Review of corruption in the health sector: theory, methods and interventions
Open accessAbstract
There is increasing interest among health policymakers, planners and donors in how corruption affects health care access and outcomes, and what can be done to combat corruption in the health sector. Efforts to explain the risk of abuse of entrusted power for private gain have examined the links between corruption and various aspects of management, financing and governance. Behavioural scientists and anthropologists also point to individual and social characteristics which influence the behaviour of government agents and clients. This article presents a comprehensive framework and a set of methodologies for describing and measuring how opportunities, pressures and rationalizations influence corruption in the health sector. The article discusses implications for intervention, and presents examples of how theory has been applied in research and practice. Challenges of tailoring anti-corruption strategies to particular contexts, and future directions for research, are addressed.
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In the same Transparency International report, the health minister used state-of-emergency rules to purchase more than half of essential medicines from a single supplier, and prices paid were as much as 41% higher than international averages.
“The CSOs learned that the then health minister had used state-of-emergency rules to purchase more than half of the essential medicines from a single supplier. Also, the prices paid for these medicines were as much as 41 percent higher than the international averages [33].”
From The risk of corruption in public pharmaceutical procurement: how anti-corruption, transparency and accountability measures may reduce this risk (2020) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- Vian, T.
- Affiliations
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vian, T.
- ORCID
- Vian, T.
- Venue
- Health Policy and Planning
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2007-11-12
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 83-94
- ISSN
- 0268-1080 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-2237
- OpenAlex
- W2108232910
- Cited by
- 422
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 3.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Health Policy and Planning (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Corruption and Economic Development
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Healthcare Systems and Reforms
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare
- Keywords
- corruption, health sector, anti-corruption interventions, health care access, health governance, health care financing, corruption measurement, client behaviour, corruption risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Data Collection, Fraud, Humans, Models, Theoretical, Policy Making, United States, Health Care Sector
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