Diffusion of global health norms through a national medical professional movement in the universal healthcare of Thailand

Abstract

Commonly, research investigations on social policy reform primarily examine the national processes at the core of policy formation rather than considering their global context. Concerns are raised regarding the diffusion and influence of global health norms on Thai universal health coverage policymaking. The findings demonstrate that global health ideas and actors have an impact on national policymaking and that they can share ideas in a variety of ways, including glocalization, vernacularization, policy learning, and policy entrepreneur intervention, in setting the agenda for national universal health coverage. Global and universal health coverage (UHC) concepts have existed for decades; success would not be possible without the efforts of policy entrepreneurs such as the Rural Doctor Movement, who localize and vernacularize global concepts for implementation. These concepts must be compatible with the national and local sociopolitical contexts in which they exist. The Thai case contributed to a better understanding of the influences of global ideas and actors on transnational health policy transfer, as well as the intervention of the national medical professional movement as policy entrepreneurs in healthcare policymaking and policy change for equity in health.