Abstract
Health policy and systems research (HPSR) is crucial for strengthening health systems. In cases
where resources are limited, research topic prioritization is an important process to ensure the effective
use of available resources and to help identify research topics that are relevant and also address stakeholders’
concerns. In foreseeing the benefits of introducing a prioritization process, the Health Systems
Research Institute (HSRI) and its affiliates organized the HPSR topic prioritization seminar 2010, which
was aimed at preparing a list of national prioritized research topics, in the hope that the list will be used to
support policy decisions in Thailand.
This is a research and development study which employed participatory observation, brainstorming,
and questionnaire surveys. A total of 247 organizations were identified as stakeholders, 90 of
which participated in the prioritization process. At the beginning of the process, 120 HPSR topics were
proposed by 66 organizations. Of these topics, 15 were prioritized. It was found that topics that are related
to (a) disease with a high burden and (b) service delivery are likely to be included in a priority list. In
addition, results from a self-administered survey demonstrated that 93 per cent of the stakeholders strongly
supported the process and expressed their interest in participating in similar events if conducted in the
future.
