Global Health Delivery Project
Encyclopedia
The Global Health Delivery Project is a project at Harvard University that aims to improve health among disadvantaged populations worldwide by systematizing the study of global health delivery and rapidly disseminating knowledge to practitioners. GHD was founded in 2007 by Dr. Jim Yong Kim, Dr. Paul Farmer
Paul Farmer
Dr. Paul Edward Farmer is an American anthropologist and physician. He is currently the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University, formerly the Presley Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician and Chief...

 and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter
Michael Porter
Michael Eugene Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School. He is a leading authority on company strategy and the competitiveness of nations and regions. Michael Porter’s work is recognized in many governments, corporations and academic circles globally...

. It operates with guidance from four pillars: Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....

, Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...

, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Partners in Health
Partners In Health
Partners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...

.

During the 21st century, substantial new resources were committed to global health. Between 2003 and 2005 alone, global health spending on HIV/AIDS almost doubled, from USD 4.2 billion to USD 8.3 billion. Some have called this the "golden age of global health." Despite this new attention to global health, large gaps remain between aspirations and health outcomes. The largest failings are seen in the delivery of health services.

The Global Health Delivery Project applies a multidisciplinary approach to studying health care delivery successes and problems in resource-poor settings. GHD shares the knowledge it generates through diverse channels to enable current and future practitioners to design, implement and improve delivery programs that maximize health benefits for vulnerable communities. Closing this gap between knowledge and practice requires building a field of study in health delivery. GHD’s contribution to this research is based on principles developed by the organization’s cofounder, Michael Porter:
  • Program case studies spanning multiple settings, and encompassing both successes and failures, are primary tools for analysis and teaching.
  • In-depth field research focuses on the role of organizational leaders and their choices; studies are conducted in context and employ quantitative and qualitative analysis.
  • Analytic frameworks are developed that can be applied prospectively to guide practice; frameworks are tested and refined in collaboration with practitioners delivering programs in country settings.

GHD Case Studies

GHD develops global health case studies for the GHD curriculum and education programs, as well as contributing research tools in developing frameworks for health care delivery. GHD has developed more than 26 cases on topics, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, polio, maternal and child health, nutrition and tobacco control. The case studies follow the Harvard Business School model to explore successes and failures in health care delivery. They provide a strategic understanding for the creation, scaling-up, and replication of programs and services by documenting the experiences of health care programs and organizations in the field, and examining the role of diverse factors on program strategy, design, and implementation.

GHD Education

GHD offers a health care delivery course for Harvard undergraduates, and graduate courses at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Global Health Effectiveness Program, piloted in 2009, consists of an intensive 3-week session with classes in epidemiology, management science and GHD case studies. The inaugural class included 26 students and 6 visiting faculty from 17 different countries. At Harvard Business School, the GHD curriculum has been included in health care delivery immersion and global health management courses. GHD also teamed up with the MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

 on its flagship Global Entrepreneurship Lab course. GHD is building executive education programs, and in June 2010, will offer a specialized program designed for the senior-most malaria global policymakers, national program leaders, and practitioners in resource-limited settings.

GHDonline

GHDonline is an open collaboration platform developed by and for a diverse community of global health implementers and practitioners. GHDonline members share proven practices, connect with colleagues, and find tools to improve health outcomes in resource-limited settings. Each of the site’s six public communities focuses on a critical delivery challenge and is guided by a team of expert moderators. GHDonline also hosts more than 20 private communities designed and maintained for specific organizations and collaborative initiatives. Currently, GHDonline has more than 2,400 members from 120 countries, representing 877 organizations and institutions. GHDonline began a partnership with UpToDate, Inc. to manage their UpToDate Grant Program. Organizations providing medical services in resource-limited settings will apply for a limited number of free subscriptions to UpToDate, an online evidence-based, peer-reviewed information resource for clinicians. The Program is being managed and provided via GHDonline.

GHD Research

GHD research focuses on understanding and exploring solutions to the complex biological, social, economic and political problems involved in health care delivery. GHD is developing a series of Care Delivery Value Chains to demonstrate the typical flow of goods, services and patients in resource-limited settings. The resulting information is used to examine the points where patients access preventive and curative care services, where value is either captured or lost, and the effect each step has on patient outcomes and overall value to the system.

GHD was part of the World Health Organization’s “Maximizing Positive Synergies Project,” that investigated the interactions between Global Health Initiatives and Health Systems to identify synergies that can strengthen health systems. In preparation for the G8 Summit in July 2009, Julio Frenk
Julio Frenk
Dr. Julio José Frenk Mora is a Mexican physician and former Secretary of Health of Mexico. On January 1, 2009, Dr. Frenk became Dean of the Faculty and T & G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health and International Development at the Harvard School of Public Health.-Biography:Dr. Julio Frenk was...

, Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, presented results from the consortium’s work to a global audience of Ministers of Health.

Publications

From a declaration of values to the creation of value in global health: A report from Harvard University’s Global Health Delivery Project, J. Y. Kim; J. Rhatigan; S. H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain is an American physician and health policy analyst who was senior advisor to Donald M. Berwick, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Obama Administration...

; R. Weintraub; M. E. Porter
Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice, December 14, 2009

Venice Statement on global health initiatives and health systems, Atun R, Dybul M, Evans T, Kim JY, Moatti JP, Nishtar S, Russell A.
Lancet, September 5, 2009

assessment of interactions between global health initiatives and country health systems, World Health Organization Maximizing Positive Synergies Collaborative Group, Samb B, Evans T, Dybul M, Atun R, Moatti JP, Nishtar S, Wright A, Celletti F, Hsu J, Kim JY, Brugha R, Russell A, Etienne C.
Lancet, June 20, 2009

GHIs Impact on the Rwandan Health System: A mixed methods analysis (PDF), Mukherjee JS, JG Jerome, E Sullivan, MA May, A Mayfield, W Lambert, N Dhavan, N Carney, J Rhatigan, LC Ivers
World Health Organization, June 2009

Haiti: Maximizing Positive Synergies between Global Health Initiatives and the Health System (PDF), Ivers, Louise C., JG Jerome, E Sullivan, JR Talbot, N Dhavan, M St Louis, W Lambert, J Rhatigan, JY Kim, JS Mukherjee
World Health Organization, June 2009

Kenya: The Impact of Global Health Initiatives on the Health System (PDF), Rhatigan, J., E Sullivan, K ole-MoiYoi, G Kimathi, N Dhavan, E Kabiru
World Health Organization, June 2009

Applying the Care Delivery Value Chain: HIV/AIDS Care in Resource Poor Settings (Working paper), Joseph Rhatigan, Sachin H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain is an American physician and health policy analyst who was senior advisor to Donald M. Berwick, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Obama Administration...

, Joia S. Mukherjee, and Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business School, April 3, 2009

Delivering Global Health, Sachin H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain
Sachin H. Jain is an American physician and health policy analyst who was senior advisor to Donald M. Berwick, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Obama Administration...

et al.
Student BMJ, June 2008

The Obstacle Source, The most critical roadblock to delivering care in the developing world is not money, but an implementation bottleneck, Jim Yong Kim
Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin, 2007

External links

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