SynthesisInternational journal of public health2017
Decentralization of health systems in low and middle income countries: a systematic review.
Synthesis in International journal of public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Decentralization of the health system - experiences from Pakistan, Portugal and Brazil.Health research policy and systems · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of decentralisation on health systems: a systematic review of reviews.BMJ global health · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of decentralization on the functionality of health facility governing committees in lower and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.Global health action · 2022Pooled it
- Job satisfaction among local-level health workers following decentralization in Nepal.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in three EMS centers in northern and central Thailand: a mixed-methods call for a national data infrastructure.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Family and health professional perspectives of the CHD LIFE cardiac developmental long-term care pathway: a qualitative evaluation.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Bedside screening of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae using selective agar plates: A low-cost, laboratory-independent approach for rural healthcare facilities.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Public administration and health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries: exploring strategies to improve healthcare delivery and health governance.Frontiers in health services · 2026Review
- Frontline decision autonomy under decentralization: Evidence from health sector reform.PloS one · 2026Article
- Design framework and optimization of portable biomedical waste decomposition systems using ANN and MOPSO.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- From decentralization to re-centralization: lessons learned from Vietnam's rapid reversal in the financing of the Expanded Program on Immunization.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Challenges and facilitators in pathways to cancer diagnosis in Southern Africa: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Do health facility governing committees improve health system performance? An ecological study of Mainland Tanzania.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Decentralising healthcare for diabetes and hypertension from secondary to primary level in a humanitarian setting in Kurdistan, Iraq: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Decentralized Management of Home Care Services for Seniors: Protocol for a Participatory Action Research.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Support Vector Machine-Based Prediction Model for Healthcare Workforce Transition Success Under Decentralization.F1000Research · 2025Article
- Healthcare managers' perspectives on direct health facility financing in Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Characteristics of pediatric e-referrals through SMARC system: a two-year national analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Preparing for ICD-11 transition: lessons from case studies in Argentina and Mexico.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2025Article
- The Impact of Devolution on Local Health System Financing: A Synthetic Difference-in-Differences Study of Greater Manchester, England.International journal of health policy and management · 2025Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesA substantial number of low and middle income countries (LMICs) have implemented health sector reforms in the last 40 years, and the majority of them have included some degree of decentralization of the health system as part of the wider reform. This review will provide an updated and comprehensive assessment of the effects of decentralization in LMICs.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review of published and grey literature till May 2015, following standard methods.
results54 qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies conducted in 26 countries were included in the review. We found positive and negative effects of decentralization of health systems in LMICs. Whereas decentralization of governance, financing and service delivery, have been shown to have positive effects on the system; decentralization of resource management has been challenging in several settings.
conclusionsOverall, lessons learned from LMICs suggest that factors such as adequate mix of technical skills at the local level to perform decentralized tasks, effective decentralization of decision-making to the periphery, and political leadership are key factors for a successful decentralization.
Indexed as
Identifiers
27572495What 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.