Implementation Science and Health Systems Research
Implementation Science and Health Systems Research in the Health Systems Program
Our work on health systems research and implementation science supports the design and evaluation of health systems strengthening strategies, as well as implementation processes. Faculty across the program apply different disciplinary lenses to health systems research—from economics to biostatistics and management theory—and our implementation research typically works closely with implementers to understand how interventions can best be adapted to their particular context. We apply science to ensure strong health systems that can rapidly scale up effective interventions, particularly for low-income communities worldwide.
Our faculty work to improve the performance of health systems in low- and middle-income countries and the quality of health care services. Our faculty work in areas such as human resources for health, health program monitoring and evaluation, health systems strengthening, and noncommunicable disease prevention.
Examples of Latest Projects
Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Support Project: The UPHSS team at BSPH provides technical and advisory support in collaboration with its partners in various areas of health systems strengthening, analytics, and capacity building. This project, overseen by a consortium of partners and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, works at the intersection of health systems processes, institutions, regulations, and governance in Uttar Pradesh, India.
CDC National Public Health Institute Support: Faculty are supporting the Georgian National Center for Disease Control to strengthen the Georgian public health workforce. The work is focused on developing public health competencies, conducting competency assessment, development of public health workforce strategy, analysis of human resources for health data to support development of the public health workforce, and support in the design and development of a human resource information system.
Latest News
Johns Hopkins Researchers Receive Grant to Help Strengthen the Public Health Workforce in Georgia
BSPH News | December 2022
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health received a $250,000 grant from the U.S. CDC to provide support in strengthening the workforce in the country of Georgia. The Bloomberg School team will provide technical support to the Georgian National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to help them meet their workforce planning needs and to better address communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
Faculty Receive Grant to Narrow Health Equity Gap in Chandigarh, India
BSPH News | August 2022
Ligia Paina, PhD ’14, MHS ‘08, an assistant professor in the Department of International Health’s Health Systems Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and her co-PI Meng Zhu, PhD, MS, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, were awarded an Impact Grant from the Johns Hopkins Alliance for a Healthier World for their work aimed at narrowing the health equity gap in urban slums in Chandigarh, India.
The Threat of Polio
Public Health On Call | August 2022
Olakunle Alonge, an associate professor of international health at Johns Hopkins, who’s worked on polio eradication efforts around the world, speaks to Josh Sharfstein about what's behind the rise in cases and how the world can defeat polio—forever.
Meet our implementation science and health systems research faculty
Olakunle Alonge, MD, PhD ‘13, MPH ‘09, works to improve the effective implementation of interventions for disease prevention and health system strengthening.
Sara Bennett, PhD, MPhil, examines health policy and systems in low- and middle-income countries with a focus on institutional capacity, sustainability, and systems governance.
Ligia Paina, PhD '14, MHS '08, studies how to improve health systems policies and programs so they provide equitable, quality care and are responsive to poor and marginalized communities.
Md Zabir Hasan, PhD ’19, MPH, MBBS, studies health policy and systems to strengthen health equity, global health, and health systems in low- and middle-income countries.
Featured Publications and Reports
Integrating private health facilities in government-led health systems: A case study of the private-public mix approach in Ethiopia
BMC Health Services Research | December 2022
Everyday capabilities were a path to resilience during COVID-19: A case study of five countries
Health Policy and Planning | October 2022
Real-World Evidence of COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Solid Organ Transplant Recipient Population in Colombia: A study nested in the Esperanza Cohort
Transplantation | October 2022
The fight against COVID-19: A perspective from Latin America and the Caribbean
American Journal of Public Health | August 2022
Impact of hospital readiness on patient safety incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia: Health worker perceptions
BMJ Open | July 2022