Table 3

Illustrative combinations of theory and methodology paired with research questions on power in HPSR

Socioecological level	Examples of research questions	Examples of potentially applicable theories	Examples of corresponding methodologies
EMPIRICAL SITE 1: ACTORS AND ACTOR NETWORKS
Micro	How does the degree of participatory leadership style among hospital and district health directors affect hospital staff roles in accountability processes?	Weber’s three sources of authority. Lipsky’s street level bureaucracy.	Actor interface analysis. Case study.
Micro	How does X peer communication and mentorship programme foster health advocacy and political capabilities within a racially diverse community of commercial sex workers?	Gaventa’s PowerCube. VeneKlasen et al’s expressions of power. Feminist theories. Intersectionality. Critical race theory. Subaltern theories. Health and human rights.	Ethnography. Comparative case study. Actor interface analysis.
Meso	In what ways do the social networks of public and private healthcare providers differ in terms of their relationships with state level health authorities and insurers? How might these differences affect the introduction of a regulatory regime for counterfeit antibiotics?	Bourdieu’s fields. Policy transfer.	Social network analysis. Historical analysis.
Meso	How have the formal and informal channels of in-person communication regarding the liberalised abortion law shaped how the law is interpreted and practiced by health providers in rural areas of country X?	Political systems. Lipsky’s street level bureaucracy. Feminist theories. Health and human rights.	Stakeholder analysis to develop line of enquiry methods. Actor interface analysis. Social network analysis. Case study. Ethnography.
Macro	How did civil society representatives in country X leverage social and moral power conferred by their HIV status and other identities, to influence the country’s proposal to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria?	Lukes’ three faces of power. Bourdieu’s fields. Foucault’s power/knowledge. Gaventa’s PowerCube.	Actor interface analysis. Case study.
Macro	What attributes of social networks among representatives of large corporations involved in the production, packaging and sale of food products, Ministers of Health, and Ministers of Trade, influence the role that Countries X, Y and Z played in WHO discussions regarding limitations on advertising of unhealthy food?	Barnett and Duvall’s taxonomy of power. Necropolitics. Postcolonial theory. Kentikelenis and Connor’s power asymmetries in global governance for health. Rushton and Williams’ frames, paradigms and power.	Social network analysis. Actor interface analysis. Discourse analysis. Case study. Historical methods.
EMPIRICAL SITE 2: SOURCES OF POWER
Micro	In what ways does the discretionary power of frontline health workers influence the implementation of a new programme to provide home-based care for type 1 diabetes in country Y, and what are the determinants of how that power is exercised?	Lipsky’s street level bureaucracy. Long’s actor oriented perspective. Critical race theory.	Ethnography. Case study.
Micro	How do middle manager conceptions of biomedical expertise and primary healthcare shape the integration of community health workers into primary health centre teams?	Critical race theory. Lipsky’s street level bureaucracy. Feminist approaches. Intersectionality. Bourdieu’s fields.	Ethnography. Case study. Actor interface analysis.
Meso	How do political authority, financial resources, cultural capital and technical expertise shape the performance of(health governance/research funding decisions) institutions in country X?	Bourdieu’s fields. Weber’s three sources of authority. Critical race theory.	Historical methods. Ethnography. Case study. Political economy.
Meso	How do conflicts of interest in the stewardship of public and private medical education shape the recruitment, distribution and competency of human resources for health in country X?	Gaventa’s power cube. VeneKlasen et al’s expressions of power. Grindle and Thomas’ policy elites.	Historical methods. Ethnography. Case study. Stakeholder analysis.
Macro	How does the presence of supra-state, global trade institutions—such as the WTO or International Investment Agreements (IIAs)—differentially influence governments’ capacity to control their health policy and programming?	Barnett and Duvall’s taxonomy of power. Gramsci’s cultural hegemony. Foucault’s power/knowledge.	Political economy. Discourse analysis. Case study research.
Macro	What institutional and legal mechanisms can regulate tech companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) applications that collect and analyse real-time health data?	New institutionalism. Rushton and Williams’ frames, paradigms and power. Health and human rights.	Political economy. Discourse analysis. Case study research.
EMPIRICAL SITE 3: SOCIETAL FLOWS AND EXPRESSIONS OF POWER
	How do socioeconomic factors such as class, religion, ethnicity, gender and caste interact to shape the relative power dynamics of local-level health planning committees?	VeneKlasen et al’s expressions of power Gaventa’s PowerCube. Critical race theory. Feminist theories/domination. Intersectionality.	Ethnography. Case study research. Participatory action research.
Micro	How do the relationships between health workers, their representative associations/unions and local politicians shape the practice of corruption, fraud and abuse at the facility-level, block-level and district-level?	Ostrom’s institutions for collective action. Street-level bureaucracy. Long’s actor oriented perspective.	Social network analysis. Ethnography. Case study.
Meso	How do shifts in political parties or political regimes change explicit or implicit values driving sexual and reproductive rights and health policy?	Grindle and Thomas’ policy elites. Gramsci’s cultural hegemony. Necropolitics. Health and human rights.	Discourse analysis. Historical methods. Case study. Political economy.
Meso	How have colonial-era institutions, legislation and bureaucratic structures influenced health workforce policy at the national level in country Y?	Max Weber’s three sources of authority. Foucault’s power/knowledge. Subaltern studies. Postcolonialism.	Historical methods. Discourse analysis.
Macro	How do multinational corporations strategise at the global and national-level to influence health policy in their interest? What countervailing forces or powers exist or form in opposition to this influence?	Rushton and Williams’ frames, paradigms and power. Kentikelenis and Connor’s power asymmetries in global governance for health. Gramsci’s cultural hegemony. Policy transfer.	Political economy. Discourse analysis. Case study research. Stakeholder analysis. Big data analytics.
Macro	How is the foreign policy and geopolitical strategy of country ‘Z” influencing the distribution of its COVID-19 vaccine supplies to other countries?	Barnett and Duvall’s taxonomy of power. Rushton and Williams’ frames, paradigms and power. Kentikelenis and Connor’s power asymmetries in global governance for health.	Political economy. Case study research. Stakeholder analysis.