Abstract

Global Health Systems

Jack Warren Salmon

Changing world conditions impact health and health services across nations. The design of a specific country's national health system historically evolved, but many times cannot cope with pressures of new social epidemics, growth in aging cohorts, and the spiraling access, cost, and quality problematic, which all nations face to varying degrees. Analysts have investigated global health systems and compared and contrasted their salient characteristics, which can aid in devising better means to address health needs in populations amidst the challenges common to all nations. This essay seeks to briefly present complex and ever-changing health care delivery systems that are increasingly being recognized for interventions in the policy and programmatic realms to improve effectiveness. It is often difficult to grasp overall national health systems in their societal contexts. A number of scholars have attempted to provide students with sufficient background for work in international health, which texts are mentioned below.