Transforming Health Systems Through Social Participation | Dheepa Rajan

Join us for a compelling conversation with Dr. Dheepa Rajan, who serves as a Health Systems Advisor at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, as we explore what social participation means and how it can transform health policy and health system performance.

Prior to joining the European Observatory, Deepa spent over 15 years at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in various health system roles, covering national health planning, health system performance, participatory governance, and primary health care. She has led landmark publications including the WHO Handbook on Social Participation, the Primary Healthcare Primer, and Health System Performance Assessment: A Framework for Policy Analysis. Trained as a medical doctor, followed by acquiring advanced degrees in health economics and policy in Europe and a doctorate on traditional medicine in India, she brings a uniquely global, grounded, and systems-focused lens to the conversation.

In this episode, we unpack the WHO resolution on social participation, its goals and objectives, and what it means for governments in practice. While acknowledging barriers and challenges to achieving social participation in practice, Dheepa also shares inspiring real-world examples of the value social participation can have and how it can effectively influence health policy.

Note: Dheepa's reflections here draw on her time at WHO headquarters and her current work at the European Observatory. They represent her personal views and experiences and are not an official WHO or Observatory view, position, or decision.

Resources and Abbreviations

• WHO Resolution on Social Participation
• WHO Handbook on Social Participation
• DG - Director General
• ADG - Assistant Director General
• WHO DG Dialogues

Chapters

• 00:00:00 - Introductions and episode overview
• 00:01:47 - Defining social participation
• 00:03:19 - Social participation vs. patient engagement
• 00:08:04 - Understanding the WHO Resolution on Social Participation
• 00:15:34 - How WHO works with member states
• 00:17:21 - Defining 'civil society' and types of civil society organisations
• 00:20:46 - Dheepa's journey into health system governance and social participation
• 00:25:37 - Benefits of social participation
• 00:28:58 - Case study of successful social participation in practice
• 00:33:05 - Barriers to social participation
• 00:42:58 - Dheepa's long-term dream for social participation
• 00:45:01 - Advice for stakeholders to engage with civil society better
• 00:46:16 - Advice for patient advocates and citizens to get involved in health policy
• 00:49:26 - Reflections with Caitlin and Clarinda

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