ministers and other ministries and sectors, including social affairs, internal affairs, foreign affairs, and economic affairs.

Such collaboration among sectors in the name of health can and should continue. The challenge is to create win–win solutions that achieve multiple policy targets and to design policies that bring co-benefits for multiple sectors and support shared goals. Rather than discarding the Health in All Policies approach, we argue that it should be reinforced. Instead of just offering the unidirectional relationship implied by Health in All Policies (ie, health sector benefiting from other sectors), an expansion of thought is required to make this offer bidirectional (ie, both the health and other sectors benefiting from the relationship; figure 1 ). Through this concept, which we call Health for All Policies, health is put at the forefront, highlighting what the health sector can do for other sectors while simultaneously attaining co-benefits for its own sector.

The association between health and other sectors

Three reasons exist to focus on co-benefits as part of a Health for All Policies approach. First, as previous research has shown, simply inviting other sectors to pursue goals formulated by the health sector is not enough, 11 , 12 and such a strategy should be complemented by an approach that emphasises the co-benefits of health policy for other sectors; investment can offer new opportunities on the basis of shared interests. Second, these co-benefits are likely to be necessary to attain key goals, as shown by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); for example, health inequalities contribute to educational and employment inequalities, 13 , 14 and catastrophic health-care costs can lead to impoverishment and business failure. 15 Finally, the logic of co-benefits can offer ways for researchers and policy makers to understand interactions among factors leading to health inequalities. Researchers and policy makers can, for example, identify ways in which health policies and outcomes can contribute to improve economic growth through pathways such as increased involvement and productivity of the labour force, improved educational attainment, or enhanced biomedical research. 16 , 17 , 18 Health for All Policies can create more resilient societies as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The logic of health co-benefits

A co-benefit is simply a benefit from one policy (eg, better health through vaccinations) that contributes to the achievement of other policies. Two main routes can be pursued in parallel at different stages of the policy process. One is by looking at the effect of health outcomes —health status and health inequalities—on other policy goals. The other is by looking at the effect of health policies, such as employment conditions in the health sector or health initiatives in schools, on other goals ( figure 2 ). The question for policy makers is: how do we understand, capture, and monitor co-benefits?

Causal pathways in Health for All Policies

SDGs=Sustainable Development Goals.

Co-benefits from improving health outcomes

The first category of co-benefits is the way in which improved health status and reduced health inequalities contribute to goals outside the health domain. Many examples exist, often associated with the SDGs. For instance, the health of children influences their educational performance (SDG 4, quality education), and health inequities influence the ability of women (SDG 5, gender equality), people living in poverty, and vulnerable groups (SDG 10, reduced inequalities) to receive the benefits of education and then secure equal access to good jobs (SDG 8, decent work and economic growth).

Empirical literature provides evidence on how health outcomes affect other policy goals. 18 , 19 , 20 For example , Dillon and colleagues have shown that preventing malaria infection in Nigeria can increase earnings by about 10%. 21 A separate study reported that severe health shocks in Denmark led to considerable increases in surviving spouses’ labour supply. 22 Existing literature can provide information on how health status affects other aspects of life and allow for estimation of the probable effect of a marginal improvement in health status on other goals.

Understanding and evidencing of the co-benefits of health outcomes should renew our focus on investing in health and perhaps lead us to rethink some priorities of the health sector.

Co-benefits from health policies

The second category of co-benefits arises when specific health policy interventions contribute to goals outside the health domain. For example, expanding universal health coverage or child nutrition programmes can reduce poverty by eliminating catastrophic health payments (SDG 1, no poverty). Limwattananon and colleagues 23 used a difference-in-difference analysis to show that a reform that greatly extended health insurance coverage in Thailand reduced out-of-pocket expenditure by 28% and reduced catastrophic health payments by 2 percentage points. Many empirical assessments of health policies have outcomes primarily focused on measuring their effectiveness within the health sector (health-care utilisation, health outcomes, and health-care costs), but this approach is overly restrictive. However, a wider perspective will require different expertise.

Conclusions

Health in All Policies was a starting point that is now ready to develop into Health for All Policies. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed the fragility of many of our societies and reversed many gains of previous decades, we have learned that investing in the resilience of health systems is key for a country's economy and security.

A more practical, constructive, and evaluable approach is to focus on the co-benefits of policy and investment, which would allow us to understand the contribution of health outcomes, policies, and systems to goals (such as the SDGs) that we, as a society, are trying to achieve.

Declaration of interests

We declare no competing interests.

Contributors

SLG, MF, and MW wrote the initial draft of the paper. SLG and MF designed the figures. MM and LS contributed to the editing. MM and JF reviewed the full draft of the paper and subsequent revisions.

151+ Public Health Research Topics [Updated 2024]

The important area of public health research is essential to forming laws, influencing medical procedures, and eventually enhancing community well-being. As we delve into the vast landscape of public health research topics, it’s essential to understand the profound impact they have on society.

This blog aims to provide a comprehensive guide to selecting and understanding the diverse array of public health research topics.

Overview of Public Health Research Topics

Table of Contents

Public health research encompasses a wide range of subjects, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the field. From epidemiology and health policy to environmental health and infectious diseases, researchers navigate through various dimensions to address complex health challenges.

Each category holds its own significance, contributing to the overall understanding of public health dynamics.

Key Considerations in Selecting Public Health Research Topics

• Current Relevance: Assess the timeliness of potential topics by considering recent health trends, emerging issues, and societal concerns.
• Impact on Public Health: Evaluate the potential impact of the research on improving health outcomes, addressing disparities, or influencing policy and interventions.
• Feasibility and Resources: Gauge the practicality of conducting research on a particular topic, considering available resources, data accessibility, and research infrastructure.
• Ethical Considerations: Scrutinize the ethical implications of the research, ensuring it aligns with ethical standards and guidelines, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations or sensitive topics.

Top 151+ Public Health Research Topics

Epidemiology.

• The Impact of Social Determinants on Disease Outcomes
• Patterns and Trends in Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Investigating Health Disparities among Different Ethnic Groups
• Childhood Obesity and its Long-Term Health Consequences
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Contact Tracing in Disease Control

Health Policy

• Universal Healthcare: Comparative Analysis of Global Models
• The Role of Telemedicine in Improving Healthcare Access
• Evaluating Mental Health Policies and Their Impact on Communities
• Assessing the Impact of Affordable Care Act on Public Health
• Vaccine Policies and Public Perception: A Comprehensive Study

Environmental Health

• Climate Change and Health: Adapting to the Challenges
• Air Quality and Respiratory Health in Urban Environments
• Waterborne Diseases and Strategies for Safe Water Supply
• Occupational Health Hazards: A Comprehensive Workplace Analysis
• The Impact of Green Spaces on Mental Health in Urban Areas

Infectious Diseases

• Antimicrobial Resistance: Strategies for Mitigation
• Vaccination Strategies and Herd Immunity
• Global Health Security: Preparedness for Pandemics
• The Impact of Vector-Borne Diseases on Public Health
• Emerging Trends in Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

Chronic Diseases

• Lifestyle Interventions for Preventing Cardiovascular Diseases
• Genetic Factors in the Development of Cancer: A Comprehensive Study
• Aging and Health: Addressing the Healthcare Needs of the Elderly
• Diabetes Prevention Programs: Efficacy and Implementation
• Mental Health in Chronic Disease Patients: Bridging the Gap

Maternal and Child Health

• Maternal Mortality: Understanding Causes and Prevention
• The Impact of Breastfeeding on Infant Health and Development
• Childhood Immunization: Barriers and Strategies for Improvement
• Teenage Pregnancy and Its Long-Term Health Consequences
• Mental Health Support for Postpartum Women: Current Gaps and Solutions

Health Behavior and Promotion

• Smoking Cessation Programs: Effectiveness and Challenges
• Physical Activity Promotion in Schools: Strategies for Success
• Nutrition Education and Its Impact on Healthy Eating Habits
• Mental Health Awareness Campaigns: Assessing Public Perceptions
• The Role of Social Media in Health Promotion

Global Health

• Assessing the Impact of International Aid on Global Health
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Programs in Developing Countries
• The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Global Health
• Communicable Disease Control in Refugee Populations
• Global Access to Essential Medicines: Challenges and Solutions

Community Health

• Community-Based Participatory Research: Best Practices and Challenges
• The Impact of Community Health Workers on Health Outcomes
• Health Literacy and its Relationship to Health Disparities
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Mobile Health (mHealth) Interventions
• Community Resilience in the Face of Public Health Crises

Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety

• Hospital-Acquired Infections: Strategies for Prevention
• Patient Safety Culture in Healthcare Organizations
• Quality Improvement Initiatives in Primary Care Settings
• Healthcare Accreditation: Impact on Patient Outcomes
• Implementing Electronic Health Records: Challenges and Benefits

Mental Health

• Stigma Reduction Programs for Mental Health Disorders
• Integrating Mental Health into Primary Care Settings
• The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: Long-Term Implications
• Mental Health in the Workplace: Strategies for Employee Well-being
• Suicide Prevention Programs: Effectiveness and Outreach

Health Disparities

• Racial Disparities in Healthcare: Addressing Systemic Inequities
• LGBTQ+ Health Disparities and Inclusive Healthcare Practices
• Socioeconomic Status and Access to Healthcare Services
• Geographical Disparities in Health: Rural vs. Urban
• The Impact of Gender on Health Outcomes and Access to Care

Public Health Education

• Evaluation of Public Health Education Programs
• Innovative Approaches to Teaching Public Health Concepts
• Online Health Education Platforms: Opportunities and Challenges
• Interdisciplinary Training in Public Health: Bridging Gaps
• Continuing Education for Public Health Professionals: Current Landscape

Digital Health

• The Role of Wearable Devices in Health Monitoring
• Telehealth Adoption: Barriers and Opportunities
• Health Apps for Chronic Disease Management: User Perspectives
• Blockchain Technology in Healthcare: Privacy and Security Implications
• Artificial Intelligence in Disease Diagnosis and Prediction

Health Economics

• Cost-Effectiveness of Preventive Health Interventions
• The Impact of Healthcare Financing Models on Access to Care
• Pharmaceutical Pricing and Access to Essential Medicines
• Economic Evaluation of Health Promotion Programs
• Health Insurance Coverage and Health Outcomes: A Global Perspective

Innovations in Public Health

• 3D Printing in Healthcare: Applications and Future Prospects
• Gene Editing Technologies and their Ethical Implications
• Smart Cities and Public Health: Integrating Technology for Well-being
• Nanotechnology in Medicine: Potential for Disease Treatment
• The Role of Drones in Public Health: Surveillance and Intervention

Food Safety and Nutrition

• Foodborne Illness Outbreaks: Investigating Causes and Prevention
• Sustainable Food Systems: Implications for Public Health
• Nutritional Interventions for Malnutrition in Developing Countries
• Food Labeling and Consumer Understanding: A Critical Review
• The Impact of Fast Food Consumption on Public Health

Substance Abuse

• Opioid Epidemic: Strategies for Prevention and Treatment
• Harm Reduction Approaches in Substance Abuse Programs
• Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Public Health Outcomes
• Smoking and Mental Health: Exploring the Connection
• Novel Psychoactive Substances: Emerging Threats and Strategies

Occupational Health

• Workplace Stress and Mental Health: Intervention Strategies
• Occupational Hazards in Healthcare Professions: A Comparative Analysis
• Ergonomics in the Workplace: Improving Worker Health and Productivity
• Night Shift Work and Health Consequences: Addressing Challenges
• Occupational Health and Safety Regulations: A Global Overview

Disaster Preparedness and Response

• Pandemic Preparedness and Lessons from COVID-19
• Natural Disasters and Mental Health: Post-Traumatic Stress
• Emergency Response Systems: Improving Timeliness and Efficiency
• Communicating Health Risks During Emergencies: Public Perception
• Collaborative Approaches to Disaster Response in Global Health

Cancer Research

• Precision Medicine in Cancer Treatment: Current Advancements
• Cancer Screening Programs: Efficacy and Challenges
• Environmental Factors and Cancer Risk: Exploring Connections
• Survivorship Care Plans: Enhancing Quality of Life after Cancer
• Integrative Therapies in Cancer Care: Complementary Approaches

Sexual and Reproductive Health

• Access to Contraception in Developing Countries: Challenges and Solutions
• Comprehensive Sex Education Programs: Impact on Teen Pregnancy
• Reproductive Health Rights: Global Perspectives and Challenges
• Infertility Treatment: Ethical Considerations and Societal Impact
• Maternal and Child Health in Conflict Zones: Addressing Challenges

Cardiovascular Health

• Hypertension Prevention Programs: Strategies and Effectiveness
• Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Gender-Specific Risk Factors
• Innovations in Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs
• Artificial Heart Technology: Advancements and Ethical Implications
• Impact of Air Pollution on Cardiovascular Health: A Global Concern

Social Determinants of Health

• Educational Attainment and Health Outcomes: Exploring Links
• Income Inequality and its Impact on Population Health
• Social Support Networks and Mental Health: A Comprehensive Study
• Neighborhood Environments and Health Disparities
• Employment and Health: The Interplay of Work and Well-being

Genomics and Public Health

• Population Genomics and its Implications for Public Health
• Genetic Counseling and Education: Empowering Individuals and Families
• Ethical Issues in Genetic Research: Privacy and Informed Consent
• Pharmacogenomics: Tailoring Drug Therapies to Individual Genotypes
• Gene-Environment Interactions in Disease Risk: Unraveling Complexities

Public Health Ethics

• Informed Consent in Public Health Research: Current Practices
• Ethical Challenges in Global Health Research: Balancing Priorities
• Confidentiality in Public Health Reporting: Striking the Right Balance
• Research with Vulnerable Populations: Ethical Considerations
• Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies in Healthcare

Health Communication

• The Role of Media in Shaping Public Health Perceptions
• Health Literacy Interventions: Improving Understanding of Health Information
• Social Media Campaigns for Public Health Promotion: Best Practices
• Tailoring Health Messages for Diverse Audiences: Cultural Competency
• Risk Communication in Public Health Emergencies: Lessons Learned

Nutrigenomics

• Personalized Nutrition Plans based on Genetic Makeup
• Impact of Nutrigenomics on Chronic Disease Prevention
• Ethical Considerations in Nutrigenomics Research
• Public Perceptions of Nutrigenomic Testing: A Qualitative Study
• Integrating Nutrigenomics into Public Health Policies

Public Health and Artificial Intelligence

• Predictive Analytics in Disease Surveillance: Harnessing AI for Early Detection
• Ethical Considerations in AI-Driven Health Decision Support Systems
• Machine Learning in Epidemiology: Predicting Disease Outbreaks
• Natural Language Processing in Public Health: Text Mining for Insights
• Bias in AI Algorithms: Implications for Health Equity

Health Disparities in Aging

• Geriatric Health Disparities: Bridging the Gap in Elderly Care
• Ageism in Healthcare: Addressing Stereotypes and Discrimination
• Social Isolation and Health Consequences in Aging Populations
• Access to Palliative Care for Older Adults: A Global Perspective
• Alzheimer’s Disease and Ethnic Disparities in Diagnosis and Treatment
• Loneliness and Mental Health in the Elderly: Interventions and Support

Research Methodologies in Public Health

Public health research employs various methodologies, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches. Each method brings its own strengths to the research process, allowing researchers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues they investigate. 

Community-based participatory research is another valuable approach, emphasizing collaboration with communities to address their specific health concerns.

Challenges and Opportunities in Public Health Research

While public health research is immensely rewarding, it comes with its own set of challenges. Funding constraints, ethical dilemmas, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of technology pose both obstacles and opportunities. 

Researchers must navigate these challenges to ensure their work has a meaningful impact on public health.

In conclusion, public health research topics are diverse and dynamic, reflecting the complex nature of the field. As researchers embark on their journeys, they must carefully consider the relevance, impact, and ethical implications of their chosen topics. 

The collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of public health research positions it as a powerful tool in addressing the health challenges of our time. By exploring the depths of these topics, researchers contribute to the collective effort to build healthier and more equitable communities. 

As we move forward, a continued exploration of relevant public health research topics is essential for shaping the future of healthcare and improving the well-being of populations worldwide.

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5 studies released in 2022 that might change how you think about health care

From racial bias in CPR to private equity price hikes, here’s what researchers learned about US health care this year.

by Dylan Scott

Though the pandemic and all its attendant health care crises remained the major health care story of 2022, churning all the while in the background has been the critical work of academic scholars, operating on longer timelines, who are still trying to make sense of US health care and of medicine itself, to get a better idea of what’s wrong and how to make it better.

To wrap up this year, I asked a couple dozen health policy experts what research released this year (though, as one of them reminded me, these papers are often years in the making) had surprised them, changed their thinking, or struck them as especially notable.

Here are five particularly interesting papers, at least in my view. Because many more than that warrant mention, I have tried to cram in as many references to other work as I could. One of my lessons from this exercise was that there are noteworthy new studies being produced all the time. The US health system certainly merits such extensive investigation, given the number and diversity of its flaws .

These studies cover a broad range of subjects, from the intricacies of Medicaid provider networks to prescription uptake by Medicare beneficiaries to how bystanders react when a person experiences a cardiac episode in public. But first, on the topic of the pandemic...

1) Vaccination education campaigns in nursing homes didn’t make much difference

Several experts pointed me to data sets related to Covid-19 vaccination in nursing homes, the scenes of so much illness and death in that frightening first year of the pandemic. Larry Levitt, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, flagged one recent KFF survey that found less than half of nursing-home residents are up to date on their vaccines.

That put into sharp relief the findings of a study that Harvard Medical School’s David Grabowski cited as one of his favorites of the year. The paper, published in JAMA Internal Medicine in January 2022 , evaluated an effort to use educational campaigns and other incentives to improve vaccination rates among residents and staff in nursing homes.

They did not find a meaningful effect, despite three months of programming. There was plenty of room to grow, particularly among the staff, roughly half of whom were unvaccinated during the study period. (Vaccination rates among residents were already high at the time, though the experiment still did not find a significant effect of the multi-faceted campaign.)

“The conventional wisdom was that a big part of lagging vaccination rates was a lack of information and knowledge about the benefits of vaccination,” Grabowski said. But this study found instead that “these educational efforts were unsuccessful at encouraging greater vaccination. Although information campaigns sound like great policy, they really aren’t.”

He lamented that the study had been ignored by policymakers, noting federal efforts to increase vaccination rates among this population remain focused on education. Grabowski said the policies with the strongest evidence are vaccine clinics and vaccine mandates for staff.

2) Medicaid’s “phantom” networks may overstate patients’ access to health care

I love good jargon, and “ghost physicians” is one of my favorite new phrases of the year, which was recently brought to my attention by Harvard University professor (and former Vox contributor) Adrianna McIntyre.

It comes from this May 2022 Health Affairs paper , authored by Yale University’s Avital Ludomirsky and colleagues, which evaluated the provider networks of Medicaid managed-care plans. Those are privately administrated plans for low-income people that must follow state and federal Medicaid rules; they have grown in enrollment in recent years, with more states deciding to outsource their role in providing health coverage for the most vulnerable.

One of those rules is that enough doctors and hospitals accept those Medicaid plans, otherwise known as network adequacy. The Health Affairs study examined managed-care plans in four states over several years to get a better sense of providers’ participation in the program.

Their most striking finding is that while nominal participation was fairly high, about one-third of providers who technically accepted Medicaid actually saw less than 10 Medicaid beneficiaries in a given year. The responsibility for providing care to these patients was concentrated among a small number of practices, with 25 percent of primary care doctors providing 86 percent of the care and 25 percent of specialists providing 75 percent of those services.

In other words, while plenty of doctors might say they accept the plans, people who are enrolled in them may in practice find they have relatively few doctors to choose from. “Our findings suggest that current network adequacy standards might not reflect actual access,” the authors wrote in their conclusion. “New methods are needed that account for beneficiaries’ preferences and physicians’ willingness to serve Medicaid patients.”

The move toward more Medicaid-managed care has spurred a lot of debate and study. Matthew Fiedler, senior fellow at the Brooking Institution, sent me a Harvard study with its own surprising finding: In Texas, transitioning Medicaid enrollees to managed care had actually led to an increase in the use of prescription drugs and outpatient services, while the number of avoidable hospitalizations fell.

What seems to have happened, Fiedler said, is the state had been “penny-wise, pound-foolish” when running the program itself by imposing an unusually strict cap on the number of prescriptions patients could fill in a year. With that cap relaxed under the managed-care plans, patients filled more prescriptions and that corresponded to fewer episodes in which they ended up in the hospital when they didn’t have to.

Fiedler thought the study could also have implications for Medicare Advantage as well, another version of a government health insurance program that is being administered by private companies.

“To be clear, in many of these cases, it might well be better to fix this problem by just fixing the public program directly,” he told me. “But given that we often seem unwilling to do that, this does point to one very real advantage of involvement from private plans.”

3) Many Medicare beneficiaries don’t fill important prescriptions

Rachel Sachs, who studies prescription drug policy at Washington University in St. Louis, highlighted a study on a similar subject that was published in Health Affairs in April 2022 , led by Vanderbilt University’s Stacie Dusetzina. The researchers studied the difference in prescription uptake by Medicare beneficiaries who receive a government subsidy to offset their drug costs versus those who do not.

The latter group, who can sometimes be on the hook for hundreds of dollars for every prescription they fill, was substantially less likely to actually use their medication as it had been prescribed, even for serious diagnoses like cancer. People receiving subsidies were twice as likely to fill their prescriptions. The study found that 30 percent of prescriptions for anti-cancer drugs and 22 of prescriptions for hepatitis-C treatment were never started.

The problem of drug affordability for Medicare patients has been an ongoing concern. Because of how the program is currently structured, beneficiaries who are enrolled in the traditional Medicare program but do not qualify for subsidies have no upper limit on how much they can be asked to spend on pharmaceuticals in a given year.

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act , Congress is instituting such a cap for the first time, using savings from the new drug pricing controls also included in the law, capping out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 starting in 2025. That is the kind of intervention the Health Affairs authors were calling for when they published the paper. Now we’ll see if that policy change has an effect on seniors actually taking their medicine.

4) Black and Hispanic Americans are less likely to receive CPR in public spaces

One of the experts I asked for input is Harvard Medical School’s Michael Barnett , who publishes his own overview of the year’s best research every year on Twitter. He sent me a few studies, most of which I’ll let him share in his own overview, but one study in particular stuck out, looking at which people are more (or less) likely to get assistance when they have a health emergency in a public setting with other people around.

The paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October by a collection of scholars across the country, examined more than 100,000 incidents of cardiac arrest that occurred outside of the hospital from 2013 to 2019. They focused in particular on whether the person experiencing cardiac arrest in public received CPR from a bystander.

The results were profound: Black and Hispanic people were significantly less likely to be given CPR than a white person, 45 percent versus 60 percent. And this pattern held across neighborhoods of different racial and socioeconomic make-ups. Whether the neighborhood was predominantly white, Black, or Hispanic, up and down the income ladder, in integrated neighborhoods, white people were more likely to receive CPR than someone who is Black and Hispanic.

“Racial and ethnic differences in bystander CPR in public locations raise additional concerns about implicit and explicit biases in layperson response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests,” the authors wrote.

Racism within the medical system is well established. Black and Hispanic Americans tend to have less access to health care. They tend to have worse experiences with doctors. Clinical trials and other research does not prioritize them. Medical treatments tend to be developed and designed with white people in mind.

But this study would suggest that even the more casual forms of racism and internalized bias can have a real health effect for marginalized Americans.

5) Prices go up after private equity acquires a physician’s practice

Private equity’s deeper investment into US health care is one of the most important ongoing stories in the field right now. The stakes can be life or death, as one paper that I covered last year about mortality rates in nursing homes purchased by private equity firms found. (Of note this year, according to Harvard’s Amitabh Chandra, was another paper that documented the wide disparities in outcomes among nursing homes, even those who are located in the same area.)

A report published by scholars from Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Oregon Science & Health University in September 2022 in JAMA Health Forum , which Emma Sandoe of North Carolina Medicaid and Duke University shared with me, examined what happened to costs and care utilization when private equity firms had purchased outpatient practices specializing in ophthalmology, dermatology, and gastroenterology, some of their favorite targets.

The study detected several effects: The cost of individual services went up and those practices were seeing more new patients and also charging more time for their existing patients. The amount billed by the private equity-acquired offices per service increased by 20 percent compared to the study’s control group. They saw 38 percent more new patients and there was a 9 percent increase in the number of existing patient visits that were billed as lasting longer than 30 minutes.

On the surface, that could look like partially good news, in spite of the price hikes, with more patients being seen and spending more time with their doctor. But some of the other findings call into question the value of those increases in service volume. In dermatology, the increase in outpatient visits did not correspond to an increase in biopsies ordered. In the gastroenterology practices, there were more visits and scopes but no notable increase in polyp removals. And likewise, at the eye clinics, there was more diagnostic imaging but not any effect on actual cataract removals.

The authors ended their paper with this warning. “Private equity ownership of physician practices has added a distinctly private and market-driven influence to the broader trends in corporate consolidation of physicians by health systems and insurers,” they wrote. “This study contributes evidence for potential overutilization and higher spending on care that will be important for policy makers to monitor.”

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Cost, access, and quality, intersections with health care: equity, income, and justice, health care technology, pharmaceuticals, markets, and innovation, population health, global health, contribution statement, supplementary material.

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Ten health policy challenges for the next 10 years

Conflicts of interest Please see ICMJE form(s) for author conflicts of interest. These have been provided as supplementary materials.

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Kathryn A Phillips, Deborah A Marshall, Loren Adler, Jose Figueroa, Simon F Haeder, Rita Hamad, Inmaculada Hernandez, Corrina Moucheraud, Sayeh Nikpay, Ten health policy challenges for the next 10 years, Health Affairs Scholar , Volume 1, Issue 1, July 2023, qxad010, https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxad010

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Health policies and associated research initiatives are constantly evolving and changing. In recent years, there has been a dizzying increase in research on emerging topics such as the implications of changing public and private health payment models, the global impact of pandemics, novel initiatives to tackle the persistence of health inequities, broad efforts to reduce the impact of climate change, the emergence of novel technologies such as whole-genome sequencing and artificial intelligence, and the increase in consumer-directed care. This evolution demands future-thinking research to meet the needs of policymakers in translating science into policy. In this paper, the Health Affairs Scholar editorial team describes “ten health policy challenges for the next 10 years.” Each of the ten assertions describes the challenges and steps that can be taken to address those challenges. We focus on issues that are traditionally studied by health services researchers such as cost, access, and quality, but then examine emerging and intersectional topics: equity, income, and justice; technology, pharmaceuticals, markets, and innovation; population health; and global health.

Thinking beyond the insurance card: How do systemic barriers affect access to care and what we can do about it?

Despite reaching an all-time low uninsurance rate in 2022, 1 a growing realization has started to set in across the United States that handing out insurance cards does not serve as the final step in the goal of increasing the health of all Americans. Indeed, enrolling individuals into health coverage is only meaningful if they can access the medical care they need, and if they can do so in a timely manner. Yet, the problems of connecting patients with care are widespread and multifaceted. For example, today's insurance products are overwhelmingly managed-care arrangements that restrict consumers’ choice of providers. As a result, consumers have to navigate provider networks that may be inadequate due to their restrictiveness. 2 Moreover, the provider directories offered to consumers by carriers are often highly inaccurate and may include thousands of “phantom” or “ghost” providers. 3 , 4 The maldistribution of medical providers as well as local and national shortages in some specialties further exacerbate this problem. 5 Many Americans, particularly those traditionally marginalized by the medical system, also lack the confidence and trust in the medical profession to provide appropriate and effective care and avoid or delay care as a result. 6 In addition, expanding health coverage to more Americans in the wake of the Affordable Care Act has not solved the underlying high-cost problem the US health care system faces. 7 As a result, even many insured Americans, particularly elderly, Black, and Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes, continue to face financial barriers to care because of out-of-pocket payments. 8

Research focusing on the experience of consumers as well as the implications on the lives of consumers impacted by these challenges is a crucial next step. Researchers should be engaging these issues from a variety of viewpoints as well as methodological approaches to better understand the effects on individuals, their health, their finances, and their broader life experiences. Moreover, future research should also remain focused on providing the information needed to policymakers to improve consumers’ lives.

At the same time, researchers should be willing to take a broader look at consumer experiences beyond the explicit focus on the health care field as many barriers are reflective of broader societal issues. Systemic and structural racism continues to also impose substantial barriers for many non-White Americans needing access to care and contributes to widening existing health disparities. 9 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as well as the ongoing opioid epidemic only increased these barriers, particularly for children. 10 Moreover, many individuals lack the means of transportation as well as other resources to access medical care when needed. 11 Government policies, like the enforcement of immigration restrictions via interior border checkpoints, only further exacerbate these challenges. 12

There may be great value in expanding traditional definitions and conceptions of health-related research to develop a better understanding of the challenges consumers face in accessing care. Moreover, research should particularly focus on traditionally marginalized populations because these populations may face access challenges above and beyond those experienced by other groups. Importantly, research should be mindful to include the perspectives of these populations not only in terms of the focus of the research but also the unique methodological approaches that may be required to conduct meaningful and policy-relevant research. 13

New health care over-the-counter products: What will be required to meet consumer needs?

The market for over-the-counter (OTC) health products continues to expand dramatically. 14 This increase is not only for products that have been on the market for decades, such as nutritional supplements, but also for new categories of products, such as online eye exams and prescription glasses, direct-to-consumer genetic and other types of screening tests such as those for COVID-19 infection, and online pharmacies. These trends are changing the relationship between consumers and health care in significant ways, just as other paradigm-shifting changes, such as ride-sharing apps, radically changed transportation habits and the traditional taxi industry.

A prime example of the advantages—and challenges—of the move to OTC health products is the recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the marketing of OTC hearing aids. There is a huge unmet need for affordable and accessible hearing device products as statistics show that the majority of individuals who would benefit from hearing aids do not use them. 15 This need is particularly acute in marginalized and geographically inaccessible communities, given the high cost of traditional hearing aids. Moreover, Medicare does not provide coverage for them and neither do many Medicaid programs. 16 However, there were widespread concerns about whether OTC hearing aids were appropriate, and thus passage of the relevant Congressional acts and FDA approvals took many years.

Rapid and timely research is urgently needed on the implications of OTC products for consumers and providers that includes their unique perspectives. For example, it will be important to assess whether OTC hearing aids truly provide greater access to meet a pressing population health need or whether consumers get lost in a bewildering maze of products and are unable to choose and appropriately use the best device for them. The historical provider model, which relies on audiologists to work directly with consumers to choose and purchase traditional hearing aids, will have to evolve to address the OTC market. Research also needs to consider the many stakeholders that will play a role in successful implementation of OTC products, including payers and industry, and the complex practice and policy environment within which these products will be marketed.

Safety-net programs: Why do we make it so hard for families to receive social safety-net benefits?

It is increasingly recognized that social factors like poverty and housing are key determinants of health. Yet, the United States dedicates a smaller percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to social spending on families than the average Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country (0.6% vs. 2.1% in 2019). 17 Despite having a much higher GDP per capita, the United States has a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than other high-income countries. 18 Part of this discrepancy is that safety-net policies in the United States are less generous than those in other countries; for example, the United States is the only high-income country not to provide paid family leave to new parents and is among the only countries not to provide a basic income benefit for families with children (like the 2021 expanded child tax credit).

Another major understudied component of this problem is that it is challenging for economically disadvantaged families to access the benefits for which they are eligible. 19 For example, the largest US poverty alleviation program—the earned income tax credit (EITC)—has well-known positive health effects, yet it is administered through the tax system, a notoriously bureaucratic system that is more difficult to navigate for the most vulnerable families who would benefit the most from the EITC. 20 In fact, most US safety-net programs require their own individual application processes, requiring cash- and time-strapped households to complete redundant paperwork and often attend in-person interviews, and to do so on a regular basis to recertify frequently.

A small but growing literature is focused on understanding and addressing low take-up of social safety-net programs to address health equity. 21 Yet, there is much work to be done to understand how to tackle the different facets of the problem, including streamlining multiple applications in the face of a fragmented and siloed safety-net system, scaling up small interventions that have been shown to be successful, and partnering with state and federal agencies to simplify eligibility requirements and reduce administrative burdens. The rapid pace of policymaking to improve access to safety-net programs during COVID-19 demonstrated that governments and practitioners have the capacity to work quickly in this space 22 —for example, reducing the churn of Medicaid benefit receipt among eligible families through the continuous enrollment provision. The possibility for innovation in this space makes this topic a critical emerging area of program development and evaluation to address health equity.

Ensuring access to care for patients with limited ability to pay: What are the unintended impacts of poorly targeted support for the health care safety net?

All countries, regardless of their specific health payment approach, must consider how patients can equitably access care. Even countries with publicly funded systems have gaps in access. For example, although the United Kingdom has the world's largest government-run and -funded health care system, a recent survey found that and one in eight adults paid for private insurance because waits were too long. 23

These issues are particularly acute in the United States, with its complex mix of private and public insurance programs. Despite historic expansions of public and private coverage under the Affordable Care Act, many patients cannot afford care in the US health care system. Uninsured or underinsured patients rely on the health care safety net, a crucially important, yet loosely organized collection of public and private providers willing to provide unreimbursed care, or uncompensated care. 24 An analysis from 2015–2017 suggests that the annual dollar value of uncompensated care totaled over $42 billion. 25 To offset the cost of uncompensated care, federal and state governments provide support to safety-net providers in a variety of forms such as Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, Section 330, grants to community health centers, Veterans Affairs funding, and the 340B drug discount program. The estimated annual dollar value of this support is $34 billion, leaving a sizeable amount of unsubsidized uncompensated care. 25

How safety-net providers share the burden of unsubsidized uncompensated care is an important question that has received insufficient attention in the research literature despite its importance sustaining the safety net. There is often a poor match between safety-net funding and the burden of uncompensated care, and thus providers with significant uninsured and low-income insured populations sustain high amounts of uncompensated care relative to their budgets, while the subsidies that others receive may exceed their uncompensated care costs. 26 Recent work demonstrates that the eligibility criteria used to allocate Medicare disproportionate-share hospital payments and 340B drug discounts undersubsidizes hospitals with significant uncompensated care burdens, 26 and that a significant proportion of hospitals receiving Medicaid DSH do not meet reasonable definitions of safety-net status. 27

With better targeting, policymakers can strengthen the safety net and therefore also improve access to care for the uninsured and low-income insured patients who rely on it. Better matching support to unsubsidized, uncompensated care burden can facilitate safety-net hospitals’ investments in technology and services, 28 improve quality of care, improve financial outcomes, 29 , 30 and possibly improve health equity 31 and achieve critical public health goals. 32

Policymakers have shown interest in improving the targeting of support for safety-net providers. 33 However, existing research suggests that identifying better allocation methods will be challenging as there is no single definition of what constitutes a safety-net provider 34 and definitions can dramatically affect the characteristics of recipient hospitals. 35

Are structural inequities hampering hospitals’ ability to address social determinants of health?

Hospitals and health systems have the potential to play a significant role in addressing health inequities in the communities they serve. This is particularly true among low-income communities of color that face some of the starkest disparities in health care coverage, access, and clinical outcomes. Central to these efforts is meaningful engagement and partnerships 36 to address social determinants of health with local communities that health systems serve.

Emerging evidence, however, raises substantial concern that structural inequities may hamper the ability of safety-net hospitals, which disproportionately serve low-income and racially/ethnically minoritized populations, to address their patients’ and communities’ social needs. 37 These inequities are, in part, driven by structurally discriminant factors 38 at the core of our current hospital financing system.

Our current hospital reimbursement system 39 effectively assigns a lower dollar amount for the care of low-income, Black, and Latino people, given their disproportionate enrollment in insurance plans like Medicaid, which reimburse hospitals less. And while DSH payments are intended to subsidize these hospitals’ care of underinsured patients, the current allocation of DSH payments may structurally disadvantage certain communities, 31 with fewer dollars flowing into low-income communities of color.

Another potential driver is related to the hospital nonprofit status system, 38 which exempts hospitals from paying local, state, and federal taxes if they demonstrate that they are providing a benefit to their community. Given that there is little to no oversight of tax-exempt charitable status, 38 nonprofit hospitals are often operating virtually indistinguishable from for-profit hospitals, and their mission is to maximize profits, which are re-invested in the health system, including the use of tax savings for their own employees’ and administrators’ benefit, and not for the benefit of their community.

Moving forward, if the aim is to improve health equity, policymakers must consider strategies that directly target structural inequities that stem from our current hospital financing system, including consideration of further regulation to ensure fair reimbursement for the care of low-income people of color and appropriate allocation of funds meant to meet the needs of socially vulnerable communities. Research is needed that evaluates the impact of interventions or policies that may better align the reimbursement of health care services with the needs of the community, including more fair distribution of community-benefit support to at-risk communities.

With mergers of insurers and pharmacy chains and growth of online generic retailers, can community pharmacies survive?

Pharmacies play a crucial role in the provision of medications and patient-centered medication management services, as demonstrated in the COVID-19 pandemic. Pharmacy accessibility is indispensable for equity in health care access, as pharmacies can reach individuals who do not interact with other health care providers. 40 Pharmacy access is jeopardized by the increasing trend in pharmacy closures observed in the past few years. But why are pharmacies closing?

Pharmacists have limited opportunities to bill for their services as they have not been granted provider status, which precludes them from billing Medicare Part B. As a result, the business model of community pharmacies relies on the dispensing of prescription drugs. One reason behind pharmacy closures is the declining reimbursement rates associated with the consolidation of the pharmaceutical benefit management industry. 41 Another reason is the exclusion of pharmacies from the preferred networks of major health plans. 42 The exclusion from preferred networks predominantly affects independent pharmacies and has been catalyzed by the vertical integration of insurers with pharmacy chains, as insurers incentivize patients through lower cost-sharing to fill prescriptions in their own pharmacies.

In the past year, two online entities have made the headlines for disrupting the pharmacy market. Mark Cuban founded an online generic retailer, Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, which dispenses generic drugs at acquisition cost and a markup, which are lower than insurance copayments. As another example, in January 2023, Amazon announced that it would dispense fifty top-selling generic drugs for $5 per month to its Prime members. With pharmaceutical benefit managers increasingly pushing pharmacies’ margins, and Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company and Amazon dispensing generics, can we expect community pharmacies to stay in business just to administer only other prescriptions and vaccines?

The changing pharmaceutical reimbursement landscape calls for robust research that assesses the implications of these changes. Such research should evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical benefit manager consolidation, vertical integration of insurers and pharmacy chains, increasing restrictiveness of pharmacy networks, uptake of mail order, and entry of online generic retailers on the financial sustainability of community pharmacies.

The private equity “takeover” of health care: What does it mean?

Private equity investment into health care accelerated rapidly over the last decade and shows no signs of slowing down. Private equity firms now play a meaningful role across the health care industry, from hospitals and nursing homes to physician practices and dental clinics to biotechnology, medical devices, and information technology. This infusion of capital offers the potential for investments that may improve patient care and generate economies of scale, but private equity's focus on short-term profits and efficiency also raises concerns about patient harms and higher costs.

Numerous news stories have identified examples of fraudulent activity, 43 overtreatment, 44 aggressive billing practices, 45 and widespread use of noncompete and nondisclosure agreements associated with private equity–owned facilities and medical groups. Also, recent empirical evidence suggests that private equity acquisitions of medical practices lead to higher prices and, perhaps more concerningly, that their acquisitions of nursing homes tend to increase mortality rates. 46–48 The future is likely to bring the further consolidation of many physician specialties by private equity firms and expanded investments in primary care, behavioral health, and specialty practices with significant exposure to value-based payment models. Inevitably, this investment will bring with it both pros and cons.

The trillion-dollar question is how legislators and regulators should respond to private equity's “takeover” of health care. One school of thought is that a presumption of patient harm should accompany private equity acquisitions in health care and that lawmakers, therefore, should enact roadblocks to such acquisition through stronger corporate practice of medicine rules or similar means. Others argue that lawmakers should instead focus on weeding out the market failures and payment loopholes that private equity (and other acquirers) can exploit, such as laws regulating surprise billing, the Federal Trade Commission's decision to prohibit noncompetes, and stronger antitrust and fraud enforcement.

Not enough is known, though, about private equity's net effects on quality of care and patient experience. More research—qualitative, descriptive, and empirical—is needed to help policymakers, providers, and patients understand the effects of and respond to this growing trend. The research community is forced to play catch-up as private equity continues to expand into new arenas of health care.

The road ahead for health policies on genomic testing and precision medicine: Much accomplished but what remains to be addressed?

On June 26, 2000, two key leaders of the mapping of the human genome—Francis Collins and Craig Venter—stood with the US President Bill Clinton in the White House as he announced: “With this profound new knowledge, humankind is on the verge of gaining immense, new power to heal. Genome science will have a real impact on all our lives—and even more, on the lives of our children. It will revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases.” 49

Over two decades later, genomic testing and the general field of “precision medicine”—which uses information about a person's genome and advanced computing tools for data aggregation to precisely target prevention, diagnosis, and treatment—have made great advances. Genomic testing is routinely used in a range of clinical scenarios, including cancer risk screening for BRCA1/2 , noninvasive prenatal testing for fetal anomalies, and genomic sequencing of tumors to target effective treatments and to diagnose rare diseases in newborns. 50

Yet, much more health policy research is needed, both on existing uses of genomics and those that are emerging. Although much has been accomplished, much more must be done if genomics will indeed “revolutionize” health care. Questions remain about the economic and societal value of using genomics compared with other approaches, the impact on families of the identification of genetic variations that are inherited, the ethics of identifying the possibility of future disease in newborns and even fetuses, access to testing for underserved populations and the lack of genomic data from non-White populations, the often-contradictory preferences of individuals versus society for genomic information, balancing innovation with affordability, regulatory conundrums, and gaps in antidiscrimination legislation. And although many countries worldwide have genomic testing availability and government initiatives to develop genomic databases and programs, there is little understanding of how approaches and policies compare across countries. 51

“Nothing about us without us”: How can patient engagement contribute to meaningful health policy research?

Several global initiatives have emerged to recognize the value of patient-centered care. For example, over a decade ago, the US Congress created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to “conduct research to provide information about the best available evidence to help patients and their health care providers make more informed decisions.” 52 In Canada, provincial governments have adopted health legislation based on a broad public consultation process, “Putting People First,” 53 which established principles in the law that expanded efforts to engage the public in health policy, and the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research was launched nationally by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to address the gap in research getting “knowledge into action.” 54 In the United Kingdom, with a long history of patient engagement, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has invited patient and public participation to consider issues related to social value judgments in assessments and the development of guidance and quality standards on social care based partly on patient preferences. 55

Health care delivery and health policy change that does not actively engage patients is no longer acceptable. With the ongoing challenges facing health care systems, patient engagement in health policy research to inform health policy changes will become increasingly important to the delivery of effective and financially sustainable health care to an aging population with complex chronic care needs. 56 In the Information Age of Medicine, 57 patients are now empowered to be partners in not only their care but also how health care is delivered and the policies governing its delivery. Patient engagement has been defined as “active, meaningful and collaborative interaction between patients and researchers across all stages where decision-making is guided by patients’ contributions as partners recognizing their specific experiences, values and expertise.” 58 Tokenism or symbolic efforts to have patient representation on governance and advisory committees are not the same as meaningful patient engagement.

The slogan “Nothing about us without us” was used originally to reflect the idea that no policy should be decided by any representative without the full and direct participation of members of the group(s) affected by that policy. 59 The United Nations used this phrase in 2004 as the theme for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 60 and more recently, this statement has been used in the context of patients and health care. It highlights the importance of engaging patients to adhere to the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in countering systemic discrimination.

The potential benefits of meaningful patient engagement working as “part of the team”—both in their own care and in health policy research—are significant. 61 It has been demonstrated that patients who are “activated” achieve better outcomes and their care is less costly. 62 , 63 Aligning health care policy to respond to what matters to patients and their priorities has enormous potential to increase informed decisions about health policy to improve patient-centered care.

There are tremendous opportunities to effectively and meaningfully engage patients to advance patient-centered care at all levels of knowledge mobilization. An innovative approach to how patient engagement can create new roles and relationships within health systems to impact health research and health policy is the partnership with patients in the Strategy for Patient Oriented Research Chronic Disease Networks (SPOR). As an example, in the IMAGINE SPOR Network of gastroenterology centers across Canada, patients are involved in a wide range of roles. 64 Patients are included at all levels of governance of the network as co-leads for the core projects and the cross-cutting themes. As part of the Patient Engagement theme, patients can be involved in an advisory role to the research program, and in providing input to internal study materials, testing data-collection tools, and participating in national committees overseeing the network. As part of the capacity-building efforts in patient-oriented research, some patients undertake intensive 1-year training in patient experience research in the Patient and Community Engagement Research Programme (PaCER) university certificate program and as patient research partner graduates and subsequently engage in clinical and scientific knowledge mobilization activities to inform health system change and health policy. 65 , 66 In these ways, patients, as patient research partners, help bridge the gap between patient experience and knowledge implementation in the health care system.

Building a truly global perspective: How can researchers contribute?

Recent phenomena have made apparent the interconnectedness of our global community; what happens in one country touches us all, whether the spread of COVID-19 infection and of technologies to combat it, or crises from wars to climate change and their humanitarian consequences. Global health policy research is a particular gap in the scientific literature, 67 despite the richness of experience across the world. Researchers and policymakers everywhere can learn from Rwanda's community health insurance program or Turkey's health system reforms. However, the public health and health policy literature has long been dominated by authors and perspectives from high-income countries: over 80% of the world's population lives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), 68 yet authors from LMICs are underrepresented in the scientific literature, particularly in meaningful authorship roles. 69–71 Publications about LMICs, and with LMIC-affiliated authors, are increasing—but progress has been slowest for low-income countries 69 and female authors remain underrepresented. 72 These inequities in publishing have echoes in other imbalances seen across global health and health policy research, such as in the financing for global health research, 73 boards and commissions focused on global health issues, 74 , 75 and representation at scientific conferences 76 and journal editorial boards. 77 , 78

Research must be accessible to a global audience. By conceptualizing ourselves as a truly global community and removing the spatial connotations of “global health,” we can move toward research that is equitable and reflexive 79 —that is, critically reflective upon the scientific enterprise and how knowledge is produced. Efforts are needed to disseminate high-quality science across the globe and respectfully engage and amplify international expertise and local voices. To achieve this, we need models for sustainable and equitable publishing models into the future.

L.A., J.F., S.F.H., R.H., I.H, C.M., and S.N. contributed equally.

Supplementary material is available at Health Affairs Scholar online.

K.A.P. received partial grant funding for this work from the National Human Genome Research Institute (no. R01 HG011792).

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88 Healthcare Policy Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best healthcare policy topic ideas & essay examples.

• ⭐ Simple & Easy Healthcare Policy Essay Titles

💡 Good Essay Topics on Healthcare Policy

📌 most interesting healthcare policy topics to write about.

• Advanced Practice Nurses: Impact of Healthcare Policy and Advocacy The healthcare policy can also dictate the approach used in compensating the APNs, thus affecting the attractiveness of the job. It influences policy change by making the followers commit to a new strategy that the […]
• Health Care Policies: Maintaining a Healthy Nation The first consideration is the functions of the criminal law, and the extent to which this policy will help in reducing or preventing HIV transmission.
• Healthcare Policies in Nursing Informatics In this context, nurses aid in the technological transformation of the healthcare delivery system, particularly in the effective and efficient HIT deployment.
• Health and Social Care Practice and Policy It should begin by evaluating the effectiveness of the current initiatives in attaining various outcomes: William Burns can access health services with the equal quality as the other people and sleeping rough on health to […]
• The Health Care Policy Problems and Suggestions The health care policy presented in this paper looks at health care as a public policy that is pertinent to a country’s achievement of its vision.
• The Replacement for the ACA Healthcare Insurance Policy For example, the AHCA policy allows a waiver of the ACA’s healthcare provision for societal rating and enables the federal government to charge patients more capital regarding the payment of premiums.
• Healthcare Policies and Delivery To gain a better perspective of the healthcare policy and regulations within the organization, an interview with the Chief Nursing Officer was conducted. According to the CNO, the organization is explicitly dependent on the healthcare […]
• A Healthcare Public Policy Meeting on Number of Doctors The Committee thought it was crucial to gather all the information regarding the number of physicians needed by hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
• Johns Hopkins Healthcare: Policy Evaluation The survey for the patients to determine if the policy was appropriate for their Medicare plans is one of the measures used for evaluation.
• Healthcare Policy. S. 3799: Prevent Pandemics Act Among the threats to national security in the sphere of citizens’ health, the risks of complications of the epidemiological situation against the background of the unfavorable situation in foreign countries for a number of dangerous […]
• New Health Care Transparency Requirements: Policy Health Brief Access to this data is helpful to policymakers for identifying individuals and entities responsible for increasing the cost of health care.
• Standard of Care Delivery and Health Care Policies The providers believe that the services remunerated for are reasonable and correspond to the care offered to the clients. Moreover, they are confident the structures, procedures, and guidelines that are in place guarantee effective and […]
• Detailed Description of Healthcare Policy Bill This is due to the fact that from the very beginning of the increasing tendency of the human immunodeficiency virus widespread, people who became infected by this illness are not only physically but also mentally […]
• Health Care Policy Development The impact of climate change reduction on the health care delivery system and the existing higher occurrence of asthmatic diseases in the US can be tremendous.
• Healthcare Policy Overview and Analysis If the LCR mandated annual water testing in all schools, these schools would have discovered the health risk and taken appropriate measures to counter the effects. The LCR should mandate annual testing, reporting, and mitigation […]
• Steer, Not Row Concept of Healthcare Policy This ideology refuses to recognize the role of the clearly societal factors on people’s continual ability to enjoy the ‘fruits of civilization’ while proposing that the task of ensuring the continuation of socio-economic progress is […]
• Health Care Policy: HPV Vaccination It is important that these actors among others play a big role in influencing formulation of health policy. In this regard, it is necessary that content is marched up to its objectives of health policy.
• Self Evaluation: Healthcare Policy & Planning But upon enrollment and active participation in this course, I have benefited a great deal in not only evaluating the policy implications of healthcare legislation, but also in understanding ways through which I can undertake […]
• Evaluation of a Healthcare Policy Analysis This development has caused some legislators to question whether it is right for the federal government to continue funding the organization because it is unlawful for the government to finance abortion services.
• Development of Health Care Policies To begin with, the consultation process is carried out to define the benefits and shortcomings of the strategy. Constant monitoring of the results of the already adopted reforms is also necessary to define whether they […]
• Health Care Policy: Senate Bill 94 Allowing advanced practice registered nurses to order radiographic imaging tests is identified as the current healthcare policy issue in Georgia. It was intended to remove the barrier provided in the Georgia statutes that restricts APRNs […]
• TRICARE Health Care Policy Analysis Tricare has other services like Prime remote and Overseas that cater for service members when they are in areas not accessible to the care.
• U.S. Health Care Policy on Counterfeit Drugs These are pharmaceutical products produced and sold with the intention of misrepresenting their active ingredients, efficacy, safety, and authenticity. These include the pharmaceutical products, which are produced and approved in the U.

⭐ Simple & Easy Healthcare Policy Essay

• Goals of Healthcare Policy and Prevention of Epidemic A Healthcare policy refers to a statement of a decision about a goal in healthcare. War torn areas such as Afghanistan and Somalia are some of the main targets of the current healthcare policy.
• Healthcare: Policy Implementation and Modification Since the enactment of the Medicare Policy Act in 1965, the act has undergone several amendments in a bid to improve the level of accessibility and quality of health insurance coverage to all Americans.
• Healthcare Policy and Affordable Care Act: Four Key Issues As reported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States has the largest nursing workforce in the world, and yet it does not meet its residents’ demands.
• Promotoras’ Role in Healthcare and Social Policies Several people discuss promotoras serving as liaisons between communities and agencies, analyzing health and social issues, as well as motivating and informing the residents to participate in resolving said issues.
• Healthcare Responses in Health Policy: Reducing Disparities in Access to Health Care The issue of the Action Plan from the Department of Health and Human Services that consisted of the lack of activities’ specifications seems to be reasonable.
• Healthcare Reform in Modern Conditions: New Health Policy A healthcare reform in modern conditions is an integral part of the transformation of the social sphere as a whole and the general process of transformation of the American society.
• Affordable Care Act: Healthcare Policy Position The history of a single-payer system in the US is long and it dates back to the times of President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s when he proposed the adoption of a universal healthcare plan […]
• Trump’s Contributions to Healthcare Policy Also, Trump’s contributions to the healthcare system are strictly related to Medicaid services and the costs of insurance plans, but he has not managed to fulfill all of his goals yet.
• Clinton’s Plan and Obamacare: Healthcare Policy In September 1993, the president gave a major speech on health care in the US Congress, where he introduced the parts of the healthcare reform, including a mandate for employers, which forced them to cover […]
• Healthcare Policy Analysis: Outbreak of Flu in Illinois The seriousness of the problem is obvious, and it is necessary to work on the prevention of such statistics in the future.
• Health Care Policy and Regulations in the United States As for the significance of the chosen policy issue, it can be listed among the key problems of the United States as income inequality in the country has significantly increased since the end of the […]
• Health Care Policy in Political Discourse However, the first article of the Constitution gives all the legislative power to the Senate and the House of Representatives. The article describes that the certificate-of-need laws that the federal government wants to repeal were […]
• Florida Healthcare System: Policy Planning, Assessment, Evaluation, and Corrective Measures The changes in government revenue pattern and rates are majorly attributed to economic patterns, which affect the stability and financial power of the government and the changes in health care system as well as its […]
• Issues of the Health Care Policy in the USA It is also quite important to note that most of the establishments in the Healthcare industry are offices, which have been established for health practitioners such as dentists, physicians and doctors, among others.
• Health Care as an Essential Public Policy On the broader spectrum, huge expenditures on health care systems are directly related to the life’s satisfaction derived by individuals and the general public, the generational effects being the baseline of the benefits of the […]
• Economic Terms and Healthcare History: Policies to Enhance Access to Healthcare This has led to the evolution of healthcare economics as the costs for accessing medication shift from one sector of the economy to the other. Macroeconomics relates to the expenditure of the government and the […]
• Healthcare and Legal Issues: Containment Policies and Its Rates of Efficiency More to the point, the people in the given area will be unable to acquire information concerning the current status of the disease and the existing treatment methods.
• The Health Care Policy in the United Kingdom The main principles of the National Health Service are to provide healthcare services to all people, and this means all the medical services that the resident of the United Kingdom might need.
• Analyzing the Healthcare Policy – Personal Protective Equipment
• Are Remittances Good for Your Health? Remittances and Nepal’s National Healthcare Policy
• Linking Congressional Committees and Healthcare Policy
• Defining Health and Identifying Influences on Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Advocacy and Its Impact on Healthcare Policy
• The Relationships Between Healthcare Policy and Economics
• Healthcare Policy Affecting Access, Cost, and Quality
• The Relations Between Healthcare Policy and Finance
• Healthcare Policy and Complications in the United States
• Overview of Healthcare Policy and Improvement of Patient Care
• Healthcare Policy and Economics of the Field of Nursing
• Analysis of Healthcare Policy and Its Effectiveness
• Assessing Quality of the Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Policy and Regulations on Healthcare
• Importance of Healthcare Policy and Healthcare Financing
• Healthcare Policy Bill and Changes to Medicare
• How Healthcare Policy Influences the Working of the Nurses
• Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Regulatory Environments
• Market Competition: Implications for Healthcare Policy in the United States
• Healthcare Policy Issue and Nursing Strategies
• Population-Level Intervention and Information Collection in Dynamic Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Policy Report: Medicares New Benefits Catastrophic Health Insurance
• Relationship Between Healthcare Policy, Regulations, and Finance
• Overview of Service Development and Healthcare Policy
• The Complicated Healthcare Policy in the United States
• The Current Healthcare Policy: A Stable Healthcare System
• The International Healthcare Policy Health and Social Care
• Why the American Healthcare Policy Needs a Reform
• Development of Healthcare Policy Since 1945 as a Result of Welfare Ideologies
• American Healthcare Policies and Nursing Role
• Childhood Vaccination as a Healthcare Priority Policy Issue
• Nurses and Their Role in New Healthcare Policy
• Long-Term Care Facilities and Healthcare Policy
• Overview of Healthcare Policy in Mercy Miami Hospital
• Healthcare Policy and Pfizer’s Nigeria Scandal
• Patient Good Nutrition as a Healthcare Policy
• Advocacy in Nursing: The Process of Healthcare Policymaking
• Malnutrition and Patient Safety Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Policy Effects on Individuals: Affordable Care Act
• Occupational Health Paper Topics
• Affordable Care Act Essay Titles
• Government Regulation Titles
• Health Insurance Research Topics
• Pharmacy Research Ideas
• Nursing Theory Questions
• Obamacare Questions
• Alcohol Abuse Paper Topics
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IvyPanda . "88 Healthcare Policy Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." February 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/healthcare-policy-essay-topics/.

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• What is Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR)?

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Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is an emerging 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. By nature, it is inter-disciplinary, a blend of economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, public health and epidemiology that together draw a comprehensive picture of how health systems respond and adapt to health policies, and how health policies can shape − and be shaped by − health systems and the broader determinants of health.

Health policy and systems research can be employed at several points in the policy cycle, from getting an issue onto the policy agenda to evaluating and learning from implemented policies. In this way, HPSR is characterized not by any particular methodology, but the types of questions it addresses. It focuses primarily upon the more upstream aspects of health, organizations and policies, rather than clinical or preventive services or basic scientific research (for example into cell or molecular structures). It covers a wide range of questions − from financing to governance − and issues surrounding implementation of services and delivery of care in both the public and private sectors. It is a crucial policy analysis tool − of both policies and processes − including the role, interests and values of key actors at local, national and global levels.

The appropriate mix of disciplines to be used in HPSR depends largely on the nature of the research question being addressed. An evaluation of a health insurance scheme might draw upon economics to understand the financial consequences of the scheme and its impact upon demand for services, anthropology to understand various socio-cultural and organizational aspects as well as patterns of consumption, and epidemiology to understand its health consequences.

HPSR and the building blocks of a health system

HPSR can address any or several of the health systems building blocks (see graphic) and their ultimate objective to promote the coverage, quality, efficiency and equity of health systems. In doing so, it acknowledges the inherent connections and dynamics among the different building blocks in assessing and understanding how interventions might play out across them. It also seeks to unpack the behaviour, reactions, and interconnectedness of health systems and the people within those systems. The way HPSR conceptualizes and analyzes these interactions helps to illuminate not only what works, but for whom, and under what circumstances.

Linking health policy with health systems research

Why health policy and health systems research? Why are these two different domains fused into one? While seemingly separate − with health policy research principally studying how different actors interact in the policy and implementation processes and contribute to policy outcomes, and health systems research addressing questions such as the coverage, quality, efficiency and equity of health systems − the two have clear and multiple synergies:

• Health policies are subject to political processes that govern health systems. Understanding these processes is not only critical in the design of effective policies, but in the creation of evidence to inform those policies. Health policies and health systems are not separate entities: HPSR is a recognition that everything is connected.
• Understanding the processes and dynamics of health systems can directly inform policy- and decision-making.
• Active linkage and exchange between health system researchers, decision-makers and other research-users promotes evidence-informed policy and policy-informed research.
• A systems perspective is critical in evaluating and learning from implemented policies
• Removing both from their silos builds the capacities of key actors in health policy, in health systems research, and creates actors versed and able in both.

WHO Strategy on Health Policy and Systems Research

The WHO Strategy on Health Policy and Systems Research, Changing Mindsets, advocates for greater generation and use of research evidence in health policy...

Health Policy and Systems Research

Health Policy and Systems Research - A Methodology Reader is a collection of high quality papers that demonstrates the application of different health...

World Report on Health Policy and Systems Research

The report describes the evolution of the field and provides figures on the number of publications produced, funding trends and institutional capacity...

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76 Healthcare Policy Essay Topics

🏆 best essay topics on healthcare policy, ✍️ healthcare policy essay topics for college, 👍 good healthcare policy research topics & essay examples, 🎓 most interesting healthcare policy research titles.

• “The Importance of Healthcare Policy and Procedures”: The Significance of Policy
• Healthcare Collection Policies and Procedures
• First Steps on Becoming a Grassroots Lobbyist or Advocate for Health Care Policy
• Advocacy in Nursing: The Process of Healthcare Policymaking
• Healthcare Policy Change Implementation Plan
• Childhood Vaccination as Healthcare Priority Policy Issue
• Healthcare Organizations: Health Policy in Japan
• Advanced Practice Nurse: Healthcare Policy The paper states that advanced practice nurses could be a powerful asset to a medical organization and enhance the quality of provided healthcare.
• Health Care Policy: Eliminating Systemic Racism The paper states that the policy can be considered a stepping stone for meaningful change in eliminating systemic racism from the healthcare industry.
• Healthcare Policy Evaluation in the US vs. Mexico The implementation of healthcare programs aims to benefit the entire public. This paper seeks to evaluate the healthcare policy on central-line-associated bloodstream infection.
• Health Care Policy for Veterans With Mental Illness The paper discusses The National Research Action Plan as the current policy designed in 2013 to improve the health services for veterans, service members, and their families.
• The Significance of Healthcare Policy Healthcare policies significantly influence the quality of service rendered among patients since it is attributed to practitioners’ proficiency.
• Health Care Fraud and Abuse Policies Fraud and abuse are concerning issues in the healthcare industry that involve unlawful billing practices and prohibited commercial arrangements.
• Healthcare Policy Influences: COVID-19 Pandemic The research indicates that the impactful aspect of the economy of a nation became the most prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Healthcare Policy: Affordable Healthcare Act In 2010, President Barack Obama implemented the Affordable Care Act, which strived to provide access to medical services for most Americans.
• ABC Hospital: Health Care Policy This is the policy of the ABC Hospital’s radiology department to provide safe conditions for the patients and personnel connected to radiological procedures within the facility.
• PPACA: Healthcare Policy Analysis This paper explores and analyses the health care policy under the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
• Bush, Obama, and Trump: Healthcare Policy The following reflection will discuss how Bush, Obama, and Trump addressed the issues connected to AIDS and HIV.
• Healthcare System Financing Policy Systems for financing healthcare are critical towards attaining health coverage universally. Raising funds can finance healthcare while focusing on significant barriers reduction.
• The Importance of Health Care Policy in Society Health law, policies, and constitutional law are essential to society but when a conflict arises between the systems, it may cause complications in a patient’s health.
• Health Care: Public Policy Decisions As far as the value of human life is concerned, no dollar value can be placed on it. This can be attributed to an increase in the cost of health care.
• National Dialogue on Healthcare Policies The national dialogue on healthcare policy provides a forum for physician-industry collaboration and discussion of critical issues to provide a way forward on emerging issues.
• Healthcare Policy and Law Discussion Recap This paper is a revisit of the health care law to respond to certain raising issues regarding medical policies and legal regulations.
• Media in Healthcare Sector and Policy Speaking about the role of media in the relations between the healthcare sector and policy, one could say that it tends to revolve around various drawbacks peculiar to the given sector.
• Are Nurses Becoming Influential in Health Care Policymaking? Many people associate politics with the government and political aspirants. However, politics exists in the healthcare systems.
• The Healthcare Policy in the United States This essay looks at the current state of healthcare policies and the suitability of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
• Impact of Healthcare Policy Changes on Health Delivery Medical care systems are formed in order to meet medical. This paper will focus on the impact of the healthcare changes in the past and current health care delivery.
• Healthcare Policy: Quality vs. Restrained Costs Trying to balance the healthcare budget while at the same time providing high-quality health services is a huge and challenging task for the US government.
• Summary of My Health Care Policy Healthcare is a vital constituent in society. My healthcare policy entails the infusion of quality and affordability through increasing the availability of care processes.
• Healthcare Dashboards: Potential Policies The function of dashboards has been expanding in the well-being area. They need to balance the visual viewpoints and the contained data to be essential for choice help.
• The Healthcare Policy: Bill H.R. 3340 The bill will contribute to developing nurses’ ability to demonstrate cultural competence towards patients with different values, beliefs, and feelings.
• Competing Interests in a Health Care Policy The selected issue is in the area of health care policy, as competing interests play a major role in the formulation of a health care policy.
• Health Care Policy and Nurse Practitioner Practice Thus, this paper aims at explaining the meaning of health care policy and how it can impact the nurse practitioner practice.
• Health Care Policy and Procedure Development Despite the new technologies implementation hospitals face the issue of elaborating on the process of patient transition from one care setting to another manually.
• US Healthcare Policy: Obama’s Healthcare Reform President Barak Obama has a hard task ahead in making sure that the health situation of the country is addressed.
• Healthcare Policy and Nursing: Affordable Care Act Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as a healthcare improvement initiative addresses multiple steps aimed at increased insurance and promotion of self-care
• Home-Based Healthcare Policy and Clinical Practice The analysis of home-based healthcare service can help to consider this approach in detail and identify potential gaps with the goal of eliminating and avoiding them.
• Healthcare Policy Issues: Health Equity One of the main healthcare policy issues that are currently in need of addressing is health equity (HE) (American Public Health Association).
• Nurse Activist: Healthcare Policy and Advocacy Nursing professionals have become empowered to make decisions and question decisions of other healthcare professionals as well as policymakers.
• Healthcare Policy Effects on Individual: Affordable Care Act This paper considers the effects of healthcare policy on individuals and policymaking implications using the example of the Affordable Care Act.
• Health Care Policy: Florida House Bill 1277 The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze the data related to HB 1277 as a healthcare policy-priority issue for Florida and conclude regarding its importance for nursing.
• Healthcare Policy, Leadership and Performance The paper identifies the healthcare policy priority, approach for communicating with a policymaker, and discusses leadership and performance of healthcare systems.
• Health Technologies in Healthcare Policy The selected public policy for this discussion is the use of health technologies in healthcare. Medical technologies and informatics are currently impacting the quality of medical care.
• Patient Good Nutrition as a Healthcare Policy The paper identifies patient healthy nutrition as prioritized healthcare policy and defines an approach for communicating with a policymaker regarding this policy.
• Healthcare Policy and Pfizer’s Nigeria Scandal The case of Pfizer’s scandal in Nigeria raises numerous ethical questions. The company was engaged in a number of research malpractices.
• Healthcare Reform Policies in the United States Health care reform is an ongoing process whose aim is to transform or improve the quality of services available to different populations.
• High-Quality Healthcare Access: Policy Change The selected policy change revolves around reinforcing the role of nurses as leaders to support the delivery of high-quality medical services to patients.
• Health Care Policy in Mercy Miami Hospital This work is an interview with the employees at Mercy Miami Hospital, where underlines the importance of cultural differences as one of the main strengths of the organization.
• Long-Term Care Facilities and Healthcare Policy The services included in long-term care are very diverse and involve such forms of care as assisted living, ADC (adult day health care), homemaker services, and nursing home care.
• Health Care System: Cost Control Policy The main essence of the Michigan policy is that traditional payments for standard medical services are taken into account.
• Malnutrition and Patient Safety Healthcare Policy The paper considers patient safety as the health care policy issue of high priority. Especially, it focuses on poor nutrition as the neglected aspect of patient safety.
• Medicaid and Michigan Healthcare Policy Medicaid is a program for medical insurance for all ages Americans with a low income funded not only by the federal but also a state government.
• Nurses and New Health Care Policy Nursing roles have been already increased and developed considerably, and each new function is the possibility to improve health care for patients and speed up care delivery.
• American Healthcare Policies and Nursing Role As the present case demonstrates, it is not always evident for nurses how the process of policy-making develops and correlates with public health stakeholders’ consideration.
• Healthcare Advocacy and Its Impact on Healthcare Policy
• Congressional Committees and Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Policy Affecting Access, Cost, and Quality
• What Is Health Policy and What Role Does It Play in Nursing?
• Defining Health and Identifying Influences on Healthcare Policy
• What Is the Current Healthcare Policy in the US?
• The Current Trends and Challenges Within the Healthcare Systems
• Healthcare Policy and Improve Patient Care
• What Is an Example of a Health Policy?
• Healthcare Policy and Complications in the United States
• Population-level Intervention and Information Collection in Dynamic Healthcare Policy
• Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Regulatory Environments
• Market Competition: Implications for Healthcare Policy in the United States
• The Importance of Healthcare Policy and Procedures
• Healthcare Policy: What Is It and Why Is It Important?
• What Is the Most Effective Healthcare System?
• Healthcare Policy Bill and Changes to the Medicare
• What Is the Purpose of a Health Policy?
• Factors Influencing Nurse’s Participation in the Health Policy-making Process
• Healthcare Policy and Economics in the Field of Nursing

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StudyCorgi. (2022, July 14). 76 Healthcare Policy Essay Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/healthcare-policy-essay-topics/

"76 Healthcare Policy Essay Topics." StudyCorgi , 14 July 2022, studycorgi.com/ideas/healthcare-policy-essay-topics/.

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StudyCorgi . "76 Healthcare Policy Essay Topics." July 14, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/healthcare-policy-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2022. "76 Healthcare Policy Essay Topics." July 14, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/healthcare-policy-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Healthcare Policy were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on June 22, 2024 .

Healthcare Research Paper Topics

In this page, we provide a comprehensive list of healthcare research paper topics , expert advice on selecting compelling topics, guidance on writing an impactful research paper, and information about iResearchNet’s writing services. By exploring these resources, students in the health sciences field can choose relevant and significant healthcare research paper topics, develop their papers effectively, and access professional writing assistance to excel in their academic endeavors.

100 Healthcare Research Paper Topics

The field of healthcare research encompasses a vast array of topics that are crucial for understanding, improving, and transforming healthcare practices. As students in the health sciences, you have the opportunity to explore these diverse areas and contribute to the knowledge base of healthcare research. This comprehensive list aims to inspire and guide you in selecting healthcare research paper topics that align with your interests and academic goals. The topics are divided into ten distinct categories, each containing ten thought-provoking and relevant research ideas. Let this list serve as a springboard for your exploration and a catalyst for impactful research in the dynamic field of healthcare.

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1. Healthcare Policy and Management

• The Impact of Health Policies on Access to Care
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Health Insurance Programs
• Analyzing the Role of Healthcare Leadership in Quality Improvement
• Exploring Strategies for Healthcare Cost Containment
• Investigating the Relationship Between Healthcare Regulations and Patient Outcomes
• Evaluating the Impact of Electronic Health Records on Healthcare Delivery
• Examining the Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Healthcare
• Analyzing the Influence of Political Factors on Healthcare Decision-Making
• Assessing the Ethical Implications of Resource Allocation in Healthcare
• Investigating the Effectiveness of Health Promotion Programs in Primary Care Settings

2. Healthcare Ethics and Legal Issues

• Analyzing the Ethical Challenges of Healthcare Research Involving Human Subjects
• Exploring the Impact of Cultural and Religious Beliefs on Healthcare Decision-Making
• Examining Legal Issues in End-of-Life Care and Advance Directives
• Investigating the Ethical Implications of Genetic Testing and Personalized Medicine
• Assessing the Ethical Dilemmas in Access to Experimental Treatments
• Exploring the Role of Ethics Committees in Healthcare Organizations
• Analyzing the Intersection of Healthcare Ethics and Artificial Intelligence
• Evaluating the Legal and Ethical Implications of Telemedicine
• Investigating the Ethics of Healthcare Resource Allocation during Public Health Emergencies
• Examining the Legal and Ethical Issues of Patient Privacy in the Digital Age

3. Healthcare Technology and Innovation

• Assessing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Diagnostics
• Exploring the Potential of Wearable Devices for Remote Patient Monitoring
• Investigating the Role of Big Data Analytics in Healthcare Decision-Making
• Analyzing the Use of Robotics in Surgery and Patient Care
• Examining the Impact of Telehealth on Healthcare Access and Delivery
• Evaluating the Benefits and Challenges of Electronic Health Records Implementation
• Exploring the Applications of Virtual Reality in Healthcare Education and Training
• Investigating the Role of Mobile Health Applications in Health Behavior Change
• Assessing the Potential of Blockchain Technology in Healthcare Data Security
• Analyzing the Ethical and Social Implications of Genetic Engineering in Healthcare

4. Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety

• Evaluating the Impact of Patient-Centered Care on Health Outcomes
• Analyzing the Role of Quality Improvement Initiatives in Reducing Medical Errors
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Medication Safety Practices in Healthcare Settings
• Exploring Strategies to Improve Healthcare Communication and Interprofessional Collaboration
• Investigating the Relationship Between Nursing Workforce and Patient Safety
• Examining the Impact of Clinical Practice Guidelines on Healthcare Quality
• Analyzing the Role of Patient Engagement in Enhancing Healthcare Quality
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Lean Six Sigma in Healthcare Process Improvement
• Exploring the Role of Health Information Technology in Enhancing Patient Safety
• Investigating the Influence of Organizational Culture on Healthcare Quality and Safety

5. Mental Health and Psychological Well-being

• Analyzing the Impact of Stigma on Mental Health Help-Seeking Behavior
• Exploring the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy Approaches in Treating Mental Health Disorders
• Assessing the Role of Early Intervention in Preventing Mental Health Disorders
• Investigating the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health Outcomes
• Examining the Intersection of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders
• Evaluating the Impact of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Psychological Well-being
• Exploring the Role of Social Support in Mental Health Recovery
• Analyzing the Effectiveness of Mental Health Awareness Campaigns
• Investigating the Influence of Cultural Factors on Mental Health Help-Seeking Behavior
• Examining the Mental Health Needs and Challenges among Specific Populations (e.g., LGBTQ+, Veterans, Refugees)

6. Chronic Diseases and their Management

• Assessing the Impact of Lifestyle Factors on Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
• Exploring the Role of Community-Based Interventions in Chronic Disease Control
• Investigating the Relationship Between Social Determinants of Health and Chronic Disease Burden
• Analyzing the Use of Digital Health Technologies in Chronic Disease Management
• Examining the Impact of Health Literacy on Chronic Disease Outcomes
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Self-Management Programs for Chronic Conditions
• Exploring the Role of Healthcare Providers in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
• Analyzing the Impact of Health Policies on Chronic Disease Prevention Efforts
• Investigating the Relationship Between Mental Health and Chronic Disease Management
• Examining the Disparities in Access to Chronic Disease Care and Treatment

7. Healthcare Disparities and Access to Care

• Analyzing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare Access and Quality
• Exploring the Role of Socioeconomic Factors in Healthcare Disparities
• Assessing the Impact of Geographic Location on Healthcare Access and Health Outcomes
• Investigating Gender Disparities in Healthcare Utilization and Treatment
• Examining the Influence of Health Insurance Status on Healthcare Disparities
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Culturally Competent Care in Reducing Disparities
• Exploring the Relationship Between Language Barriers and Healthcare Access
• Analyzing the Impact of Implicit Bias on Healthcare Disparities
• Investigating the Role of Health Literacy in Healthcare Disparities
• Examining the Disparities in Mental Health Services and Access to Mental Healthcare

8. Healthcare Education and Training

• Assessing the Effectiveness of Simulation-Based Training in Healthcare Education
• Exploring the Role of Interprofessional Education in Improving Collaborative Practice
• Investigating the Impact of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Healthcare Education
• Analyzing the Use of Gamification in Healthcare Training and Skill Development
• Examining the Role of Continuing Education in Enhancing Healthcare Providers’ Competence
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Mentorship Programs in Healthcare Education
• Exploring Strategies to Address Cultural Competence in Healthcare Education
• Analyzing the Role of Reflective Practice in Healthcare Professional Development
• Investigating the Use of Team-Based Learning in Healthcare Education
• Examining the Impact of Experiential Learning in Healthcare Training Programs

9. Public Health and Preventive Medicine

• Assessing the Impact of Vaccination Programs on Public Health Outcomes
• Exploring the Role of Health Promotion Campaigns in Preventing Non-communicable Diseases
• Investigating the Effectiveness of Community-Based Interventions in Disease Prevention
• Analyzing the Impact of Environmental Factors on Public Health
• Examining the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Health Disparities
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Health Policies in Tobacco Control
• Exploring Strategies for Preventing and Managing Infectious Diseases
• Analyzing the Role of Health Education in Promoting Healthy Lifestyles
• Investigating the Influence of Media on Public Health Perceptions and Behaviors
• Examining the Challenges and Opportunities in Global Health Initiatives

10. Emerging Topics in Healthcare Research

• Assessing the Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
• Exploring the Role of Precision Medicine in Personalized Healthcare
• Investigating the Impact of Genomic Research on Healthcare Delivery
• Analyzing the Use of Telemedicine in Rural and Underserved Areas
• Examining the Integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine in Healthcare
• Evaluating the Potential of Digital Therapeutics in Disease Management
• Exploring the Ethical Considerations of Gene Editing Technologies in Healthcare
• Analyzing the Influence of Social Media on Healthcare Decision-Making
• Investigating the Role of Health Information Exchange in Coordinated Care
• Examining the Implications of Health Equity in Healthcare Research and Practice

This comprehensive list of healthcare research paper topics encompasses a wide range of areas within the healthcare field. Each category offers diverse research ideas that can inspire students in the health sciences to explore pressing issues, propose innovative solutions, and contribute to the advancement of healthcare knowledge. Whether you are interested in healthcare policy, ethics, technology, mental health, chronic diseases, healthcare disparities, education, public health, or emerging healthcare research paper topics, this list serves as a valuable resource to kickstart your research journey. Choose a topic that resonates with you, aligns with your academic goals, and enables you to make a meaningful impact in the field of healthcare research. Remember, the pursuit of knowledge and the drive to improve healthcare practices are at the heart of your journey as a student in the health sciences.

Choosing Healthcare Research Paper Topics

Choosing the right healthcare research paper topic is a crucial step in conducting a successful and impactful study. With the vast array of healthcare issues and areas to explore, it can be challenging to narrow down your focus. To help you navigate this process effectively, we have compiled expert advice and ten essential tips for selecting compelling healthcare research paper topics. Consider these insights as you embark on your research journey in the dynamic field of healthcare:

• Follow Your Passion : Choose a topic that genuinely interests you. Passion and enthusiasm will drive your motivation, ensuring that you remain engaged throughout the research process.
• Stay Informed : Keep up with the latest healthcare trends, emerging issues, and ongoing debates. Stay informed through reputable sources, academic journals, conferences, and professional networks to identify current and relevant research gaps.
• Identify a Research Gap : Conduct a thorough literature review to identify areas where there is a need for further research. Look for unanswered questions, controversies, or gaps in knowledge that you can address in your study.
• Consider Relevance and Significance : Choose a topic that is relevant to current healthcare challenges or contributes to improving healthcare practices, policies, or patient outcomes. Aim for a topic that has real-world implications and societal impact.
• Delve into Specific Areas : Narrow down your focus by selecting a specific aspect or subtopic within the broad field of healthcare. This allows for a more focused and in-depth analysis of the chosen area.
• Consult with Your Advisor or Faculty : Seek guidance from your research advisor or faculty members who specialize in healthcare research. They can provide valuable insights, help you refine your topic, and direct you to relevant literature and resources.
• Brainstorm with Peers : Engage in discussions with your peers and classmates to explore different perspectives and gain inspiration. Collaborative brainstorming sessions can generate new ideas and offer fresh insights.
• Consider Ethical Considerations : Take ethical considerations into account when selecting a healthcare research topic. Ensure that your research adheres to ethical guidelines and respects the rights and privacy of participants, especially in studies involving human subjects.
• Think Interdisciplinary : Consider interdisciplinary approaches to healthcare research. Explore how other disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, economics, or technology, intersect with healthcare, providing a broader perspective and enhancing the depth of your research.
• Feasibility and Available Resources : Assess the feasibility of your chosen topic, considering the resources, time, and data availability required for your research. Ensure that you have access to relevant data sources, research tools, and necessary support to carry out your study effectively.

By following these expert tips, you will be equipped to choose a healthcare research paper topic that aligns with your interests, is relevant to current healthcare challenges, and has the potential to make a meaningful impact in the field. Remember, selecting the right topic sets the foundation for a successful research endeavor, allowing you to contribute to the advancement of healthcare knowledge and practices.

How to Write a Healthcare Research Paper

Writing a healthcare research paper requires careful planning, organization, and attention to detail. To help you navigate the intricacies of the writing process, we have compiled ten essential tips to guide you towards crafting a well-written and impactful healthcare research paper. Follow these expert recommendations to enhance the quality and effectiveness of your research paper:

• Develop a Clear Research Question : Start by formulating a clear and concise research question that will serve as the central focus of your paper. Ensure that your question is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
• Conduct a Thorough Literature Review : Before diving into your research, conduct a comprehensive literature review to familiarize yourself with existing knowledge on the topic. Identify key theories, concepts, methodologies, and gaps in the literature that your research aims to address.
• Create a Solid Research Design : Design a robust research plan that aligns with your research question. Define your study population, sampling strategy, data collection methods, and statistical analyses. A well-designed research plan enhances the validity and reliability of your findings.
• Collect and Analyze Data : Implement your data collection methods, ensuring ethical considerations and adherence to research protocols. Once collected, analyze the data using appropriate statistical techniques and tools. Provide a clear description of your analytical methods.
• Structure your Paper Effectively : Organize your research paper into logical sections, including an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Use headings and subheadings to enhance readability and guide the reader through your paper.
• Write a Compelling Introduction : Start your paper with a strong introduction that captures the reader’s attention and provides a concise overview of the research topic, objectives, and significance. Clearly state your research question and the rationale for your study.
• Present Clear and Concise Results : Present your research findings in a clear and concise manner. Use tables, graphs, and figures where appropriate to enhance the readability of your results. Provide a comprehensive interpretation of the results, highlighting key findings and their implications.
• Engage in Critical Analysis and Discussion : Analyze and interpret your findings in the context of existing literature. Discuss the strengths and limitations of your study, addressing potential biases or confounders. Consider alternative explanations and provide a thoughtful discussion of the implications of your findings.
• Follow Proper Citation and Referencing Guidelines : Adhere to the appropriate citation style (such as APA, MLA, or Chicago) consistently throughout your paper. Cite all sources accurately and include a comprehensive list of references at the end of your paper.
• Revise and Edit : Before finalizing your research paper, revise and edit it thoroughly. Pay attention to clarity, coherence, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Ensure that your arguments flow logically and that your paper is well-structured and cohesive.

By following these tips, you will be well-equipped to write a high-quality healthcare research paper that effectively communicates your findings, contributes to the existing knowledge in the field, and engages readers with your insights and conclusions. Remember to seek feedback from your peers, professors, or research advisors to further refine your paper and ensure its overall excellence.

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138 Healthcare Policy Research Topics & Essay Examples

📝 healthcare policy research papers examples, 💡 essay ideas on healthcare policy, 🏆 best healthcare policy essay titles, 🎓 simple research topics about healthcare policy, ❓ healthcare policy research questions.

• Health and Healthcare Policy The patient’s expectation on public services is a central issue among public sector decision makers to curb challenges faced in the health sector.
• Public Health Policy Emergency Preparedness and Response Public health is concerned with issues that affect the nation’s population. It aims at assisting people to live healthy lives and protecting them from the dangers of their health.
• The Health Insurance Policy Concept Health policy is a complex of decisions and actions which are focused on the health improvement within the society. Controlling the costs remains one of the most important issues.
• Health Policy in the USA The US has been diversifying the qualification and expertise of its medical staff to ensure that they are competent enough to provide the nation with high quality health care services.
• UK Women's Cervical Cancer Prevention Policies The paper describes policies developed in the UK to prevent cervical cancer among adult women and measures to improve the health and wellbeing of women diagnosed with the disease.
• Nursing Accountability as an Institutional Policy The professional nursing accountability act is an institutional policy that defines, highlights, and facilitates the use of financial resources in healthcare provision.
• Patient Safety Standards and Healthcare Policies This letter to the President is about the need to include patient safety standards in the new law as a critical issue for the representatives of the general public.
• Health Policy and the Advanced Practice Role Advance practice nurses are highly educated professionals who have an opportunity to practice independently without a physician's presence, as they have received required clinical training.
• Obamacare and Future Healthcare Policies in the US The future of health policies in the United States is a topic that has been actively discussed over the last few years.
• Mental Health Policy and Its Stakeholders When considering the policy for mental health awareness training for a correctional institution, the obvious stakeholders include the staff and management.
• Medication Ordering Policy in Florida In Florida State, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners has been restricted in their practice due to the inability to write prescriptions for controlled substances.
• Medication Ordering Policy for Florida Nurses This essay outlines Florida Senate Bill 0210 about giving ARNPs and PAs the right to prescribe controlled substances, and Bill 152 focused on their authority to order medications.
• Obesity Healthcare Policy Presentation The implementation of obesity healthcare policy is a significant step in eliminating the spread of this serious healthcare problem.
• Zika-Free Florida: Health Policies and Their Effects Zika virus remains a major concern for Florida healthcare. 42 instances of Zika virus contraction have been registered in the U.S. in 2018.
• Motorcycle Helmet Law as Public Health Policy The introduction of the motorcycle helmet law in Illinois will have a beneficial impact on public health in the state.
• Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse An advanced practice nurse fulfills a variety of roles related to clinical practice as well as research, education, and management, all of which contribute to the improvement of care.
• Climate Change as Health Determinant: Policy Brief Different stakeholders such as politicians, administrators, and community members should collaborate to develop powerful plans to deal with the problem of climate change.
• Obesity and Related Healthcare Policy Concern Obesity is a problem that bothers millions of people around the whole world. The policy to combat obesity is characterized by a number of positive issues.
• Motorcycle Helmet Healthcare Policy in Illinois Healthcare legislation enables the government to improve public health, implement disease control, and promote healthy lifestyles.
• Elderly Care and Health Policies in Florida The Stepping On the program is the policy that is expected to contribute to a drop in the number of falls among elderly people in Florida hospitals.
• Health Informatics Policy: Implementation Benefits This paper aims to describe the HIPPA health informatics policy, while also explaining its impact on system implementation, patient-nurse interactions, and workflow.
• Cost Control Policy in Minnesota's Healthcare Hennepin Health policy was introduced for low-income Medicaid patients living in Hennepin County, Minnesota, in 2012.
• Health Mandates and Policies in Florida According to the Florida Department of Health, the priority of providing people with services and preventative products goes to individuals from low-income families.
• Childhood Vaccination as Healthcare Policy Concern The healthcare policy concern is the low rate of childhood vaccinations in Florida. Half of Florida counties do not meet the goal for a 95% immunization rate.
• United States Healthcare Policy Structures: Drug Pricing An elevated level of spending on prescription drugs in the United States is a growing public concern nowadays.
• Health Policy: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation This paper considers one of the voluntary foundations, which is the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation which aims to increase public awareness in terms of public health issues.
• Healthy Food Policies from a Nursing Perspective The discussion of the practices is conducted from the perspective and experience of a nurse to show that the policies of the US government are mostly beneficial for society.
• Health Policy Formulation in the Florida The current Florida health policy needs correction at the stage of evaluation to be able to address the urgent needs in the sector which include understaffing.
• Nurse Staffing Policy Change and Related Challenges Resolving two of the most pressing matters like burnout and negative professional image could help ensure that the proposed staffing policy endures daily challenges.
• Childhood Vaccination: Policy Priority Issue Child vaccination is a serious public issue. Nurses may take a leading role in promoting vaccination among religious people and legislators.
• Health Policy and Legislation Health policy is bound to legislative statutes. Health policy covers legislative and regulatory aspects. The primary goal is to protect health.
• Nurse’s Role in Health Policy: Action Plan It is critical to ensure that professional nurses can be invaluable members of the policy-making process by having access to microsystems, mesosystems, and macrosystems.
• Health Policy Analysis Prevalence of falls among older adults affects their life and that of their family members. Most of the established approaches are faced by uncertainty and controversy.
• Longest's Health Policy Model to Develop a Change The use of a healthy policy model developed by Longest to promote a change in a policy of taxing sugared beverages is characterized by several supporters and positive statistics.
• Research, Evidence-Based Practice, and Quality Improvement Evidence-based practice (EBP), research, and quality improvement are useful methods to enhance patient outcomes.
• U.S. States Health Policy Analysis It is possible for individuals to receive care at home or communities instead of isolated healthcare settings. The policy intends to target individuals with physical.
• Healthcare Policy: Impact of Health Legislation on Nursing The Bill is in the congress committee for consideration. The Bill is aimed at providing Covid-19 prevention and control guidelines.
• Hypertension Prevention Plan Proposal The proposed plan will emphasize helping such categories of patients as older adults, patients with obesity to recognize their health risks.
• Hospital Financial Model and Policy For-profits can respond to the needs of the population faster, and for-profit hospital growth is associated with faster population growth.
• Policy Perspectives: Hospital Staff and Patient Safety The study is concerned with the shortage of trained nurses in hospitals and the need to provide high-quality care in the changing environment of the 21st century.
• Family Nurse Practitioner in California The essay will examine education, practice, regulatory and legal requirements, accreditation, leadership, and the role of a family nurse advocate in the state of California.
• The Policy Challenges Affecting the Healthcare Sector in Ontario The purpose of this briefing note is to highlight all the most important health policy challenges that will impact the functioning of the Ontario Ministry of Health.
• Overview of Advanced Practice Roles Nurses transform the quality of life using health care interventions, which improve nursing practice systems. Advanced practice roles ensure patient safety and quality assistance.
• Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care The major purpose of the paper is to provide a summary of the chapters and to highlight the pivotal ideas that are presented in the work.
• Comparing and Contrasting Different Nursing Roles Nurses and Advanced Role Practitioners (ARP) in nursing work hard to improve the quality of healthcare in many organizations.
• Issues in the Health Care Policies Health care has many contexts, health is always influenced by environment, economy and economic inequality, and public services.
• How Healthcare Providers Influence Policy-Making? The present paper analyses the Healthcare Reform Bill, with the view to illuminating how nurses influenced the development of this bill.
• Mental Health Policy and Integrated Care': Summary Mental Health Policy and Integrated Care is an article written by C.D. Zolnierek in the Psychiatric and Mental Health-Nursing Journal.
• Health Care Policy: Advanced Practice Nursing Nursing plays an immeasurably significant role in modern medicine. In the United States, advanced nurses permanently face considerable practice barriers.
• Hawaii’s Policies on Access to Maternal Health Resources Due to high poverty rates and the resulting lack of resources, and low health literacy rates among its citizens, the access to maternal health resources remains low in Hawaii.
• Role of the Professional Nurse in Health Policy Policy reforms are necessary for the health sector in improving health outcomes. Globally, healthcare and public health systems are managed through sound health policies.
• Healthcare Policy Analysis and Nurse Staffing Standards Legislation in the field of healthcare is necessary to transform the experiences of patients and caregivers. Policymakers should consider the gaps existing in the field.
• Breast Cancer in Black American Women Black women experience a higher death rate from breast cancer than their white counterparts or any other ethnic group in the United States.
• An Important Role for Registered Nurses Nurses have the responsibility and capacity to influence the current and future of healthcare delivery systems.
• Global Policy Reform and Impact on Patient Care The developing countries with low and middle-income experience a more considerable burden of inappropriate health care quality than more safe developed states.
• Capstone Project Change Proposal: New Staffing Policy The project involving the development of a new staffing policy can be instrumental in improving the quality of provided care at a particular healthcare facility.
• Discussion of Policy Connections The paper discusses health policy is in a direct connection with legislation, practice, regulations and finance.
• Relationship Between Health Policy and Regulation The paper visually represents the relationship between health policy and regulation and shows dependencies and interrelation.
• Nursing Policy in the Workforce and Workplace Although nurse satisfaction can potentially improve safe care, more data is required to establish a connection and consider that a sufficient reason for staffing regulations.
• Danger of Spreading Human Immunodeficiency Virus Since 44% of HIV-infected young adults are unaware of their status, testing and increasing health awareness among this population is crucial.
• Relationship Between Health Policy and Finance The paper visually represents the relationship between health policy and finance and shows dependencies and interrelation.
• Unnecessary Care Elimination: Policy Review The system of healthcare remains the pillar of a well-functioning society, having a direct contribution to the population’s well-being.
• Diabetes in Children: Policies and Programs Diabetes is a chronic disease, the onset of which is caused due to the lack of insulin produced by the pancreas or organism's inability to use this insulin.
• Ethical Decisions in Healthcare Workplace The utilitarian and stakeholder management theories are integral in promoting business ethics and can be applied in healthcare scenarios to maintain equity.
• Care Coordination Plan for Patients with Heart Failure Disease Care coordination among parties involved in a client's treatment facilitates proper treatment planning. The primary goal of a care plan is to accommodate patients' requirements.
• Nursing Leadership, Collaboration, and Policy Considerations From time immemorial, the work of a nurse has been considered one of the most important professions in society.
• COVID-19: Leadership, Collaboration, and Policy Considerations in Nursing However, to become a professional, a nurse must have the necessary knowledge and skills to determine a patient's illness and treatment approaches.
• Governmental and State Policies and COVID-19 Problem Nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic also requires proper recruitment of safety measures when dealing with COVID-19 patients.
• The History of Policy Making in Nursing Policy development in nursing was triggered by the rapid changes in the health systems. The role of nurses in this process is to ensure that the policies are well formulated.
• Tobacco Control Policies in Kenya The explicit objective was to explore Kenyan policies regarding tobacco and show the factors progressing or disadvantaging them.
• Healthcare Policies over the Last 20 Years: Reforms and Counter-Reforms
• The Role of Statistics in the Development of Health Care Policy
• Population-Level Intervention and Information Collection in Dynamic Healthcare Policy
• Reforming the Existing Healthcare Policies to Reduce Healthcare Costs
• Health Care Policy Development and the Roles of Interest Groups and Public Opinion
• Contemporary Strategy and Approaches in Healthcare Policy, Innovation and Digitalization
• Health Care Policy Evaluation Using Longitudinal Insurance Claims Data
• Problems with Evidence Assessment in COVID-19 Health Policy Impact Evaluation
• Healthcare Policies and Access: A Behavioural-Ecological Model Analysis
• Prescription for Health Care Policy: The Case for Retargeting Tax Subsidies to Health Care
• Health Disparities as an Important Public Health Policy Concern
• Maternal Health Care Policy Intervention and Its Impact on Perinatal Mortality
• Health Policy Changes and Its Effect on Equity in Healthcare Financing
• The Failure of Federal Indigenous Healthcare Policy in Canada
• Health Policy Development: Race and Ethnicity as Determinants of Health
• Key Issues in Transgender Health Care Policy and Practice
• Health Care Policy Evaluation: A Conceptual Model Using Medical Ethics
• Health Technology Assessment as a Tool for Healthcare Policymaking
• Healthcare Policy Changes in an Era of Health Workforce Shortage
• Obesity Prevention Strategies through Healthcare Policy Advocacy
• Implementing an Oral Health Policy in Long-Term Care Facilities for Older Adults
• Healthcare Policy Implications of Heterogeneity of Treatment Effects
• Use of National Clinical Databases for Informing and Evaluating Health Care Policies
• Empowerment in Healthcare Policymaking: Three Domains of Substantive Controversy
• The Role of the Agency for Health Care Policy in Improving the Outcomes of Care
• Citizen Participation in the Reform of Health Care Policy
• Transforming Healthcare: Policy Discourses of IT and Patient-Centred Care
• Applications of System Dynamics Modelling to Support Health Policy
• Emergency Department Crowding as a Healthcare Policy Issue
• Population Ageing in Developed and Developing Regions: Implications for Healthcare Policy
• Decentralization, Re-Centralization, and Future European Healthcare Policy
• Strategies to Promote the Impact of Systematic Reviews on Healthcare Policy
• Access, Choice, and Travel: Implications for Healthcare Policy
• Factors Influencing Nurses Participation in the Health Policy-Making Process
• Healthcare Policy Agenda for a Sustainable Healthcare System
• Quantitative Measures of Health Policy Implementation Determinants and Outcomes
• European Healthcare Policies for Controlling Drug Expenditure
• Perspectives on Healthcare Policy Dialogue: Definition, Perceived Importance, and Coordination
• Aligning Dissemination and Implementation Science with Health Policies to Improve Children’s Mental Health
• Frailty Syndrome: Implications and Challenges for Health Care Policy
• Healthcare Policy Considerations for Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Disease
• Current Status and Future Directions of US Genomic Nursing Health Care Policy
• Healthcare Policy Factors Influencing Engagement in HIV Medical Care
• What Are the Sources of Health Policy That Influence Nursing Practice?
• Why the American Health Care Policy Needs a Reform?
• How Health Policy Shapes Healthcare Sector Productivity?
• What Are the Best Sets of Data That Could Be Used as a Basis for Thinking about Health Care Policy?
• How Much Power Should the Government Have in Dictating Healthcare Policy?
• What Are the Potential Pros and Cons of Using an Economic Evaluation to Inform Health Policy Decisions?
• How Do External Donors Influence National Health Policy Processes?
• What Are Some Macro Healthcare Policy Decisions That Could Result in Substantial Benefits to Consumers?
• How Conflicts of Interest Hinder Effective Healthcare Policymaking?
• What Are Some “Common Sense” Solutions to US Healthcare Policies?
• What Is the Primary Objective of the Canadian Healthcare Policy?
• How Do Changes in Healthcare Policy Affect Healthcare Stocks?
• Is It Morally Defensible to Support a Healthcare Policy That Does Not Ensure That Healthcare Is Treated as a Right?
• What Role Should Lobbyists Play in Healthcare Policy?
• How Do Healthcare Policy and Advocacy Address Health Disparities?
• What Can Future Doctors Do to Help Influence or Change Healthcare Policy?
• Who Benefits and Who Suffers from Healthcare Policy?
• How Will the Health Care Policies Change in the Future?
• What Are the Main Problems with Government Healthcare Policies?
• How Do Different Nations Approach Healthcare Policy?
• What Changes Can One Expect in Health Care Policies Post COVID-19?
• Offering Free Health Care to Undocumented Immigrants: Is It a Good or Bad Public Health Care Policy?
• What Is the Role of the Media in Health Care Policymaking?
• How Do Private Hospitals Affect Health Care Policies?
• Do Doctors Have a Say When Government Develops Health Care Policies?

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Healthcare and the Moral Hazard Problem

The demand curve isn’t simple when lives are on the line..

• By Matthew J. Notowidigdo Tal Gross
• July 22, 2024
• CBR - Health Care
• Share This Page

A 70-year-old woman goes to the pharmacy to pick up medication for her arthritis. How much should that cost her? Maybe $5 for the prescription? Or $20? Or should it be free?

There’s surely a lot going on. The woman might be grappling with poverty and discrimination and a plethora of challenges beyond arthritis. A pharmaceutical company may have priced the medication very aggressively. The woman might not have access to good medical advice. For now, though, we want to focus on one, narrow question: How much should she have to pay for her medical care?

Health economists have grappled with that question for as long as there have been health economists. The answer is not simple, and the debate continues to this day. The short answer: it depends. The long answer requires a tour of research on the issue, research that goes back nearly half a century.

What is the moral hazard problem?

High prices are awful. No one likes it when things are expensive. What kind of monster would like high prices?

An economist.

High prices do something important: they force people to agonize over whether or not they really want to make the purchase. It can be problematic for people to consume goods without having to grapple with their price.

That’s why, whenever the government wants to reduce the consumption of something, there’s a simple solution: just raise the price! If there’s too much traffic in a city center, raise the price on driving downtown through higher toll prices or “congestion charges.” If there’s too much pollution, raise the price on pollution through a carbon tax. If too many people smoke, raise the price of cigarettes through tobacco taxes.

Why turn to higher prices? Because higher prices lead people to consume less and force them to align their personal decisions with the true cost of production. High prices force people to “internalize” the full cost of production, whether those prices reflect the costs we typically think about or harder-to-measure costs like congestion and pollution. That is the benefit of high prices.

What does this have to do with healthcare? Health insurance fundamentally breaks the relationship between individual decisions and the costs of production. It breaks that relationship because, by definition, generous health insurance shields consumers from the high price of healthcare. A problem with generous health insurance is that it makes healthcare too cheap. And when healthcare is too cheap, people buy too much of it.

Health insurance, in other words, can eliminate the benefit of high prices, the way that they force people to grapple with the costs of production. And that can lead to waste. If a 70-year-old woman doesn’t have to pay anything for her arthritis medication, she might continue with the medication even if it’s not working. That medication still costs the healthcare system money, money that could be better spent on more effective forms of healthcare.

Health policy would be much simpler if people behaved like shrewd medical experts whenever they faced a deductible. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

There are plenty of contexts in medicine in which there’s a cheap option and an expensive option. Sometimes, the cheap option is just as good as the expensive one. For instance, an upper respiratory infection can be treated in an emergency room (expensive) or in an ordinary doctor’s office (cheap). Some conditions can be treated with generic drugs (cheap) or branded drugs (expensive). If the consumer pays the same price for either option, why not choose the expensive option? And if all consumers face the same incentives and behave in the same way, healthcare spending, overall, might rise in ways that don’t actually improve health.

There’s a technical term for this issue: it’s called a “moral hazard problem.” In general, moral hazard problems are situations in which there are two parties in a transaction and one party cannot control the actions of another. In the case of health insurance, there’s the insurer and the consumer, and the insurer bears the costs of the consumer’s healthcare decisions. The consumer can choose the cheap option or the expensive option, and the insurer pays either way.

Now, to be clear, that’s not to say that generous health insurance is a bad thing. Generous health insurance also protects consumers from risk. The issue here is that there’s a trade-off. On the one hand, we want health insurance to be generous so that people are protected from risk. On the other hand, we don’t want health insurance to be generous, because of moral hazard. The generosity of health insurance—how much the consumer has to pay for healthcare—has to balance those two forces.

But all of that is theory , words on a page that describe how some people think the world works. Theory needs to be tested. Next, let’s turn to real-world evidence on moral hazard in health insurance.

What do copayments do?

Health economists first examined moral hazard in health insurance with a field experiment. In the late 1970s, a team of health economists sat down at the RAND Corporation, a think tank in Santa Monica, California. Joseph P. Newhouse, now at Harvard, was a young economist just starting out at RAND. He asked his colleagues a simple question: How do people respond to the price of healthcare? If ordinary people have to pay more for healthcare, do they consume less of it? Newhouse found that lots of economists had opinions on that question, but no one had any good evidence.

Some argued that healthcare was different than other goods, that healthcare is always a matter of “your money or your life.” Therefore, they argued, people would pay whatever price they faced for healthcare—the price didn’t matter, because healthcare was so important. And, by extension, those people were not concerned with moral hazard: since healthcare is different from other goods, it doesn’t matter, they argued, that health insurance makes healthcare cheap.

Economists knew that prices matter for ordinary goods: coffee, wheat, motorcycles. If the price of coffee goes up, people buy less coffee. That is, as we say in Econ 101, a matter of the demand curve. Is the same true for healthcare? No one knew.

The RAND researchers, led by Newhouse, decided to run an experiment. They took 2,750 American families and randomized them into two groups. The study included both urban and rural households and spanned a broad range of income levels. One group of families was put on a free-care plan: for several years, all of the healthcare they needed would be free. Every doctor visit, every dentist visit, every medication: they would pay nothing.

Other families were put on a high-deductible healthcare plan. They would be responsible for all of their healthcare costs up to a thousand dollars. After $1,000, their health-insurance plan would kick in and cover everything. But until then, they had to foot the bill on their own.

Remember: randomization makes experiments valid—it means that both groups began the experiment with the same health, on average. They had the same average income, level of education, number of children, number of televisions, and, most importantly, the same average health. As a result, any differences in outcomes in the years following the RAND experiment can be interpreted as the impact of the health-insurance plans themselves.

The study became known as the RAND Health Insurance Experiment and it lasted from 1976 until 1982. For health economists, the experiment amounts to a combination of NASA launching a space shuttle, Bill Gates starting Microsoft, and Ayatollah Khomeini returning to Iran. It happened in the late 1970s, and it’s a big deal to us. The RAND experiment is one of the most expensive experiments ever performed by social scientists.

For years, the families participating in the experiment led their ordinary lives; the only thing out of the ordinary was that a team of researchers at RAND was handling their health insurance. Then, after years of being on either the free-care plan or the high-deductible plan, the participants were given a final physical exam, and the experiment was over.

Recommended Reading

Why is us healthcare so expensive.

Chicago Booth’s Matthew Notowidigdo discusses the high price tags many people face for medical care.

• CBR Podcast

How Proactive Healthcare Can Save on Costs

Regular, continuous care is good for patients, and could also benefit providers and insurers.

Newhouse and his colleagues spent years poring over the data, trying to understand how having to pay for healthcare affected families. The researchers studied the results from every possible angle, slicing and dicing the data every which way. The results of the experiment filled hundreds of academic papers and also a 516-page book. But, decades later, the most relevant discoveries from the experiment boil down to three main conclusions:

1. High prices really do cut how much care people choose to consume. First, the researchers compared the amount of healthcare consumed by families that were put on the free-care plan with that of families randomly assigned to the high-deductible plan. Those put on the free-care plan consumed an average of almost $2,000 (in 2021 dollars) as compared with about $1,600 in healthcare for those on the high-deductible plan. That’s a roughly 20 percent difference—a large difference.

In other words, incentives matter, even for healthcare. People who face a higher price for healthcare consume less healthcare. In the language of Econ 101, demand curves slope down, even for healthcare. Yes, healthcare is important, and people treat it as important, but, at the end of the day, the price still matters.

2. Deductibles lead families to cut back on all healthcare, regardless of whether it’s effective or ineffective. The second conclusion of the experiment arose as the researchers tried to figure out which healthcare the families on the deductible cut out. The researchers assembled a panel of physicians and gave them all of the medical charts associated with the experiment. They asked the physicians to categorize all of the healthcare as “highly effective” care or “rarely effective” care. Going to the ER for a runny nose: that’s rarely effective care. Going to the ER for a heart attack: that’s highly effective care.

The panel of physicians worked through the stack of charts, methodically categorizing all visits as highly effective or rarely effective. Then they studied how the high-deductible plan affected those two categories.

Families facing a deductible cut back on highly effective care by about 30 percent relative to those on the free-care plan. And then the researchers found roughly the same effect for rarely effective care: a roughly 30 percent drop in utilization. The lack of contrast between those two findings is the second conclusion of the experiment.

And that finding alone is kind of disappointing. Health policy would be much simpler if people behaved like shrewd medical experts whenever they faced a deductible. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Patients are not physicians themselves—they don’t know what is effective and what is ineffective. When faced with a high price, they just cut back on all of it, both care that really matters and also care that is probably wasteful.

3. A high-deductible plan takes people from bad shape to worse shape. Lastly, the researchers studied what deductibles did to people’s health. Remember that families were randomized to the two health-insurance plans, so any differences in health outcomes during the RAND experiment years were probably a result of the impact of those plans.

After several years on the insurance plan that they were assigned to, everyone’s health was evaluated. Overall, there was no difference: people who spent 3–5 years on the high-deductible plan finished the experiment in roughly the same health as people who spent that time on the free-care plan, according to a paper by Newhouse and a team of researchers.

Things were different, however, for one group of participants. The researchers focused on what they called “elevated-risk participants.” That group consisted of people who were in poor health at the start of the experiment. Maybe they already had a chronic condition or maybe they were obese. For that group, the researchers found that the deductible plan harmed their health. A few years on a high-deductible plan took people from bad shape to worse shape.

That finding is, perhaps, intuitive. If you’re in good health, a deductible will induce you to consume less healthcare, and that’s going to have a very small impact on your health. After all, you’re in good health, so a bit more or a bit less healthcare is not going to have a big effect, at least on average. But if you’re already at elevated risk, a deductible leads you to consume less healthcare, and for you, that really matters.

The three conclusions of the RAND experiment paint a confusing picture of what deductibles do to people. On the one hand, deductibles lead people to cut back on healthcare a lot but they do not hurt people, on average. On the other hand, the participants who were assigned a high-deductible plan cut back on all healthcare, not just ineffective care. And the most vulnerable among them ended up worse off.

Matthew J. Notowidigdo is the David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics and Business and Public Policy Fellow at Chicago Booth. Tal Gross is a professor in the Department of Markets, Public Policy & Law at Boston University. This is an edited excerpt from their book, Better Health Economics. Reprinted with permission from the University of Chicago Press. © 2024 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Works Cited

• Robert H. Brook, John E. Ware Jr., William H. Rogers, Emmett B. Keeler, Allyson R. Davies, Cathy A. Donald, George A. Goldberg, Kathleen N. Lohr, Patricia C. Masthay, and Joseph P. Newhouse, “Does Free Care Improve Adults' Health?—Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial,” New England Journal of Medicine, December 1983.
• Willard G. Manning, Joseph P. Newhouse, Naihua Duan, Emmett B. Keeler, and Arleen Leibowitz, “Health Insurance and the Demand for Medical Care: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment,” American Economic Review, June 1987.

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Guest post by Dr. Lyric Jorgenson, NIH Associate Director for Science Policy, originally posted on the  Under the Poliscope blog.

One of the hardest (and most fun) parts of my job is conjuring up my crystal ball to foresee the policy needs of tomorrow. Of course, forecasting the future isn’t really that easy. Technology moves at light speed, while policy… well, policy often moves slower (we can get into that in another blog).  How can we ready the biomedical research enterprise for the future when the future itself is a moving target?  Paradoxically, to quote Taylor Swift, “lookin’ backwards might be the only way to move forward.”

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Fahlenbrach acknowledges financial support from the Swiss Finance Institute. We are grateful for conversations with Hamid Mehran. Stulz is at times retained by financial institutions or their attorneys as a consultant or as an expert. Address correspondence to René M. Stulz, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, 806A Fisher Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, [email protected], Tel.: +1 614-292-1970. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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CDC’s Global Health Strategic Framework is a bridge that connects all of CDC’s global health activities. Learn how we use it to measure progress and impact and guide informed decision-making for global health activities across CDC.

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CDC’s Global Health Strategic Framework ensures CDC is tactically developing and maintaining a robust response to existing and emerging global public health needs. At the same time, it builds transparency and accountability, which helps us better support our partners and achieve U.S. Government goals.

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