Integrated and People-centred Hospital toward Universal Health Coverage in WHO- European Countries

Ensuring integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) that offer universal access, social equity, and financial protection within a primary health care method is important toward universal health coverage and health sustainable development goals. Hospitals are part of this ambitious agenda. The purpose is to review the health system and to list and summarize hospital interventions.

Document review. As part of our review, we selected health systems reports for conceptualizing IPCHS frameworks at the country level as well as those focusing on the hospital sector. Our research team collected and analyzed data including governance, financing, human resource, provision service, and reforms based on the health system report of 14 countries.

The review showed 26 challenges, most of which were in Eastern European countries, with 48 interventions in 3 themes and 13 subthemes.

Due to the paradigm shift, there is a need for change. However, a much better positive view is needed to determine the role of hospitals in the service delivery system. The IPCHS framework provides guidance for countries in setting priorities, and formulating, implementing, and evaluating national policy/strategic plans for their hospital sector. Although the vision and interventions should be adapted to local context, different policy instruments may be needed to specifically tackle the most pressing local issues. Recognizing differences in countries’ contexts will help to develop realistic and applicable solutions.