Health Stewardship and Regulation in Vietnam, India and China (HESVIC)

Project

HESVIC was a 3½ year research project investigating how regulation affects equitable access to quality maternal health care through a comparative study of three Asian countries – Vietnam, India and China. The project was implemented under the European Community 7th Framework Programme.

Recommendations for regulation of maternal health services

The HESVIC research systematically assessed the effects of health regulation on equity, accessibility and quality of maternal health care  in the three study countries – Vietnam, India and China. HESVIC used a multidisciplinary case study approach to study the effects of selected regulations in maternal health, specifically on emergency obstetric care (EMOC), antenatal care, abortion, and grievance redressal.

Over the life-time of the project, the HESVIC consortium:

  • identified an overarching framework to conceptualise and critically analyse health regulation and governance
  • improved the understanding of regulation processes, and through them of determinants for health governance
  • developed an integrated approach for the assessment of the effects of regulation on equity, with room for variation in evaluation strategy and instruments
  • compared situations between contexts, case studies and countries
  • developed motivated support for policy decisions

Based on the research, recommendations were made for improving the quality of regulation in relation to equitable maternal health services. For each research country, specific policy recommendations were made for national standards and recommendations for actors (such as policy makers and members of professional and users’ associations). Also, specially tailored materials were developed for each country, such as policy guides for national and international health policy-makers.

The project was carried out by a consortium of six partners (see right-hand column), in which KIT led on capacity building and knowledge management.