Social innovation in health, community engagement, financing and outcomes: qualitative analysis from the social innovation in health initiative

Abstract

BackgroundSocial innovation in health is a community-engaged process that links social change and health improvement, drawing on the diverse strengths of local individuals and institutions. However, there are few studies that examine community engagement, financing and outcomes. The purpose of this study is to use a qualitative descriptive analysis to assess 40 social innovations in health identified through a global open call.MethodsThis qualitative analysis examined social innovation case studies from low- and middle-income countries identified by a global social innovation network. A crowdsourcing open call identified projects and key components of each social innovation were evaluated by an independent panel. We used a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention framework to measure community engagement as shared leadership, collaboration, involvement, consultation or informing. We used descriptive statistics to examine key aspects of community engagement, financing, health outcomes and non-health outcomes.ResultsData from 40 social innovations were examined. Social innovations were from Africa (21/40), Asia (11/40), and Latin America and the Caribbean (8/40). Community engagement was diverse and robust across the cases and 60% (24/40) had either shared leadership or collaboration. Financing for social innovation came from research grants (23), national or provincial government support (15), revenues from sales (13), donations (13) and local government support (10). Social innovations reported health and non-health outcomes.ConclusionOur data demonstrate social innovations had robust community engagement. Innovative financing mechanisms provide mechanisms for sustaining social innovations. Further research on health and non-health outcomes of social innovation is needed.

Social innovation in health: concepts and practice

“…Several manuscripts focused on social innovation research studies. A qualitative analysis of forty social innovations identified by the SIHI Network considered how these met sustainable development goals and engaged local communities 30. The study protocol from Li et al examines the effectiveness of a community-engaged social innovation to increase uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among sexual minorities in China 31.…”

Innovaciones sociales para mejorar la salud

“…Junto con la Dirección Regional de Salud (DIRESA) de Loreto, visitaron 13 comunidades en el distrito de Parinari. Se ganaron la confianza de las comunidades y aprendieron de la gran prevalencia de partos domiciliarios atendidos sin personal entrenado, y del pobre acceso a la atención de salud de calidad Volumen 42,No. 3…”

“…En 2021, la red americana de SIHI, la SIHI-LAC (Social Innovation in Health Initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean), con apoyo de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS), hizo un llamado público para identificar innovaciones sociales que estuvieran contribuyendo a mejorar la salud pública y la prestación equitativa de servicios de salud, durante la pandemia 3 . Se presentaron 106 aplicaciones elegibles, cuatro recibieron mención honorífica y cuatro fueron reconocidas como ganadoras (16).…”

“…En la práctica, las innovaciones representan la traducción integrada del conocimiento en la que, de principio a fin, se aprende, se ajusta y se mejora, siguiendo un diseño centrado en las personas. Con frecuencia, estas innovaciones se insertan en los planes, programas y políticas públicas 2 , 3 . Estos conceptos los ilustraremos con ejemplos.…”