Most community finance has evolved in the context of severe economic constraints, political instability, and lack of good governance. Usually government taxation capacity is weak, formal mechanisms of social protection for vulnerable populations absent, and government oversight of the informal health sector lacking. In this context of extreme public sector failure, community involvement in financing healthcare provides a critical, though insufficient, first step in the long march toward improved healthcare access for the poor, and social protection against the cost of illness. There are structural reasons (such as remoteness and language barriers) that lead to higher costs in some areas but not in others.

Consider and discuss how practice-based research contributes to the elimination of health disparities, offering specific reasons and examples.