Table 4.
Top five health-related HPSR priority topics under each respective sub-themes
| No | Priority research topics | Score/100 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population needs sub-theme | |||
| 1. | Identify the policy gaps in emerging and re-emerging infectious disease prevention and control in Ethiopia and determine how to address the identified policy gaps | 93.3 | 1st |
| 2. | Identify the policy gaps concerning chronic disease and trauma prevention and control in Ethiopia and how to address the identified policy gaps or create a resilient health system | 91.7 | 2nd |
| 3. | Examining how the health policy documents align with other sector policy documents (agriculture, education, broadcast agency, ministry of communication, plan minister, CSS, police, security, etc.) | 90 | 3rd |
| 4. | Exploring how the health system can be informed of public concerns (opinions) on health service quality, cost and bureaucracy | 88.3 | 4th |
| 5. | Investigate the approaches that need to be followed to develop a policy document addressing the demands of both urban and rural settings | 86.7 | 5th |
| 6. | Explore how the public and private healthcare system could work in harmony | 85 | 6th |
| 7. | Examining how media access, coverage and capacity can be improved to enhance the health literacy of rural and urban communities (effective communication, health journalism, media brief) | 83.3 | 7th |
| 8. | Exploring how the national media agency policy is in line with the health sector policy documents for facilitating health research evidence and HMIS data communication | 81.7 | 8th |
| 9. | Explore how the health system could address the barriers between local cultures (language, norms, values, etc.) and modern medical practice | 80 | 9th |
| 10. | Identify the policy analysis competencies of policymakers/decision-makers at all health system levels | 75 | 10th |
| 11. | Identify the experiences of health policy agenda-setting in Ethiopia (required standards/procedures according to Ethiopian context) | 73.3 | 11th |
| Policy formulation sub-theme | |||
| 1. | Explore how legal frameworks for modifiable risk factors/behaviours such as the use of tobacco, alcohol, other substances/drugs, sweetened foods/beverages, exercise and safety belts are implemented | 91.7 | 1st |
| 2. | Explore how the current policy documents accommodate policy alternatives (e.g. chronic illness screening and management at the community level, health technology assessment and so on) | 90 | 2nd |
| 3. | Evaluate how the national health policy addresses and considers the issue of Indigenous knowledge (e.g. traditional medicine) | 88.3 | 3rd |
| 4. | Explore how social/economic/political changes affect health policy (from formulation to implementation) | 86.7 | 4th |
| 5. | Explore how potential stakeholders engage in the policy formulation process | 85.8 | 5th |
| 6. | Examine how the policy documents (strategic documents, plans, guidelines, directives, standard procedures) are harmonized from the policy level to tools at the facility level | 85 | 6th |
| 7. | Investigate how the health policy documents accommodate the health workforce forecasting, capacity building, task shifting/sharing for chronic disease management, retention, motivation, etc. | 83.3 | 7th |
| 8. | Examine the extent to which policy documents and strategies are informed by scientific evidence. Identify the criteria for Ethiopia’s context | 82.5 | 8th |
| 9. | Identify the health intervention and technology prioritization approaches that should be adopted or adapted in the health system | 81.7 | 9th |
| 10. | Identify the best policy alternatives the health system could establish for data archiving and sharing at all levels | 80 | 10th |
| 11. | Explore how the policy formulation processes of the country forecast the policy demand using different models (e.g. predictive model) | 78.3 | 11th |
| 12. | Investigate how external influences dominate health policy formulation (agenda-setting), implementation and evaluation, including international commitments | 75 | 12th |
| Policy implementation and evaluation sub-theme | |||
| 1. | Identify the health policy implementation challenges encountered (methodology gaps, policy formulation, accountability, law enforcement, measurement, incentive mechanisms) | 93.3 | 1st |
| 2. | Explore how unintended consequences of a health policy can be detected and reverted (mitigated) | 91.7 | 2nd |
| 3. | Identify and test the effects of decentralized (versus centralized) policy on the health system | 90 | 3rd |
| 4. | Investigate how the policy implementation is evaluated using the six WHO health system building blocks (HSPA) or other approaches | 88.3 | 4th |
| 5. | Identify the ways to sustain gains (access, quality, efficiency, equity) of policy implementation | 86.7 | 5th |