Decentralized resource allocation in primary health care : formal methods and their application in Britain and Pakistan

• Main Author: Ishfaq, Mohammad
• Published: London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) 1993
• Subjects: 362.1; Health care management
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297463

The aim of this thesis is to develop analytic methods to support the implementation of decentralization in primary health care. Decentralization may be defined as the delegation of decision-making power from central management to middle or local management for coordinated control. To be an effective mechanism for coordinated control it needs to be implemented by systematic methods. This doctrine generally comes from the experience of implementing decentralization in the industrial sector. This thesis develops systematic methods of resource allocation to support the implementation of decentralized primary health care in Britain. The thesis also considers the transferability of methods to support the implementation of decentralization to Pakistan. The work reported in this thesis is based on case studies carried out in health districts in both Britain and Pakistan. Based on the reported work this thesis concludes that decentralization could be beneficial for both British and Pakistani primary health care systems, provided its implementation is supported by appropriate analytic methods.