03170nas a2200289 4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653003200054653001300086653002100099653002100120653002200141653002700163653002400190653002600214653002800240653002400268100001500292700001600307700001800323245014700341856011800488300000900606490000700615520224400622022001402866 2024 d bMDPI AG10aHealth System Strengthening10aTanzania10aHealth Promotion10aHealth insurance10ahealth technology10ahealth system thinking10ainnovation adoption10aCommunity Health Fund10asupply chain management10aprime vendor system1 aStoermer M1 aAbdallah AK1 aWiedenmayer K00aA Three-Stage Model for Innovation Adoption in Health Systems: Insights from the Health Promotion and System Strengthening Project in Tanzania uhttps://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/systems/systems-12-00300/article_deploy/systems-12-00300.pdf?version=1723528518 a1-190 v123 aWe explored the outcomes and challenges encountered during a 12-year collaborative development endeavor in Tanzania, focused on enhancing the healthcare system. The Health Promotion and System Strengthening (HPSS) project, supported by the Swiss Government and implemented by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) from 2011 to 2023, aimed to strengthen various aspects of Tanzania’s healthcare landscape. This included reforms in health insurance through the improved Community Health Fund (iCHF), the establishment of a public–private partnership to optimize the health commodity supply chain via a Prime Vendor System (Jazia PVS), the implementation of health technology management innovations, and the facilitation of participatory community and school health promotion initiatives. Operating in a multisectoral, interdisciplinary, and systemic manner, the HPSS project employed a variety of interconnected strategies, focusing on key entry points within the Tanzanian health system, starting from district level to national policies. These efforts followed a three-stages approach to reach a sustainable adoption of the innovations, going through the process of service and product innovation, integration into service delivery systems, and finally their adoption in the respective institutional policies. Each stage presented distinct frameworks and challenges, detailed in this article. The development of innovative concepts was complemented by capacity building through on-the-job training, establishment of new accredited training programs for pre-service trainings, and the development of new IT systems integrated into the governmental IT environment, as well as efforts to improve transparency, accountability, and governance. Activities in these fields were guided by operational research, following the translational approach of Swiss TPH to go from innovation and validation to application. The example of the HPSS project highlights the cycle of developing and testing innovations at the community and district level, followed by endeavoring national-level integration and policy adjustments, consequently resulting in improved service delivery at the district and community level. a2079-8954