Models for Assessing the Impact of Policies on Health Equity: A Review

Abstract

Health inequalities in different populations continue to be the main challenge of health systems; Therefore, it is necessary to address health equity in the developed policies. The study aims to review the studies related to tools and models for assessing the impact of policies on equity in health. This study was conducted as a systematic review to identify the tools and models of assessing the impact of policies on equity in health and the process of assessing health outcomes from 2005 to 09/30/2022 in English and Farsi. National and international databases such as Scopus, PubMed/Medline, and Google Scholar were searched. First, 16901 studies were obtained. After the initial screening, 243 articles entered the abstract review phase. Then, 99 studies entered the phase of studying the text. Finally, 53 studies entered the final phase of analysis. Screening steps, identification of decision-making assessment scope, evaluation, and follow-up were the four dominant steps in most of the developed tools. The study showed that to choose the appropriate tool to assess the impact of policies on equity in health, it is necessary to pay attention to various factors such as assessment time, policy level, available resources, and the population affected by the desired policy