Description
Book SynopsisThis textbook provides a critical assessment of developments in health and healthcare policy within the UK and Europe. Each chapter integrates conceptual themes drawn from the fields of sociology and political science to offer a unique combination of theory, historical detail and wider social commentary.
The book is divided into four sections:
-Section One establishes a theoretical basis for the analysis of contemporary health policy.
-Section Two examines the key constituents of health care 'systems', which includes a comparative analysis of EU member states.
-Section Three focuses on contemporary health care policy and provision in the UK.
-Section Four assesses the increasingly limited ability of national governments to reduce threats to the health of their populations.
Written in an accessible style, the student-friendly approach highlights key concepts and includes introductions, summaries and examples of further reading. Ea
Trade Review
"Unquestionably, the author is well acquainted with contemporary health policy...This well-ordered, relatively concise and timely textbook will find a home on the shelves of healthcare and social science students taking modules in health policy, their teachers, as well as the general reader seeking both theoretical and practical insights into contemporary health policy. The merit of this book is not that it has proposed a definitive framework for health policy analysis, or that it has covered all the current health policy issues, but that it has related key sociological and political science concepts and theories to health policy analysis, which the reader may put together as they like to develop their own lines of inquiry. Moreover, vignettes with key concepts and suggested activities that appear throughout the text will help the reader further develop their critical thinking and understanding of the issues discussed in the text."
- Journal of Social Policy, April, 2010
Table of ContentsPART ONE Theory and Context Studying Health Policy The Role of the State Theory and Practice The Policy-Making Process PART TWO The Healthcare System The Structure of Healthcare in the UK Continuity and Change The System of Healthcare Funding in the UK A Comparative Analysis of European Healthcare Systems Changing Demands, Common Solutions? PART THREE Issues in Healthcare Provision Governing the Medical Profession Managing the Performance of the NHS A Patient-Led Health Service? Choice, Equity and the Supplier Market Meeting Long-term Health and Social Care Needs in the Community PART FOUR Looking to the Future Health Beyond Policy
