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Unpacking participation in healthcare governance: Lessons from two local health councils in Brazil and Spain.

José Carlos Suarez-HerreraLina Díaz-CastroMaria Guadalupe Ramirez-RojasBlanca Estela Pelcastre-Villafuerte
Published in: The International journal of health planning and management (2024)
This paper describes and compares the integration of cross-sector actors' participation into the governance of two local health councils, one located in Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) and the other in the Canary Islands (Spain). Based on the cross-national comparative research conducted as part of a doctoral thesis, a qualitative design based on secondary data analysis was proposed on the three stages of the organisational integration process of participation. We used information from individual semi-structured interviews (n = 70), situational observation, focus groups, literature review, and field notes to understand participatory processes of networking between multiple cross-sector actors and to show how such processes might be associated with innovative practices. For these innovations to be successfully implemented, stakeholders need to acquire adequate competencies in cross-sector collaboration, enabling them to learn about new organisational practices and to adapt the network of actors to the often unpredictable influences of contextual factors.
Keyphrases
  • healthcare
  • data analysis
  • public health
  • physical activity
  • health information
  • primary care
  • global health
  • mental health