Integrating Refugees into National Health Systems: Enhancing Equity and Strengthening Sustainable Health Services for All.
Medical Research Council
American University of Beirut
This study will employ a comparative case study approach focusing on three countries currently hosting large numbers of refugees: Lebanon (1.1m), Jordan (655,624), and Uganda (940,800). We plan to focus on Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, and South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Our research will seek to: (i) understand the perceptions and experiences of stakeholders (international, regional, and national) as well as host populations and refugee populations towards refugees' integration into national health systems including how these stakeholders understand the meaning of integration and how desirable various actors believe it to be (ii) identify the factors that have shaped the adoption and implementation of policies supporting the integration of refugees into national health systems in these three countries (iii) assess how the pattern and extent of refugee integration has affected health services received by both refugee and host populations and (iv) assess financial flows and the financial sustainability of services. We will then convene national, regional and international policy and decision-makers to reflect upon the findings from these analyses, and identify their implications for future policy and practice. Within each of the three country cases, we will employ a mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative, approach that will be tailored to match local circumstances. We plan to identify timelines for the development of refugee policies (generally and in regard to access to national health services) and will conduct a policy analysis to understand how policies and practices evolved and why. We will then use existing datasets and primary data collection within district level cases, to explore how different aspects of refugee integration into national health systems over time has affected availability, access to health services, quality of health care, and felt experiences of seeking care, as well as financial sustainability.
8.1 Organisation and delivery of services / Research Grant