More than the Affordable Care Act: Topics and Themes in Health Policy Research

As debates in industrialized countries over the last century indicate, health care and the role of government in its provision are complex and contentious issues. This article provides an orientation to the variety of topics guiding research and discourse in U.S. health policy, as well as how those topical areas influence and engage each other. This paper introduces five prominent themes in health policy research, namely (i) biomedical policy, (ii) public health policy, (iii) health economics, (iv) health care policy, and (v) health informatics policy. It also provides specific examples from current scholarship. Broad themes that connect those lines of inquiry are highlighted with recommendations for future research.