Health Systems Cluster

The Health System Cluster works on health and development challenges that affect the lives of vulnerable and marginalised populations.

Where we work

The cluster's research takes place in settings that experience shocks and stressors. These relate to conflict, political and social unrest, climate change and economic hardship.

We have strong partnerships in the Middle East and Caucasus, South-East Asia, West and Southern Africa and Latin America. We have recently also started working in high-income countries, including in Scotland.

Across projects, we collaborate closely with local stakeholders. These include: government, health system and care professionals, private and not-for-profit organisations, to traditional care providers, community-based organisations, and civil society.

Research themes

Our research projects interrogate the root causes behind global health and development problems. Our work produces new knowledge for how to achieve health and wellbeing, and how to advance equity and social justice.

Themes that the cluster focuses on include fragility and resilience, service delivery for migrant and displaced populations, health financing, human resources for health, community-health system connections, and management of chronic illness, including tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, and mental health. Recently, we have also focused on climate change and hope to grow research on this theme.

Team

We have an interdisciplinary team. Our staff are experts in health policy and systems research, health financing and economics, governance and political economy, systems thinking and modelling, behaviour change, sociology and anthropology. We work alongside colleagues in IGHD's Psychological Wellbeing, Integration and Protection (PIP) Cluster.