Health Policy: A Critical Perspective - Hardcover

Crinson, Iain

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1412922860 ISBN 13: 9781412922869

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2008

Synopsis

This 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. Each chapter also includes case studies and activities which encourage the reader to think about the planning, implementation and assessment of specific healthcare policies.

This is a timely and authoritative textbook that covers a key topic of the curriculum while also contributing to topical debates. The book will be essential reading for healthcare and social science students taking modules in health policy, and will also be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in the field of healthcare.

About this title

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

Synopsis:

This book provides a critical assessment of developments in health and healthcare policy. Primarily focusing on the UK, the chapters cover issues such as the policy-making process; the development of the NHS; health care governance; health promotion; and, the comparative analysis of health care systems within the EU and US.Each chapter brings together social and political themes to offers a unique combination of theory, historical detail and wider social commentary. Case studies illustrate how policy has evolved and developed in recent years, and the implications these changes have for practice. Written in an accessible style the chapters also include comprehensive introductions, summaries and further reading sections. Each chapter will include case studies to illustrate the planning, implementation and assessment of specific policies.This is a timely and authoritative textbook that covers a key topic of the curriculum whilst also contributing to topical debates. The book will be essential reading for health and nursing students taking modules in health policy, and will also be of interest to policy makers and practitioners in the field of healthcare.

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1412922860
• ISBN 13: 9781412922869
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 232