Health financing challenges in Southeast Asian countries for universal health coverage: a systematic review

Archives of Public Health

Research

Hanin Farhana Kamaruzaman¹  Olivia Wu¹  Ming Yao Lim¹  Claudia Geue¹ 

[1] Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment, School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK;

关键词: Health Financing;    Health Economics;    Universal Health Care;    ASEAN;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13690-023-01159-3

 received in 2023-02-14, accepted in 2023-07-27,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUniversal Health Coverage (UHC) has received much attention and many countries are striving to achieve it. The Southeast Asian region, in particular, comprises many developing countries with limited resources, exacerbating challenges around attaining UHC. This paper aims to specifically explore the health financing challenges these countries face in achieving UHC via a systematic review approach and formulate recommendations that will be useful for policymakers.MethodsThe systematic review followed the guidelines as recommended by PRISMA. The narrative synthesis approach was used for data synthesis, followed by identifying common themes.ResultsThe initial search returned 160 articles, and 32 articles were included after the screening process. The identified challenges in health financing towards achieving UHC in the Southeast Asian region are categorised into six main themes, namely (1) Unsustainability of revenue-raising methods, (2) Fragmented health insurance schemes, (3) Incongruity between insurance benefits and people’s needs, (4) Political and legislative indifference, (5) Intractable and rapidly rising healthcare cost, (6) Morally reprehensible behaviours.ConclusionsThe challenges identified are diverse and therefore require a multifaceted approach. Regional collaborative efforts between countries will play an essential role in the progress towards UHC and in narrowing the inequity gap. At the national level, individual countries must work towards sustainable health financing strategies by leveraging innovative digital technologies and constantly adapting to dynamic health trends.RegistrationThis study is registered with PROSPERO, under registration number CRD42022336624.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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