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Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Debate around a common definition of global health has seen extensive scholarly interest within the last two decades; however, consensus around a precise definition remains elusive. The objective of this study was to systematically review definitions of global health in the literature...

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Autores principales: Salm, Melissa, Ali, Mahima, Minihane, Mairead, Conrad, Patricia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8183196/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34083243
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005292
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author Salm, Melissa
Ali, Mahima
Minihane, Mairead
Conrad, Patricia
author_facet Salm, Melissa
Ali, Mahima
Minihane, Mairead
Conrad, Patricia
author_sort Salm, Melissa
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Debate around a common definition of global health has seen extensive scholarly interest within the last two decades; however, consensus around a precise definition remains elusive. The objective of this study was to systematically review definitions of global health in the literature and offer grounded theoretical insights into what might be seen as relevant for establishing a common definition of global health. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted with qualitative synthesis of findings using peer-reviewed literature from key databases. Publications were identified by the keywords of ‘global health’ and ‘define’ or ‘definition’ or ‘defining’. Coding methods were used for qualitative analysis to identify recurring themes in definitions of global health published between 2009 and 2019. RESULTS: The search resulted in 1363 publications, of which 78 were included. Qualitative analysis of the data generated four theoretical categories and associated subthemes delineating key aspects of global health. These included: (1) global health is a multiplex approach to worldwide health improvement taught and pursued at research institutions; (2) global health is an ethically oriented initiative that is guided by justice principles; (3) global health is a mode of governance that yields influence through problem identification, political decision-making, as well as the allocation and exchange of resources across borders and (4) global health is a vague yet versatile concept with multiple meanings, historical antecedents and an emergent future. CONCLUSION: Extant definitions of global health can be categorised thematically to designate areas of importance for stakeholders and to organise future debates on its definition. Future contributions to this debate may consider shifting from questioning the abstract ‘what’ of global health towards more pragmatic and reflexive questions about ‘who’ defines global health and towards what ends.
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spelling pubmed-81831962021-06-17 Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature Salm, Melissa Ali, Mahima Minihane, Mairead Conrad, Patricia BMJ Glob Health Original Research INTRODUCTION: Debate around a common definition of global health has seen extensive scholarly interest within the last two decades; however, consensus around a precise definition remains elusive. The objective of this study was to systematically review definitions of global health in the literature and offer grounded theoretical insights into what might be seen as relevant for establishing a common definition of global health. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted with qualitative synthesis of findings using peer-reviewed literature from key databases. Publications were identified by the keywords of ‘global health’ and ‘define’ or ‘definition’ or ‘defining’. Coding methods were used for qualitative analysis to identify recurring themes in definitions of global health published between 2009 and 2019. RESULTS: The search resulted in 1363 publications, of which 78 were included. Qualitative analysis of the data generated four theoretical categories and associated subthemes delineating key aspects of global health. These included: (1) global health is a multiplex approach to worldwide health improvement taught and pursued at research institutions; (2) global health is an ethically oriented initiative that is guided by justice principles; (3) global health is a mode of governance that yields influence through problem identification, political decision-making, as well as the allocation and exchange of resources across borders and (4) global health is a vague yet versatile concept with multiple meanings, historical antecedents and an emergent future. CONCLUSION: Extant definitions of global health can be categorised thematically to designate areas of importance for stakeholders and to organise future debates on its definition. Future contributions to this debate may consider shifting from questioning the abstract ‘what’ of global health towards more pragmatic and reflexive questions about ‘who’ defines global health and towards what ends. BMJ Publishing Group 2021-06-03 /pmc/articles/PMC8183196/ /pubmed/34083243 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005292 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Original Research
Salm, Melissa
Ali, Mahima
Minihane, Mairead
Conrad, Patricia
Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title_full Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title_fullStr Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title_full_unstemmed Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title_short Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
title_sort defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8183196/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34083243
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005292
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