ReviewBMJ open2016
What can we learn on public accountability from non-health disciplines: a meta-narrative review.
Review in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- A review and analysis of accountability in global health funding, research collaborations and training: towards conceptual clarity and better practice.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- Accountability mechanisms of inquiries and investigations into Australian governments' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.Australian and New Zealand journal of public health · 2022Pooled it
- Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Health system responsiveness: a systematic evidence mapping review of the global literature.International journal for equity in health · 2021Pooled it
- Social accountability for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health: A review of reviews.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- "We are everything to everyone": a systematic review of factors influencing the accountability relationships of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers (AHWs) in the Australian health system.International journal for equity in health · 2018Pooled it
- Integrating ESG indicators into public health governance as a policy innovation for institutional accountability: a scoping review.Public health reviews · 2026Review
- Hospital governance accountability challenges in Iran: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Evaluation study of the urban governance of the COVID-19 crisis in the city of Antwerp.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Strengthening systems of accountability for women's leadership in the health sector.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Article
- Hospital governance accountability structure: a scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Inequitable care delivery toward COVID-19 positive people of color and people with disabilities.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Towards applying the essential public health functions for building health systems resilience: A renewed list and key enablers for operationalization.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- The role of patients in the governance of a sustainable healthcare system: A scoping review.PloS one · 2022Article
- Clients satisfaction at primary healthcare facilities and its association with implementation of client service charter in Tanzania.PloS one · 2022Article
- Protocol for a meta-narrative review on research paradigms addressing the urban built environment and human health.Systematic reviews · 2021Article
- Using Information and Communication Technologies to Engage Citizens in Health System Governance in Burkina Faso: Protocol for Action Research.JMIR research protocols · 2021Article
- Datafication and accountability in public health: Introduction to a special issue.Social studies of science · 2019Article
- Relevance of a Toll-Free Call Service Using an Interactive Voice Server to Strengthen Health System Governance and Responsiveness in Burkina Faso.International journal of health policy and management · 2019Article
- Building a transformative agenda for accountability in SRHR: lessons learned from SRHR and accountability literatures.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn health, accountability has since long been acknowledged as a central issue, but it remains an elusive concept. The literature on accountability spans various disciplines and research traditions, with differing interpretations. There has been little transfer of ideas and concepts from other disciplines to public health and global health. In the frame of a study of accountability of (international) non-governmental organisations in local health systems, we carried out a meta-narrative review to address this gap. Our research questions were: (1) What are the main approaches to accountability in the selected research traditions? (2) How is accountability defined? (3) Which current accountability approaches are relevant for the organisation and regulation of local health systems and its multiple actors?
settingThe search covered peer-reviewed journals, monographs and readers published between 1992 and 2012 from political science, public administration, organisational sociology, ethics and development studies. 34 papers were selected and analysed.
resultsOur review confirms the wide range of approaches to the conceptualisation of accountability. The definition of accountability used by the authors allows the categorisation of these approaches into four groups: the institutionalist, rights-based, individual choice and collective action group. These four approaches can be considered to be complementary.
conclusionsWe argue that in order to effectively achieve public accountability, accountability strategies are to be complementary and synergistic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.