SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100171
Luthfi Azizatunnisa' , Hannah Kuper , Ari Probandari , Lena Morgon Banks
{"title":"“I was given the card, but no one explained to me how to use it”: Challenges and facilitators of people with disabilities in Indonesia in accessing and using Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (National Health Insurance)","authors":"Luthfi Azizatunnisa' , Hannah Kuper , Ari Probandari , Lena Morgon Banks","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100171","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100171","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), Indonesia’s National Health Insurance, is the world’s largest single-payer scheme. However, an estimated 35 % of people with disabilities remain not-enrolled, and many enrolled individuals continue to face high out-of-pocket spending and catastrophic health expenditure. This study aims to explore barriers and facilitators to accessing and using JKN amongst people with disabilities, with a focus on Yogyakarta Province.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a qualitative study using phenomenology approach. We interviewed 22 people with disabilities and 14 key informants (i.e., national and subnational government, organisation of people with disabilities (OPDs), and national disability representatives). Data collection and analysis were guided by the Universal Health Coverage framework.</div></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><div>Enrolment was facilitated by formal employment, government subsidies, outreach by social workers and support from OPDs. Key enrolment barriers included lack of identity documents, restrictive poverty criteria for subsidies, and accessibility constraints. Service use was supported by improved referral mechanisms but limited by inadequate coverage of assistive technology (AT) and rehabilitation, uneven distribution and quality of health facilities, perceived negative attitude from health workers, and physical and informational inaccessibility. Financial protection under JKN was limited by high out-of-pocket payments driven by gaps in benefit coverage, indirect costs, and underutilisation of services.</div></div><div><h3>Interpretation</h3><div>Improving equity for people with disabilities under JKN requires reforms that account for disability-related costs, expand benefit coverage for AT and rehabilitation, strengthen accessibility standards in health facilities, and pilot disability-inclusive reforms at sub-national level leveraging regional autonomy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100171"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145926906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2025.100160
Kiran Acharya , Ali Mirzazadeh , Keshab Deuba
{"title":"Readiness of health facilities to provide HIV testing and counseling and TB services in Nepal: Findings from a 2021 Nepal Health Facility Survey","authors":"Kiran Acharya , Ali Mirzazadeh , Keshab Deuba","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2025.100160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2025.100160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>HIV and Tuberculosis (TB) are major public health challenges in Nepal, requiring well-prepared health systems to provide effective care. We assessed the readiness of Nepal’s health facilities to provide HIV testing and counseling (HTC) and TB services.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a secondary analysis of 359 health facilities providing HTC and TB services using data from the 2021 Nepal Health Facility Survey. We used WHO Service Availability and Readiness Assessment manual, focusing on key domains such as trained staff, guidelines, equipment, diagnostics, and medicines/commodities to calculate readiness scores. We reported the readiness scores for HTC and TB services across different types of facilities. Further, the multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between exposures and the HTC and TB service readiness.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The overall readiness score for both HTC and TB services was 51 %. Stand-alone HTC centres demonstrated the highest readiness (80 %–100 %), and public hospitals also showed strong readiness for both HTC (69 %) and TB (63 %) services, particularly when equipped with quality assurance systems, routine management meetings, and external supervision. In contrast, basic health care centers and private hospitals demonstrated substantially lower readiness for HTC (47 %–48 %) and TB services (48 %–55 %). Urban facilities had higher readiness than rural facilities (53 % vs. 47 %), and readiness varied across provinces, with Sudurpashchim showing relatively higher scores. Multivariable analysis indicated that private facilities, primary health care centers, and basic health care centers had significantly lower readiness compared to public hospitals. Health facilities in rural locations and those in Karnali Province were associated with lower HTC readiness, whereas Sudurpashchim Province had higher TB readiness. Facilities performing quality assurance had higher readiness for both services, and for HTC services, those receiving external supervision in the past four months also demonstrated significantly improved readiness.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study highlights critical gaps and subnational variations in HTC and TB service readiness across health facilities in Nepal. Strengthening quality assurance systems, routine supervision, and management practices is essential to improve readiness, particularly in rural areas, basic health care centers, and private hospitals. Investments in infrastructure and targeted interventions are recommended to enhance equitable access to HTC and TB services in Nepal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100160"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145841085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research capacity strengthening in fragile and shock-prone settings: Insights from a research consortium","authors":"Joanna Khalil , Maria Paola Bertone , Ghanshyam Gautam , Wesam Mansour , Ayesha Idriss , Thazin La , Fouad Fouad , Joanna Raven","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100190","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100190","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Research capacity strengthening (RCS) is acknowledged as a critical element for improving health systems through contextually-embedded research findings and recommendations. However, RCS remains a critical gap in the field of Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR), especially in fragile and shock-prone settings facing unique challenges that further constrain research capacity. The ReBUILD for Resilience (ReBUILD) consortium, operating in Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sierra Leone, sought to strengthen HPSR capacity across individual, organizational, and community levels. This paper reflects on the RCS approaches of the ReBUILD consortium, analyzing strategies and lessons learned.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A mixed-methods approach was applied including surveys, discussions, progress reports, and meeting minutes. Data was collected iteratively at different stages of the RCS design and implementation.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Based on needs and assets assessment, the RCS strategy was embedded in the consortium’s operations and adapted to local needs. Southern partners and early career researchers increasingly led initiatives, while mentorship and practical learning were emphasized. Efforts focused on strengthening individual skills and knowledge and expanded to the organizational level. Community members were trained and actively contributed to research design and implementation. Gender, equity and safeguarding were systematically integrated. The consortium’s work led to increased research outputs, policy influence, and improved local processes.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Findings from ReBUILD’s RCS approach demonstrate that context-specific, values-driven, and multi-level strategies can effectively strengthen resilient research ecosystems in fragile and shock-prone settings. This study proposes an adapted conceptual framework for RCS that emphasizes flexibility, equity, and shared leadership as key to sustainable research capacity development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100190"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100189
Roger A. Atinga , Prosper M. Lana
{"title":"Who gets posted where? Power, politics and maldistribution of doctors in Ghana","authors":"Roger A. Atinga , Prosper M. Lana","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100189","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100189","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Power and politics considerably shape health workforce distribution in many ways, often leading to deficient supply in deprived environments, yet this remains overlooked empirically. Drawing on power and politics theories, we explored the intricacies of how political patronage and power dynamics shape posting and transfer of doctors, contributing to maldistribution and compromising access to care quality in northern Ghana. We collected qualitative data from in-depth interviews with doctors, regional and district health managers, and document synthesis on how power and politics playout in doctors’ posting and transfer process. The findings showed that doctors’ deficit in the north is framed as a political issue driven by weak political will, and poor institutional and resource commitment to addressing the problem. This is amplified by power practices flowing from multiple directions circumventing posting and transfer of doctors to the deprived north. Political actors exercised authoritative power over, and control of the bureaucracy to bend rules, by giving directives for doctors to be reposted or transferred out of the north to their preferred locations. Doctors on the other hand deployed expert power over district health managers and power with family and social networks in securing reposting or transfer out of the northern regions. District health managers, meanwhile, worked with limited power within and simply complied with directives without resistance in order to keep their jobs. Transparent and accountable posting and transfer processes backed by empowerment of district and regional health managers with authoritative power to enforce local retention measures can ensure equitable doctors’ distribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100189"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100168
Laura Jacques , Jenny A. Higgins , Corinne M. Hale , Eliza A. Bennett , Abigail S. Cutler
{"title":"How U.S. healthcare institutions’ actions, or inactions, shaped physician experiences after Dobbs: A qualitative study","authors":"Laura Jacques , Jenny A. Higgins , Corinne M. Hale , Eliza A. Bennett , Abigail S. Cutler","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100168","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100168","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To document how Wisconsin healthcare institutions’ (in)action under a near-total abortion ban post-<em>Dobbs</em> influenced physician experience and patient care.</div></div><div><h3>Study Design</h3><div>We recruited 21 obstetrician-gynecologists from academic, community, and religiously affiliated healthcare systems across Wisconsin, a midwestern U.S. state, between June 2022 and December 2023 to participate in 45–60-minute semi-structured Zoom interviews about the impact of <em>Dobbs</em> on Wisconsin reproductive healthcare delivery. We analyzed transcripts using an inductive-deductive approach and employed a framework method to identify key themes.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>After <em>Dobbs</em>, participants reported that most healthcare institutions abdicated responsibility, leaving providers to navigate legal uncertainties and create clinical workflows to ensure safe patient care. Tepid or absent institutional responses were widely perceived as exacerbating clinician distress and mistrust in healthcare systems.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These findings provide firsthand evidence that healthcare institutions are not passive conduits of state law, but active agents whose decisions shape how reproductive healthcare is delivered, or denied, in a post-<em>Dobbs</em> landscape. Institutional inaction, inconsistent guidance, and failure to support physicians have added another layer of harm to an already strained reproductive healthcare system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100168"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100184
Mengistu Hagazi Tequare , Ibrahim Bou-Orm , Fana Gebreslassie , Sophie Witter , Maria Paola Bertone
{"title":"Mapping resilience in conflict and recovery: A systems analysis of the health sector in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (2020–2025)","authors":"Mengistu Hagazi Tequare , Ibrahim Bou-Orm , Fana Gebreslassie , Sophie Witter , Maria Paola Bertone","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100184","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100184","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the resilience of the health system in Tigray (Ethiopia) in the period during and following the most recent conflict (2020–2025). The aim is to gain an understanding of the dynamic ways in which the health system has responded to the crisis and early recovery, highlighting elements of its resilience, including the resilience strategies (adaptation, absorption and transformation), resilience capacities (i.e., underlying broader capacities that the health system must have in place in order to deploy specific approaches) and resilience pathways. The study is grounded in a resilience framework and adopts a systems thinking approach, drawing on data from a documentary review, key informant interviews and focus groups in Tigray. The findings illustrate the impact of the war on elements of the health system, and the resilience strategies adopted within each element to sustain some extent the health system functionality during the conflict as well as the (longer-term) health system recovery. Based on the findings, a Causal Loop Diagram is developed, which helps to identify key emerging resilience capacities (the motivation, dedication and individual coping strategies of health workers; community trust in healthcare providers; and the regional health authority’s leadership), highlighting causal, balancing or reinforcing loops and pathways between elements, and critically exploring how resilience strategies, capacities and pathways connect and interrelate, sustaining some elements of the health system, preventing collapse and potentially supporting a return to a fully functioning healthcare system. Findings provide evidence that could support the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Tigray, and might inform recovery planning in other settings post-conflict.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100184"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From crisis to resilience: Catalysing epidemic and pandemic preparedness through National Public Health Institutes","authors":"Thanitsara Rittiphairoj , Catherine Smallwood , Moa Herrgard , Wasiq Khan","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2025.100165","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2025.100165","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) in responding to global health emergencies. This commentary examined the contributions and challenges of NPHIs in four countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), including Somalia, Morocco, Pakistan, and Jordan, during the pandemic response. Drawing on country case studies, we highlighted shared achievements, unique contributions, and operational challenges. Key successes included strengthening public health surveillance systems, expanding laboratory testing capacities, establishing emergency operations centers, and advancing pandemic-related research. However, several systemic challenges impeded effective response, including insufficient funding, workforce shortages, weak health information systems, unclear leadership roles, lack of standardized operating procedures, and limited evidence use in policymaking. Based on these experiences, we proposed key strategies to strengthen NPHIs and improve pandemic preparedness. These included securing sustainable financing (e.g., contingency funds), coordinating donor support, investing in workforce training and simulations, improving peripheral laboratory infrastructure and data integration, developing standardized, multisectoral protocols led by NPHIs, strengthening international partnerships for surveillance and resource mobilization, and enhancing risk communication and community engagement. The paper emphasized the importance of sustained political commitment and long-term investment in NPHIs to build resilient health systems capable of effectively responding to future health threats.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100165"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146037904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100178
Leah Shipton , Alessia Montecalvo , Sara Allin , Peter Berman , Katherine Fierlbeck , Lara Gautier , Susan Usher , Aidan Bodner , Veena Sriram
{"title":"How did norms shape decision-making about essential public spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic? Insights from four Canadian provinces","authors":"Leah Shipton , Alessia Montecalvo , Sara Allin , Peter Berman , Katherine Fierlbeck , Lara Gautier , Susan Usher , Aidan Bodner , Veena Sriram","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100178","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100178","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Non-pharmaceutical interventions regulating access to public space to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 were implemented worldwide with considerable sub-national and national variation. Despite the prominent influence of norms in health governance, existing research has not explored their role in shaping decisions about which services and activities in public spaces were essential to keep open (or not) during the pandemic. We sought to identify these norms and understand how decision-makers drew on them to define whether services were essential and policies for accessing them.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>This study draws on 103 interviews and government and non-government agency documents to examine how decision-makers in the four Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia navigated the complexity of defining and keeping open essential services and activities during the pandemic.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We identify a pandemic response ‘norm cluster’ outlining a range of norms active in decision-making to regulate public space, which influenced the stakeholders engaged in policymaking and the stringency and timing of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Many services and activities shifted between essential and non-essential depending on how decision-makers balanced these norms. This process was complex and politicized as decision-makers sought to address multiple problems and values, advocated by different stakeholders, and which sometimes required conflicting policy responses.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Norms shape how decision-makers balance disease containment alongside other social needs during pandemic response. Future research should examine norm dynamics in other jurisdictions during pandemic response and health emergencies. Policymakers may consider outlining the norms that should guide decision-making in pandemic response plans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100178"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
SSM - Health SystemsPub Date : 2026-06-01Epub Date: 2026-02-04DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100188
Chukwuebuka Ugwu , Grace Kolawole , Beate Ringwald , John Bimba , S. Bertel Squire , Tom Wingfield
{"title":"Adapting health systems to men’s realities: An intersectional exploration of men’s barriers to TB care in Nigeria’s peri-urban communities","authors":"Chukwuebuka Ugwu , Grace Kolawole , Beate Ringwald , John Bimba , S. Bertel Squire , Tom Wingfield","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100188","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100188","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although men bear the brunt of TB morbidity and mortality globally and in Nigeria, understanding of men’s barriers to TB care is limited, including in peri-urban settlements where the risk of TB exposure is high. This research explored how masculinities combine with layers of disadvantage among men in peri-urban communities to limit their access to TB services. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews among 12 men and 8 women with presumptive or confirmed TB, 3 focus group discussions among 24 men in their workplaces, and interviews with 12 key informants exploring experiences of TB symptoms and care seeking. Audio recordings were transcribed and analysed using a reflexive thematic approach. Findings suggest many men in peri-urban settlements could not afford to show TB symptoms due to strict masculine gender expectations and norms (Theme 1), while official TB information was not tailored to reach them (Theme 2). When developing symptoms presumptive of TB, men negotiated the least disruptive way to wellbeing (Theme 3). After TB diagnosis, female healthcare workers used strategies such as baiting and negotiating to engage and retain men in care (Theme 4). In conclusion, health systems need to address the compounded barriers facing different groups of men in high-burden, peri-urban settlements in Nigeria highlighted by this study and leverage existing community resources to create scalable adaptations to care that make services more responsive to their realities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100188"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The mobility imperative: Integrating transport into inclusive and resilient health systems","authors":"Emmanuel Mogaji , Rasheed Olawale Azeez , Sudhanshu Bhatt , Temitope Farinloye , Fidelma Ibili , Simeon Stevenson Turay","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100181","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100181","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transport remains a neglected yet critical component of health systems. While research on health system strengthening has expanded to include social care and social determinants of health, mobility is often treated as peripheral rather than central to equitable access and service delivery. This commentary reframes mobility as a structural determinant of health. Drawing on global evidence, with examples from Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and high-income contexts such as in Europe, we demonstrate how inadequate or unaffordable transport constrains both patients and frontline care workers, reinforcing inequities across diverse settings. We also highlight how community-driven innovations, such as bicycles, ambulances, and digital accessibility apps, provide resilience in the absence of formal provision. By reframing transport as a determinant of health and a structural enabler of inclusion, this commentary calls for interdisciplinary policy, practice, and research that integrates mobility into health system design and delivery.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101183,"journal":{"name":"SSM - Health Systems","volume":"6 ","pages":"Article 100181"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146077904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}