Health system regionalization's infrastructural dimensions: A scoping review.

Abstract

Regionalized health systems provide a coordinated chain of services for a specific population. The development of regionalized systems not only means the establishment of regionalized centers providing health services, but also consideration of several structural dimensions. The present study aimed to identify the dimensions of developing a regionalized health system. The study employed a scoping review method using Joanna Briggs Institute's (2015) protocol in 2022. A total of 2128 related articles were identified from ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases from 2002 to 2022. Finally, 26 articles and documents met the study criteria to enter the review process for thematic content analysis, and extracted the structural dimensions for developing health system regionalization. The results of the analysis revealed health system regionalization's structural dimensions categorized into seven main themes including contextual, financial/economic, managerial, organizational, legal and procedural, service provision, capacities and strategies in the health system; as well as 85 subthemes. Development and implementation of health system regionalization require several essential structural dimensions to be taken into consideration to enhance and facilitate system regionalization process.