Corporate Information

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Health Systems Research is a field of research that focuses on the functions of the system which comprises of individual units, organizations and institutions or the complex inter-link between organizations and the health system as a whole. It provides scientific evidence to policy-makers and health managers at every level, to enable them to make evidence-based decision making on health matters.

IHSR began as a Unit within the Institute of Public Health (IPH), expanded into a Division and was subsequently established as an independent Institute in November 2002. Initially, it was located within the IPH until April 2005 when it acquired its own premises.

Currently, the Institute is made up of 7 divisions, namely Health Policy Studies and Analysis Division, Health Care Quality Research Division, Health Care Services Research Division, Health Outcomes Research Division, Health Financing and Economics Research Division, Medical Statistics, Data Management and ICT Division, and Administration Division.

IHSR is one of the component Institutes under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was designated as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Systems Research in 1988 and has been re-designated every four years until 2001. In 2001 it had received additional recognition with its re-designation as the WHO Collaborating Centre for HSR and Quality Improvement (QI). The current re-designated period is for 2004-2009. This recognition subsequently led to the placement of the National Quality Assurance Secretariat for the MOH QA Programmes within this Institute. As the Secretariat, its major responsibility is to function as the coordinating centre for the development of Quality Assurance Programmes in Health Ministry.

The Institute is expected to provide significant contribution in health sector reform and health care system restructuring through facilitating decision-making at various levels, particularly at policy level within and outside the Health Ministry. The IHSR hopes to further strengthen this role through building its capacity and capability in knowledge translation (KT) in health policy and health practice research. The concept of KT is new and has been defined by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in April 2000 as "a broad concept encompassing all steps between the creation of new knowledge either through research or synthesis of research evidence and its application to yield beneficial outcomes for society"

Thus, the core business of IHSR will be to undertake and focus on KT activities which include knowledge generation, dissemination, communication, technology transfer, knowledge management and knowledge utilization. In short, KT is the two-way exchange between researchers and those who apply knowledge.