An intersectionality-based policy analysis framework: critical reflections on a methodology for advancing equity

TLDR

Health policy frameworks increasingly aim to understand differential impacts to achieve inclusive, socially just outcomes. This paper develops and promotes an Intersectionality‑Based Policy Analysis framework to help policy actors address complex health inequities and transform policy analysis. The framework was built over two years with stakeholder consultation, drawing on best equity practices, and applied to seven priority health‑policy case studies. Case studies demonstrate that IBPA provides an innovative structure, captures diverse contextual dimensions, and yields transformative insights and solutions beyond other equity frameworks.

Abstract

In the field of health, numerous frameworks have emerged that advance understandings of the differential impacts of health policies to produce inclusive and socially just health outcomes. In this paper, we present the development of an important contribution to these efforts – an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) Framework. Developed over the course of two years in consultation with key stakeholders and drawing on best and promising practices of other equity-informed approaches, this participatory and iterative IBPA Framework provides guidance and direction for researchers, civil society, public health professionals and policy actors seeking to address the challenges of health inequities across diverse populations. Importantly, we present the application of the IBPA Framework in seven priority health-related policy case studies. The analysis of each case study is focused on explaining how IBPA: 1) provides an innovative structure for critical policy analysis; 2) captures the different dimensions of policy contexts including history, politics, everyday lived experiences, diverse knowledges and intersecting social locations; and 3) generates transformative insights, knowledge, policy solutions and actions that cannot be gleaned from other equity-focused policy frameworks. The aim of this paper is to inspire a range of policy actors to recognize the potential of IBPA to foreground the complex contexts of health and social problems, and ultimately to transform how policy analysis is undertaken.