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Literature Review of the Cambodian Health Care system:
Strengths, weaknesses, and future research opportunities

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Introduction:
Cambodia’s health system is in a period of transition as policy innovation and reform has only begun as of 1996. Importantly, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and donor agencies have undergone a series of innovations in an attempt to grow capacity as well as equitable access of the health system. There must, however, be more encompassing research in the context of Cambodia that will allow for greater interactions with implementing policy. Cambodia’s health system literature must be focused on knowledge translation and research must be expanded to incorporate local contexts and challenges. Using a knowledge translation framework, Ir, Bigdeli, Meessen & Van Damme (2010) suggest that knowledge translation is rarely a linear process and involves the interaction between wide ranges of partners. Their proposed framework for analysing the knowledge translation of the Health Equity Fund (HEF) process includes four stages: 1) exploiting existing knowledge; 2) creating new knowledge or innovations; 3) transferring new knowledge; and 4) adopting and using knowledge. Essential and connecting all four stages is the context environment for which knowledge is produced. In addition, the WHO World Report on Knowledge for Better Health (2004) states that: “Every country should have a national health research system that focuses its energies on health problems of national interest, especially those which will strengthen health systems” (p. xv). Therefore, for translation of knowledge into policy, the Cambodian health system requires a continued and comprehensive assessment of the “stock of knowledge” (Ir, Bigdeli, Meessen & Van Damme, 2010, p. 202) available within the health system from which to build. The following paper will assess the literature according to three of the primary functions of the Cambodian health system: 1) health system governance;

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