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COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to health systems. There is much to be gained by capturing what was learned from changes and adaptations made by health services and systems. The Ministry of Health in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, sought to prioritise health services research (HSR) to address critical issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. We tested a priority setting methodology to create priorities for a specific funding opportunity and to extract generalisable lessons.

A virtual roundtable meeting of key stakeholders was held in June 2020. We used a modified Nominal Group Technique (NGT) for priority setting, with potential items (n = 35) grouped under headings. Data was analysed through a reflective deliberative process.

We engaged 89 senior policy makers, health service executives, clinicians and researchers in the roundtable. The NGT proved an efficient method with participants reaching consensus on eight priorities. Findings included strong support for learning from the rapid response to COVID-19 and addressing needs of vulnerable populations and the health workforce. Opinions differed about strategic areas investment and where learnings should be via internal evaluation rather than funded research. Three of the eight recommended priorities were included in the funding opportunity.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) required unprecedented change and adaptations within health systems, and rapid, applied health services research can help to create, understand and (where relevant) sustain change beyond the immediate impact of the pandemic. While final decisions may be dependent on a wider range of considerations by government, stakeholder enthusiasm for engagement in priority setting exercises may be dampened if they do not perceive their application in decision-making.

A modified nominal group technique can be used to set research priorities in constrained conditions by engaging large numbers of stakeholders in rankings and then using an online delivery of a roundtable and to reach consensus on priorities in real time. Recommended priorities for health services research can be readily generated through rapid engagement but does not guarantee their application.

Australia’s swift response to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was perceived as a relative success due to the rapid public health and policy response and a relatively low number of cases. This response was underpinned by systematic knowledge mobilisation including support for targeted and prioritised health services research to fill knowledge gaps.

Setting priority processes can provide rich, engaged input to support government funding decisions about HSR. A wide range of dynamic and iterative processes influence decision-making in a rapidly evolving situation in the health system response to COVID-19. It is crucial to consider how major investment decisions will support a value-based healthcare system.

The purpose of this case study is to undertake a public involvement consultation with members of a rural and agricultural mental health support organisation to explore mental health research priorities and factors relating to research study design that may support or prevent participation.

A multi-methods approach was used for data collection for this case study: an online survey (n = 29) and qualitative community group discussions (n = 10). Findings are presented descriptively and analysed with content analysis to generate indicative research priorities and recommendations for future mental health research study design.

Three research priority themes were identified: improving rural health service provision; understanding the impact of rural living and working on mental health; improving community connections. Research design recommendations involve where to promote studies to increase engagement in rural and farming communities, communicating clarity over time and place and clear involvement of farmers and rural community members as part of the research team.

This is the first reported mental health research consultation case study exploring the views of rural and agricultural community members about aspects of research study design and local research priorities.

Publicly funded healthcare systems struggle to govern and determine how finite resources should be allocated in relation to political goals within a pre-determined budget. Primary healthcare (PHC) has a central multipurpose function, not least in terms of political strategies, but PHC governance is still largely underexplored. The aim is to explore how politicians responsible for making decisions pertaining to healthcare coverage navigate the governance of public PHC and disentangle it in the form of narratives based on different types of underlying rationales.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 politicians from 3 Swedish regional healthcare authorities. The data were analysed abductively based on scientific, clinical and cultural rationales using thematic content analysis.

Our study provides insights into how PHC’s multipurpose function implicates tensions between politicians' different responsibilities regarding healthcare coverage. It shows how politicians navigate various coexisting rationales, with some being more dominant than others and where tensions also exist between them. In this balancing act, they create narratives addressing different stakeholders and priority-setting dilemmas, reflecting the diverse rationales. Our study reveals that politicians play a crucial role in PHC governance and priorities, balancing rationales that might otherwise become overly dominant.

This paper contributes new knowledge by displaying how politicians balance tensions within and between rationales through different narratives regarding goals/commissions, problematic situations and preferred solutions in PHC governance.

This study aims to analyze the challenges in financing the healthcare system of Pakistan and develop a comprehensive health financing strategy aimed at achieving universal health coverage (UHC).

The paper utilizes World Health Organization (WHO) framework on health financing to build the argument. It uses qualitative research design involving focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including Federal Board of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, development partners, academia and health ministries at federal and provincial levels, as well as social health insurance entities.

The research findings highlight several critical issues within Pakistan’s healthcare system: Firstly, health spending is inadequate to provide financial protection to 24 million people. Secondly, the available health funding is allocated in clusters and caters primarily to specific groups, which exacerbates inequities in healthcare provision. Thirdly, the existence of multiple purchasing agents who operate concurrently to buy health services results in duplication and wastage of resources. Fourthly, the public financial management system, intended to support the swift distribution of public funds to health facilities, is not aligned with the requirements of the health system. Lastly, the devolved health setup has led to governance issues in managing the health sector.

This study fills a significant gap in the literature on health financing within Pakistan and proposes a unique empirical approach using WHO’s framework in a decentralized healthcare context. It also provides actionable recommendations for policymakers to develop strategies that improve the effectiveness of public financial management and health service delivery.

Health is a human right and a fundamental building block of sustainable development, economic prosperity and poverty reduction. To realize people’s right to health, evaluating the situation of the right and its determinants is necessary. This paper aims to analyze Iran’s conduct in realizing its population’s right to health.

A qualitative case study design involving a structured review of relevant laws, policy documents, reports and academic literature was undertaken. The data were collected from electronic databases and the official Web pages of the United Nations (UN) and Iran’s Government and analyzed by a framework suggested by the UN.

Iran’s law and policies intend to combat health inequalities and to provide an adequate standard of living for everyone, particularly disadvantaged groups and individuals. However, not all laws and policies protecting disadvantaged groups are adequately implemented. There are disparities in health status and access to health care among different socio-economic groups. International economic sanctions and government policies decreased people’s ability to access the necessities of life including health care. Moreover, social determinants of health, such as cultural beliefs regarding women’s rights have not been addressed sufficiently in the country’s laws.

This study includes a broad range of subjects and provides an overview of the health-care system of Iran. However, more detail is needed to describe every aspect of the right to health. It was not feasible to address them all in this paper and needs more research. In addition, as with the majority of qualitative studies, the design of the current study is subject to limitations. Firstly, the research quality of narrative reviews is dependent on the researcher’ skills and more easily can be influenced by his/her personal biases. Second, the rigor is more difficult to maintain, assess and demonstrate. Nevertheless, narrative studies often complement quantitative studies and are informative.

To fulfill the right to health, Iran should improve affordability and quality of care and the situation of the determinants of health. The gaps in people’s access to health care need to be identified, and all necessary means and scarce resources be allocated to remove access barriers and to improve the situation of disadvantaged people. The adoption of relatively low-cost targeted programs, the proper management of resources and the prevention of unnecessary costs are suggested.

Bibliometric analyses of psychological research on refugees, asylum-seekers and displaced people is scarce. This study aims to evaluate the productivity and impact of publications related to the psychology of refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people.

Using the Scopus database, the authors searched for psychology-related publications under the subject area “Psychology” and included keywords for refugees, asylum-seeker and displaced people. Retrieved publications were analyzed and visualized using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. Productivity and impact of related research publications were presented.

A total of 2,317 publications were identified, with an h-index of 86. An increase post-2014 was noted. The USA was the most productive country and the University of New South Wales leading institutional contributions. “Review of Child and Adolescent Refugee Mental Health” was top cited. Some keywords, like posttraumatic stress disorder, were frequently used. Research on migration and Syrians from refugee backgrounds is notably advancing.

This study analyzed many publications related to psychology concerning refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people over the past 23 years. Advanced analysis was facilitated using software tools, including Microsoft Excel and Biblioshiny for the Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer software. These advanced bibliometric and scientometric tools enable us to depict in depth the evolving trends and international collaborations between authors and countries, and analysis tending topic. This study has some limitations. First, the authors restricted our analysis to the Scopus database; thus, some publications available in other databases like Web of Science or Google Scholar may have been overlooked. Second, the keywords used in this study were “refugee,” “asylum-seeker” and “displaced people”. As a result, some relevant publications might have been missed, and future research could use a more comprehensive set of keywords related to refugees, asylum and displacement. For future research, keywords such as humanitarian immigrants, queue jumpers, boaties and stateless, among other terms, should be considered across the field to label people from displaced backgrounds. Our study focused on titles to directly capture the most explicitly relevant articles. In future studies, it is important to include the abstracts and keywords to identify additional pertinent studies. In our study, the authors did not use the asterisk. Thus, the asterisk may allow for the inclusion of all possible endings of a root word.

The study indicates a significant increase in research publications over time. The findings are significant for establishing a research agenda and network in this area, assisting international health agencies and governments in understanding the psychological challenges among this vulnerable group.

This paper aims to advance the concept of “menstrual justice” by building on the comprehensive framework developed by Margaret E. Johnson (2019), which integrates legal rights, social justice and intersectional analysis. By applying Johnson’s insights and human rights frameworks to menstrual health management, the study advocates for state interventions to safeguard women labourers from exploitative practices that endanger their reproductive health and to uphold their menstrual rights.

A case study methodology is used to scrutinize menstrual injustices experienced by women labourers in precarious employment conditions. Specifically, it examines two cases, the mass hysterectomies in Beed, Maharashtra and the administration of unidentified pharmaceuticals to women in Tamil Nadu factories to mitigate menstrual pain and maximize productivity.

The findings reveal severe violations pertaining to menstrual justice, with practices deeply rooted in socioeconomic deprivation and systemic neglect. These issues subject female workers to various forms of gender-based violence that goes beyond physical abuse, raising critical concerns about menstrual justice and human rights violations.

The study’s findings have limited generalizability due to the specific contexts of the case study. Furthermore, the absence of insights from managers/supervisors, and factory owners limits a comprehensive understanding of the policies and factors leading to neglect of menstrual management practices.

The findings of the study will prompt the medical industry to initiate research into medications that can effectively alleviate period pain while minimizing harmful side effects. Current treatments often come with significant drawbacks, highlighting the need for safer and more effective alternatives. Addressing this research gap is vital for achieving menstrual equity, as it ensures that individuals suffering from menstrual pain have access to relief that does not jeopardize their overall health. Advancing research in this area will not only enhance the quality of life for menstruators but also contribute to a more equitable and inclusive approach to menstrual health care.

The findings support reframing menstrual friendly labour policies including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information to everyone, regardless of gender, to reduce misinformation and stigma associated with menstruation at workplaces. Additionally, the study proposes the introduction of reusable menstrual products like menstrual cups to overcome period poverty. Thus, ensuring access to these resources is crucial for enabling informed decision-making, promoting gender equality, addressing health disparities and fostering the development of menstrual-friendly workplace policies.

This study, by using a case study-based approach, has thoroughly examined the issues and challenges faced by female labourers in fields and factories. It uniquely identifies the inadequacies in menstrual management provisions for female workers in India and advocates for a human rights-based approach to ensure that menstruators can manage their menstrual health safely. Unlike most existing studies, which primarily focus on product usage and the stigma or myths surrounding menstruation, this study advances menstrual justice by calling for labour policy reforms and medical research to lessen menstrual pain without compromising menstruators’ health. These reforms aim to provide working women with adequate rest and necessary provisions during menstruation. Addressing these gaps is essential and has been largely overlooked in global health policies.

This study aims to explore the integration and impact of total quality management (TQM) practices within the governance of Moroccan hospitals, identifying the main themes and challenges associated with their implementation and suggesting potential benefits.

Employing a qualitative methodology, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals across various Moroccan hospitals. Data were analyzed using Reinert’s classification method to extract thematic clusters, which were then visually represented through similarity analysis.

The results from our study on TQM within Moroccan healthcare institutions resonate with findings from international research, underscoring the universal principles and challenges of TQM in healthcare settings. Alsalamah (2023) found that a variety of TQM practices, notably customer focus and continuous improvement, are intricately linked with employee satisfaction, echoing the importance of these practices for effective healthcare delivery as identified in our research.

The study contributes to the existing literature by providing a context-specific examination of TQM practices within Moroccan hospitals, offering a perspective on the challenges and benefits of quality management in a developing country’s healthcare system. The findings present actionable insights for healthcare administrators and policymakers in Morocco.

Purpose: Human capital development strategies and components in hospitality are covered in this chapter. This study examines hospitality human capital development, including training, leadership, technology integration, staff well-being, diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI).

Design/methodology/approach: This chapter uses secondary data from the relevant research article literature. The design shows how human capital development techniques affect hospitality. This study addresses human capital development needs in the hospitality business as technology becomes increasingly essential.

Findings: Hospitality worker adaptation and flexibility for human capital development, including wellness efforts for work–life balance, are discussed in the chapter. The results also address recognition and incentive systems to foster a healthy hospitality workplace culture that supports employee human capital development.

Research limitations: Human capital research in hospitality is minimal. Future research should examine additional human capital determinants affecting hospitality sector success and their relevance in varied settings for global hospitality and tourism growth.

Practical implications: This study can help hospitality and tourism stakeholders, policymakers, and local communities improve the symbiotic relationship for human capital development. Practical implications emphasise the necessity of inclusive development initiatives that empower hospitality communities and maintain global hospitality and tourism.

Originality/value: This study examines how human capital development affects hospitality, particularly tourism. The novelty is studying development strategies as drivers for good change, teaching sustainable global human capital development in international tourism.