ArticleArchives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique2017
Using the World Health Organization health system building blocks through survey of healthcare professionals to determine the performance of public healthcare facilities.
Article in Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
114 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Facilitators and barriers to blood and blood product accessibility and use in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.Frontiers in health services · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review on health systems integrated approach towards elimination of HIV, syphilis and viral hepatitis as public health threats in sub-Saharan Africa.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Pooled it
- Direct and indirect effects of economic sanctions on health: a systematic narrative literature review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Data Provenance in Healthcare: Approaches, Challenges, and Future Directions.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Pooled it
- Assessing the quality of hospital outpatient services in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- "An unnecessary cut?" multilevel health systems analysis of drivers of caesarean sections rates in Italy: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Pooled it
- Built to last? The sustainability of healthcare system improvements, programmes and interventions: a systematic integrative review.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- Hospital twinning partnership for health system strengthening in rural China: a mixed-methods implementation study using WHO building blocks and CFIR framework.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Colorectal Cancer in Bhutan: Identifying Health System Gaps and Priorities.Cancer medicine · 2026Article
- Disability inclusion in maternal health services in Mozambique: a mixed-methods analysis of barriers experienced by women with disabilities.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Insights into collapse in ambulances (CIA): a retrospective analysis of interfacility transfers from Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of Sindh, Pakistan.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Community-driven type 2 diabetes prevention in primary healthcare: a mixed-methods pre-post intervention study in Thailand.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Cultivating rural surgical leaders through a structured training program: a qualitative case study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Challenges of community health nursing practice in the Primary Health Care network of Iran: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Maturity of Systemic Leadership Among District Health Management Teams in a Post-Conflict Context: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Kasai-Central Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2026Article
- Assessing the integration of social protection into infectious disease policies: a multi-country analysis of TB, HIV, and malaria strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Measuring organisational readiness for health system change in South Africa using the European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model (EFQM).PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- From response-to-routine: embedding humanitarian supply evaluation in Singapore's health and community care systems.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Article
- Telepharmacy in Nigeria: a narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
1 author.
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Abstract
backgroundAcknowledging the health system strengthening agenda, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formulated a health systems framework that describes health systems in terms of six building blocks. This study aimed to determine the current status of the six WHO health system building blocks in public healthcare facilities in Ethiopia.
methodsA quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted in five public hospitals in central Ethiopia which were in a post-reform period. A self-administered, structured questionnaire which covered the WHO's six health system building blocks was used to collect data on healthcare professionals who consented. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20.
resultsThe overall performance of the public hospitals was 60% when weighed against the WHO building blocks which, in this procedure, needed a minimum of 80% score. For each building block, performance scores were: information 53%, health workforce 55%, medical products and technologies 58%, leadership and governance 61%, healthcare financing 62%, and service delivery 69%. There existed a significant difference in performance among the hospitals (
conclusionThe study proved that the WHO's health system building blocks are useful for assessing the process of strengthening health systems in Ethiopia. The six blocks allow identifying different improvement opportunities in each one of the hospitals. There was no contradiction between the indicators of the WHO building blocks and the health sustainable development goal (SDG) objectives. However, such SDG objectives should not be a substitute for strategies to strengthen health systems.
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