CAPS/PRC Town Hall presents: Hannah Leslie, PhD -- Health System Quality to Improve Population Health: Insights from Countries, Clinics, and Individuals

Hannah Leslie, PhD

Research Associate in Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Health System Quality to Improve Population Health: Insights from Countries, Clinics, and Individuals

Registration Link:  https://ucsf.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrcu2vpj0rE9zdK9fB7x9P7hzA5Vwlo959

Health systems should operate as a driver of improved population health and well-being, yet in many settings poor quality care undermines health benefits and population trust in services. This is particularly the case in settings where limited resources are devoted to health systems and where external donor support may not align with local and national priorities. Drawing on research at national, clinic, and individual levels, Dr. Leslie will describe deficits in the quality of care for essential health services in sub-Saharan African countries, identify the implications of clinic quality for individual care seeking in Bushbuckridge, South Africa, and demonstrate how measurement of individual experiences during health care is critical to inform intervention efforts. These studies provide the basis for research to support health system change to improve population health outcomes.

Dr. Hannah H Leslie, Research Associate at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Department of Global Health and Population, is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on health system quality as a determinant of population health. She works to improve measures for health system assessment that permit comparison across and within countries, including as an advisor on quality measurement to the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the US Agency for International Development. She also conducts research on the quality of HIV care at primary care facilities in Bushbuckridge Municipality, South Africa, in an effort to define quality in this setting and understand how it shapes community health behaviors. Dr. Leslie aims to advance the science of people-centered measures to inform local and national efforts to reshape health systems in service of better and more equitable population health.