📄 Category

health policy

44 papers

Health policy sits at the crossroads of medical science and public decision-making, shaping how communities access care and respond to health crises. This field examines everything from insurance regulations and vaccine distribution to the economic impact of new treatments, translating complex research into real-world guidelines that affect us all.

On Gist.Science, we curate the latest preprints from medRxiv specifically focused on health policy, ensuring you never miss a critical study before it reaches formal publication. For every new paper in this category, our team generates both a clear, plain-language overview and a detailed technical summary, making these vital insights accessible to everyone from policymakers to concerned citizens. Below are the most recent health policy studies from medRxiv, now explained and ready for you to explore.

📄 health policy

National research priorities for maternal and newborn health in The Gambia: a stakeholder-led prioritisation exercise

Through a stakeholder-led prioritization exercise using the CHNRI method, this study identified and ranked 61 context-specific maternal and newborn health research priorities in The Gambia, with a strong emphasis on delivery-focused implementation and health systems research—particularly pre-transfer emergency management—to inform the country's successor RMNCAH plan and align research investment with national needs.

Wariri, O., Sanneh, S., Cham, M., Marena, M., Nkereuwem, O., Eneh, A., Makalo, L., Keita, A., Idoko, P., Tunkara-Bah, H. (…)2026-07-13
📄 health policy

Perceptions of Open Science in the Editorial and Peer Review Process: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine Journal Editors

This cross-sectional survey of Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) journal editors reveals that while most respondents are familiar with open science practices, particularly open access and preprints, they hold varying perceptions regarding the importance, benefits, and challenges of integrating these practices into editorial and peer review processes.

Ng, J. Y., Bhavsar, D., Lau, J. T., Dhanvanthry, N., Fry, D., Kim, J. W., King, A., Lai, J., Makwanda, A., Olugbemiro, P (…)2026-07-01
📄 health policy

Intellectual Property Literacy, Innovation Readiness and Innovation Practice in Syria's Pharmaceutical Sector: A Cross-Sectional Study

This cross-sectional study of Syrian pharmaceutical professionals reveals that while innovation attitudes and IP literacy are high, actual innovation practice remains low due to insufficient innovation readiness, highlighting the critical role of contextual and institutional enabling factors in resource-constrained settings.

Khatib, C., Alkozy, H., Hamdan, Z., Isber, M., Mlhem, J.2026-06-23
📄 health policy

Use of the Pharmacy First service in England in the first 12 months: geographic variation and health system context

This study analyzes the first year of England's Pharmacy First service, revealing that it successfully delivered over 2.2 million consultations primarily for acute conditions through self-referral, though uptake and operational patterns varied significantly across geographic regions and were influenced by local healthcare contexts and pharmacy characteristics.

Meng, W., Sonnex, K., Pehlivanli, A., Allen, T., Dolan, E., Glover, R., Goulding, J., Higgins, H., Mays, N., Taylor, A. (…)2026-06-22
📄 health policy

AFFORDABILITY OF INTOXICATION FROM CHEAP ETHANOL: EVIDENCE FROM RETAIL ALCOHOL MARKETS IN UGANDA

This study analyzes retail markets in Uganda to demonstrate that the affordability of intoxication is driven by access to low-cost, high-strength ethanol through informal channels and plastic packaging, particularly in rural and slum areas, suggesting that alcohol policies should target ethanol content and informal market regulation rather than just beverage prices.

Muhamudu, T., Niwagaba, K., Rwakahangi, S. P., Kwagala, B., Miller, T. R., Zyambo, C., Rizzo, A., Achoki, T.2026-06-22✓ Author reviewed ⓘ
📄 health policy

STDP-inspired temporal transition modeling for adaptive clinical risk prediction from electronic health records

This paper introduces a simplified spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP)-inspired framework that converts asynchronous electronic health record data into interpretable directional transition features, demonstrating improved risk prediction for acute kidney injury and postoperative pancreatic cancer recurrence compared to traditional static models while preserving clinical interpretability.

Gong, L., Aswani, N., Shahinian, P., Yang, J. Y., Kontos, D., Manji, G., Kang, S., Hur, C.2026-06-09
📄 health policy

When ownership is not enough: Evaluating the co-development and uptake of the Options Assessment Toolkit (OAT) for Plasmodium vivax radical cure in malaria-endemic countries

This qualitative study of the Options Assessment Toolkit (OAT) for *Plasmodium vivax* radical cure reveals that while inclusive co-development fostered strong stakeholder ownership, the tool's influence remained limited to supporting structured deliberation rather than driving formal policy adoption, highlighting that ownership alone is insufficient for institutional uptake without alignment to system readiness and formal regulatory processes.

Shrestha, B., Valecha, N., Thriemer, K., Lynch, C. A.2026-05-08