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Health systems resilience: is it time to revisit resilience after COVID-19?

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  • Paschoalotto, Marco Antonio Catussi
  • Lazzari, Eduardo Alves
  • Rocha, Rudi
  • Massuda, Adriano
  • Castro, Marcia C.

Abstract

The concept of health system resilience has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even well-established health systems, considered resilient, collapsed during the pandemic. To revisit the concept of resilience two years and a half after the initial impact of COVID-19, we conducted a qualitative study with 26 international experts in health systems to explore their views on concepts, stages, analytical frameworks, and implementation from a comparative perspective of high- and low-and-middle-income countries (HICs and LMICs). The interview guide was informed by a comprehensive literature review, and all interviewees had practice and academic expertise in some of the largest health systems in the world. Results show that the pandemic did modify experts' views on various aspects of health system resilience, which we summarize and propose as refinements to the current understanding of health systems resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Paschoalotto, Marco Antonio Catussi & Lazzari, Eduardo Alves & Rocha, Rudi & Massuda, Adriano & Castro, Marcia C., 2023. "Health systems resilience: is it time to revisit resilience after COVID-19?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:320:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623000722
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115716
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    2. Mircheva Gergana & Popova Olga, 2024. "Healthcare: Public Policies, Social Practices, and Individual Experiences. An Introduction," Comparative Southeast European Studies, De Gruyter, vol. 72(1), pages 1-12, March.
    3. Qu, Chen, 2025. "Female versus viral: Understanding the UK gender health inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic using e-archives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    4. Felicia Catalina Racoare (Apetroi), 2025. "The Importance Of The Resilience Of Health Institutions In The Evolution Of Health Services In Romania," EUFIRE Conference Proceedings Series, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Publisher, vol. 1(1), pages 327-338, October.
    5. de Graaff, Bert & Huizenga, Sabrina & Bal, Roland, 2025. "‘It's about the connections we've made with each other’: resilience and risk translation in governing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 380(C).

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