Measuring Health System Performance

The Challenge

Countries around the world have greatly expanded access to health care. But access has not delivered better health: 5 million people die each year from treatable conditions despite seeking health care. These numbers will grow as more people utilize care and as the burden of disease shifts to complex and chronic conditions. This low level of performance reflects structural problems that require structural solutions; current quality improvement approaches are insufficient.

Measurement of health system performance is out-of-date, slow, and incomplete. These findings were outlined in the Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems (HQSS) and resonated widely across countries and among global development partners. Moving forward will require new ways to measure and improve quality system-wide.

While significant sums are spent on improving health technology, there is little investment in research & development for measuring and improving health system quality.
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Transformation to High Quality Health Systems

Our Mission

The QuEST Network seeks to build the evidence base to support transformation to high quality health systems by improving measurement, testing solutions, and creating generalizable knowledge in partnership with researchers and changemakers.

What we do

Mentor the next generation of health system scientists by providing opportunities for supportive collaboration and skill building

Produce and share rigorous and policy-driven research that can assist in the transformation to high quality health systems

Generate global public goods to enable replication and scale-up of new quality measures and health system models

Expand global interest in and funding for innovative, large-scale health system quality research

Translate research and promote evidence-based policies through partnerships with local, national, and global policymakers

What Drives Us

Our Principles

Rigor

Produce high quality evidence to direct and justify new health system investments.

Partnership

Collaborate at all stages of research and development with relevant institutions and organizations

Shared Governance

Determine research priorities jointly with QuEST Center Principal Investigators.

Relevance & Clarity

Disseminate clear, policy-relevant results to policymakers and implementers.

Opportunity

Support building a cadre of health system researchers in partner countries.

Public Goods

Ensure all products are global public goods, freely available to the public.

Impact

Address major health system deficits through research that directly informs policy transformation.