Table 1 Varying definitions for the concept of responsiveness

“Health system responsiveness indicates the ability of a health system to meet the population’s legitimate expectations regarding non-medical and non-financial aspects of the care process” [52]

“Health systems responsiveness entails an actual experience of people’s interaction with their health system, which confirms or disconfirms their initial expectations” [14]

“Responsiveness relates to a system’s ability to respond to the legitimate expectations of potential users about non-health enhancing aspects of care and in broad terms can be defined as the way in which individuals are treated and the environment in which they are treated, encompassing the notion” [53]

“Responsiveness of human resources for health (HRH) is defined as the social actions that health providers do to meet the legitimate expectations of service seekers” [54]

“Responsiveness of health providers to citizens’ concerns is thus the result of a combination of the broader governance and health system context, features of the social accountability initiative and motives and perceptions of providers at a particular point in time” [13]