Convergence or Divergence? A Cross-National Comparison of Primary Health Care in Norway, Britain and the Czech Republic.

We are said to live in the age of globalisation, in which different societies are growing more alike. This perception of contemporary society is reflected in the area of health service research. The dominant theory is as follows: Many countries are curren tly reorganizing their health services in response to cultural, economic and technological changes. Because the changes are global, different countries are drawn toward similar reform programs, and thus converge on some common point. The alternative thesi s is that each country has unique cultural, economic, political and historical traditions that are likely to override global changes, and thus create patterns of divergence. In this project, the convergence/divergence theses make the theoretical foundatio n of a comparative analysis of recent and current changes in primary health care in Norway, Britain and the Czech Republic (the period from 1990 to 2005). The empirical data consists of written sources as well as qualitative interviews. To understand the dynamics of change we first compare the developments in each country, and then we discuss them in relation to their economic, cultural, political and historical context (a sociological and institutional approach). The purpose is not only to understand and explain, but also to learn from international experience.