Comparison of the Determinants of the Health Service System and the Health Status of the People in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)

BACKGROUND: Health is influenced by numerous factors that affect the health service system and health status of the people in every country. This article aims to compare the determinants of the health service system and the health status of the people in Thailand, the Lao PDR, Vietnam, and Cambodia; and to recommend policies that impact the population’s health and the country’s development. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature from a variety of online search and aca-demic databases, and synthesis of previous study was used in this paper. Data on country indicators were taken from publis-hed online databases of the Ministry of Public Health of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand,and Vietnam; the World Health Or-ganization, and the World Bank. RESULTS: In Thailand, the determinants of the health service system and health status of the people are medical information and technology because of the government initiatives to improve the quality of healthcare services through the use of modern technology. In Vietnam, the society and culture, and the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital significantly affect the health status and health service system there because of the religious beliefs of the people. However, in Cambodia, the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital are the primary determinant of the health service system and health status of the people due to the condition of the hospitals, the availability of new medical devices, and the number of healthcare professio-nals. In the Lao PDR, trade and investment, and medical information and technology, significantly influence the health servi-ce system and health status of the people because of the government efforts to outsource capital expenditures and medical te-chnology. CONCLUSION: The strengths and weaknesses of the hospital are the key determinants of the health service system and health status of the people in all GMS countries. Understanding the determinants of health is essential in order to develop policies and programs that impact the population's health and the country's development.