CEGSS currently implements the following research:

Improving equity through the strengthening of governance and accountability in health systems in Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil

Summary:
A participatory action research project  implemented in decentralized municipalities of Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil. The first phase of the project (August 2006-December 2008) developed a conceptual framework on governance applied to health systems, including the concept of "power asymmetries" and its effect on decision-making on public resources allocated  to health systems. It also included tools for research and monitoring of the processes of governance and capacity development in the social actors involved in decision-making process. Each country has designed a system of reporting and monitoring governance processes for public health policies at the municipal level and its impact on health inequities. The second phase of the project (April 2009-March 2011) will concentrate on the follow-up  of the monitoring  systems and its  impact on documenting inequalities and strengthening of democratic governance in health systems.

Counterparts:
- International Development Research Center (Canada).
- Association Guillermo Fergusson, Bogota (Colombia).
- Hospital Foundation Moinhos do Vento, Porto Alegre (Brazil).

Right to Health in Guatemala: assessing the situation, citizens perceptions and strategies for advocacy

Summary:
The project is being  implemented in 20 municipalities of the country in 4 phases:
1) Right to Health Assessment:
Applying the UN framework  (availability, accessibility, relevance and quality) are identified, developed and adapted indicators, variables and instruments for data collection.

2) The effect of the lack of  enjoyment  of the right to health:  Citizen’s perspectives:
This stage combines the findings in the assessment of the situation (paragraph 1 above) with in-depth studies with families, using a combination of narratives (stories of life and other) with data describing  barriers to the enjoyment of the right to health (barriers in the availability, accessibility, relevance and quality) and the effects on family well-being (resources for food, schooling and housing used now to buy medicines, pay for diagnostic tests, etc).

3) Report that integrates the two studies:
The integration of the two studies leads to an assessment of the situation under the UN framework and the effects of lack of enjoyment from a citizen’s perspective.

4) Advocacy  and monitoring of  right to health:
To evaluate and monitor whether the progressive realization takes place, it is vital an initial assessment of situation that could define the 'benchmarks' for monitoring. In this phase, work with grassroots organizations, unions and other civil society groups, national government and local government  will help to identify and agree the 'benchmarks' and mechanisms for monitoring the progressive realization.

Counterparts:
-Organizations of the movement Citizen's Health and Guatemala-based groups in the municipalities of implementation.
-Global Health Research Center, University of Umeå, Sweden 

The specific findings are reporte in the  website of : Movimiento Ciudadano por la Salud: www.mcs-guatemala.org

Social participation in health in a contexts of repression and political violence: Implications for the promotion and exercise of the right to health in Guatemala.

Summary:
This project studies  social participation from a perspective of power relations. This requires understanding the historical, social and economic factors that have characterized social relations in the Guatemalan context. This include the analysis of  asymmetrical power relations characterized by a long history of repression and political violence and the effect on citizen participation in public spaces and in the monitoring and evaluation of public policies.

Counterparts:
Global Health Research Center, University of Umeå, Sweden