Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities

Document Type : Editorial

Authors

Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

Abstract

Many of the societal level factors that affect health – the ‘social determinants of health (SDH)’ – exist outside the health sector, across diverse portfolios of government, and other major institutions including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the private sector. This has created growing interest in how to create and implement public policies which will drive better and fairer health outcomes. While designing policies that can improve the SDH is critical, so too is ensuring they are appropriately administered and implemented. In this paper, we draw attention to an important area for future public health consideration – how policies are managed and implemented through complex administrative layers of  ‘the state.’ Implementation gaps have long been a concern of public administration scholarship. To precipitate further work in this area, in this paper, we provide an overview of the scholarly field of public administration and highlight its role in helping to understand better the challenges and opportunities for implementing policies and programs to improve health equity.

Highlights

Commentaries Published on this Paper

  • A Sophisticated Architecture Is Indeed Necessary for the Implementation of Health in All Policies but not Enough; Comment on “Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities”

          Abstract | PDF

  • Implementing Health in All Policies – Time and Ideas Matter Too!; Comment on “Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities”

          Abstract | PDF

  • From Headline to Hard Grind: The Importance of Understanding Public Administration in Achieving Health Outcomes; Comment on “Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities”

          Abstract | PDF

  • We Need Action on Social Determinants of Health – but Do We Want It, too?; Comment on “Understanding the Role of Public Administration in Implementing Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities”

          Abstract | PDF

 

Author’s Response to the Commentaries

  • Re-Conceptualising Public Health Interventions in Government: A Response to Recent Commentaries

          Abstract | PDF

Keywords

Main Subjects

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History

  • Receive Date: 14 September 2015
  • Revise Date: 06 October 2015
  • Accept Date: 06 October 2015
  • First Publish Date: 01 December 2015

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