HESS | The Dynamics of Healthcare Systems Segmentation: The institutional stratification of social groups in South America

Summary
Welfare states, in general, aim to mitigate social inequalities; however, in differentiating rights among social groups, their institutional architecture may further deepen pre-existing disparities. In the field of healthcare, this phenomenon has been coined as healthcare system segmentation; that is, the co-existence of different and independent healthcare arrangements, each of them targeting distinct social groups. Particularly prevalent in the Global South, healthcare system segmentation is largely neglected by the scholarship, and the few existing studies focus on contemporary manifestations of the phenomenon, while its origin, evolution, and reasons for existence remain unexplored. To fill this gap, the project (HESS) aims at investigating the emergence and development of healthcare system segmentation in twelve South American countries from a comparative and historical perspective. First, it will describe and analyse healthcare system segmentation’s (a) emergence and expansion, (b) inclusion and exclusion of social groups, (c) cross-country variation, and (d) temporal distribution. Second, it will explain whether the extent of segmentation observed within and across countries can be explained by economic, political, social, and/or policy-field specific factors. To do so, HESS will construct a novel dataset on the historical development of healthcare system segmentation in the region. This data will be made publicly available on a newly developed website, fostering further research in the domain. Adopting document analysis, descriptive statistics, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the project will enrich theoretical and empirical understandings of welfare states and healthcare systems of the Global South, as well as provide guidance for policy-making, especially in light of the increasing global call for Universal Health Coverage put forth by the Sustainable Development Goals and most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfold all
/
Fold all
More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101150497
Start date: 01-06-2025
End date: 31-05-2027
Total budget - Public funding: - 165 312,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Welfare states, in general, aim to mitigate social inequalities; however, in differentiating rights among social groups, their institutional architecture may further deepen pre-existing disparities. In the field of healthcare, this phenomenon has been coined as healthcare system segmentation; that is, the co-existence of different and independent healthcare arrangements, each of them targeting distinct social groups. Particularly prevalent in the Global South, healthcare system segmentation is largely neglected by the scholarship, and the few existing studies focus on contemporary manifestations of the phenomenon, while its origin, evolution, and reasons for existence remain unexplored. To fill this gap, the project (HESS) aims at investigating the emergence and development of healthcare system segmentation in twelve South American countries from a comparative and historical perspective. First, it will describe and analyse healthcare system segmentation’s (a) emergence and expansion, (b) inclusion and exclusion of social groups, (c) cross-country variation, and (d) temporal distribution. Second, it will explain whether the extent of segmentation observed within and across countries can be explained by economic, political, social, and/or policy-field specific factors. To do so, HESS will construct a novel dataset on the historical development of healthcare system segmentation in the region. This data will be made publicly available on a newly developed website, fostering further research in the domain. Adopting document analysis, descriptive statistics, and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), the project will enrich theoretical and empirical understandings of welfare states and healthcare systems of the Global South, as well as provide guidance for policy-making, especially in light of the increasing global call for Universal Health Coverage put forth by the Sustainable Development Goals and most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01

Update Date

03-10-2024
Images
No images available.
Geographical location(s)
Structured mapping
Unfold all
/
Fold all
Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.2 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
HORIZON.1.2.0 Cross-cutting call topics
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2023