There is little informed public discussion and debate around Universal Healthcare (UHC) in Ireland. There is also much confusion in political discourse between UHC and universal health insurance notwithstanding a recent policy shift towards UHC.
This KEDS project aims to build on the Pathways to UHC research by educating the public and stimulating informed policy and public discussion on
how is the health system currently performing as measured by key indicators?
what are the cost and organisational implications of moving towards UHC?
what will this mean for citizens in terms of access and cost?
The KEDS funding would allow this to be achieved through: The development of a collaboration between the project team and the Irish Times to share, expand and disseminate data on Irish health system performance.
The development of the Pathways website to make it more accessible and user friendly to the non-specialist so that citizens can have a good, clear understanding of the issues and facts around UHC. To do this the project team will liaise with and learn from similar health and policy institutions in the UK who have developed user friendly websites.
Finally the team will seek to develop a community of practice around UHC across researchers and decision-makers to coordinate the different strands of research around UHC to improve quality and impact.
Through disseminating findings via Irish Times platforms, the Pathways website and developing a community of practice among thought leaders, KEDS funding would facilitate progress towards UHC in Ireland.
