National Health Accounts (NHA) is an accepted method for estimating total financial expenditures on health care in a country over a defined period of time. The number of middle and lower income countries using NHA methodology has grown dramatically over the past three years, primarily due to the efforts of international donors who are keen to produce reliable and complete health expenditure data. The increased use of NHA as a standardized analytical framework was based on the premise that it will enable decision-makers to be better informed and therefore, make better policy decisions. However, to date, there are few examples of actual changes in a country’s health policy based on NHA findings. Realizing the pressing need to document the utility of NHA as a policy tool, the authors conducted a study to ascertain whether NHA has been useful for affecting policy and determine what factors contribute to a country’s ability to change health policy based on their NHA findings.
The authors reviewed NHA experience of several developing countries to assess the impact of NHA data on health policies. They reviewed whether NHA findings brought any previously unrecognized health sector problems to the attention of decision makers and/or resulted in any new health reform initiatives. The authors identified some instances where NHA results contributed to policy dialogue and policy decisions, and others where NHA results, though completed, have yet to impact policy processes. The authors also assessed factors that contributed or detracted from the ability of NHA results to permeate the policy process.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to 1) describe National Health Accounts (NHA) and some of its experiences in influencing policy, and 2) identify factors that contribute to or detract from a country's ability to use NHA to affect policy
Keywords: Financing, Policy/Policy Development
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.