Health Policy Document Analysis

Methodological Approach

Analysing policy documents is a critical process that necessitates a rigorous methodology to dissect and comprehend the intricacies of public policies. This process enables one to gain insight into the government's vision and approach to resolving societal issues. The primary objective of policy documents is twofold. Firstly, they guide and monitor policy implementation to attain the desired goals. Secondly, policy writers are sometimes responsible for developing the documents, while implementers receive them for execution. Thus, policy documents act as a communication channel between policymakers and implementors. This article presents a methodological approach to undertaking policy document analysis, explicitly focusing on systematic approaches to policy document analysis. Policy document analysis involves tracing the relationship between goals and means by constructing a goal tree with ultimate and intermediate goals designed to achieve policy goals. This approach elucidates how policy issues and agendas are addressed in the policy document. The study recommends utilising content analysis to examine policy documents and determine whether they address the intended policy issue. The paper further proposes six variables to be examined while analysing policy documents, including policy background, policy problem, policy goal/objective, policy outcome, policy stakeholders, and the strategy for policy implementation. Employing appropriate methods in policy document analysis contributes to exploring the underlying facts about the document, resulting in valuable insights into policy formulation and its outcomes.