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Sustainable Innovations in Health Economics and Health Management: Opportunities and Challenges

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2025 | Viewed by 1785

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Interests: financing health expenses among older adults; retirement patterns; older adults’ financial quality of life
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a call for papers for a Special Issue  entitled "Sustainable Innovations in Health Economics and Health Management: Opportunities and Challenges”, to be published in the journal Sustainability. This Special Issue seeks theoretical and empirical papers that explore innovative strategies and approaches to addressing urgent concerns in health economics and health management while ensuring sustainability.

Submissions may investigate policy issues related to the role of various stakeholders, including public and private (both for-profit and non-profit) entities, in driving sustainable innovations in healthcare. Papers may also analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the dynamics and interactions among these stakeholders and the implications for sustainable health management practices.

We encourage authors to submit comparative studies and articles from diverse geographical contexts, including low- and middle-income countries, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the global landscape of sustainable innovations in health economics and management.

Potential topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Sustainable financing models for healthcare systems
  2. Innovative strategies for cost containment and efficiency in healthcare delivery
  3. The role of technology in promoting sustainable health management practices
  4. Equity and accessibility in healthcare innovations
  5. Sustainable workforce development and capacity building in healthcare
  6. Collaborative approaches to healthcare innovation involving public–private partnerships
  7. The impact of sustainable health innovations on patient outcomes and quality of care
  8. Sustainable supply chain management in healthcare
  9. Sustainable waste management practices in healthcare facilities
  10. The role of health economics in promoting sustainable healthcare policies
  11. Sustainable innovations in mental health and well-being
  12. Sustainable approaches to addressing the social determinants of health
  13. The impact of climate change on health and the role of sustainable health innovations in mitigation and adaptation strategies

We invite authors from diverse disciplines, including health economics, health management, public health, sustainability science, and related fields, to contribute to this Special Issue. Both conceptual and empirical papers using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Aviad Tur-Sinai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable healthcare
  • health economics
  • health management
  • innovation
  • equity
  • accessibility
  • technology
  • public-private partnerships
  • climate change
  • social determinants of health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
Employment Effects of Technological Progress in U.S. Healthcare: Evidence from Listed Companies
by Lingdi Zhao and Shuo Zhang
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 4856; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114856 - 26 May 2025
Viewed by 519
Abstract
Employment is the foundation of social stability and a key factor for economic stability and sustainable development. With the rapid advancement of technology, the impact of technological progress on employment has become a focal point of academic attention. As an emerging industry, the [...] Read more.
Employment is the foundation of social stability and a key factor for economic stability and sustainable development. With the rapid advancement of technology, the impact of technological progress on employment has become a focal point of academic attention. As an emerging industry, the healthcare sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driven by the widespread application of scientific and technological innovations. However, at the same time, these advancements have also exerted a significant influence on employment within the healthcare sector. To address this issue, this paper utilizes panel data from publicly listed healthcare firms in the United States between 2013 and 2023. It innovatively measures technological progress through Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and employs a two-way fixed effects model to empirically analyze the impact of technological progress on employment in the healthcare sector from a microeconomic perspective. The findings indicate that a 1% increase in technological progress in the healthcare sector leads to an average 0.116% rise in employment levels. This conclusion remains robust after conducting rigorous robustness checks and addressing endogeneity concerns, with the output effect playing a significant role in this process. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that technological progress significantly promotes employment across various sub-sectors, though the magnitude of this effect varies only slightly among industries. Furthermore, the employment-promoting effect of technological progress is more pronounced in larger firms and those with a higher proportion of fixed assets. Therefore, policies should actively support the improvement of technology levels and management efficiency within the healthcare sector, fully leveraging the potential of technological progress to promote employment, and achieve sustainable development for both the healthcare sector and societal employment. Full article
23 pages, 3626 KiB  
Article
The Role of Evidence-Based Management in Driving Sustainable Innovation in Saudi Arabian Healthcare Systems
by Alia Mohammed Almoajel
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4352; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104352 - 12 May 2025
Viewed by 591
Abstract
Nowadays, evidence-based management (EBM) plays an important role in bringing sustainability into the decision-making process in the healthcare industry. The present study examines how evidence-based management affects the strategic decision criteria for the cost efficiency, equity, and accessibility of medical services in Saudi [...] Read more.
Nowadays, evidence-based management (EBM) plays an important role in bringing sustainability into the decision-making process in the healthcare industry. The present study examines how evidence-based management affects the strategic decision criteria for the cost efficiency, equity, and accessibility of medical services in Saudi Arabia. A mixed-methods approach used hybrid surveys, interactive focus groups, digital ethnography, and experience sampling methods to collect data from healthcare managers, policymakers, and stakeholders. Structural equation modeling (SEM), latent semantic analysis (LSA), XGBoost models, and dynamic network analysis (DNA), among others, were used to provide robust insights about the system. The results showed a 25 percent increase in cost efficiency, a 20 percent improvement in inequitable resource allocation, and a 15 percent improvement in accessibility with evidence-based management adoption. According to the XGBoost models, streamlined resource management explains 30% of the variation in cost efficiency, and data-driven decision-making practices explain 35% of the variance in equity performance. After EBM implementation, collaborative efforts among stakeholders increased by 40%, as determined by DNA analysis. In addition, time-series analysis revealed a 22% reduction in operational delays, improving service delivery. These results suggest that evidence-based management is an important opportunity to ‘bend the curve’ of patient care, driving healthcare sustainability by optimizing resource use, equity, and accessibility. The contributions of this research to the broader discourse on sustainable healthcare management lie in its proven actionable insights and scalable framework for evidence-based management practices. The integration of advanced analytics underlines its relevance for global healthcare systems to attain long-term efficiency and sustainability. Full article
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