Health Systems and Policy

This original and innovative book opens up new perspectives in health policy debate, examining the emerging international trends in the governance of health professions and the significance of national contexts for the changing health workforce.

This student-friendly textbook uses theoretical perspectives to bring to life social theories relating to health and illness. including binge drinking, obesity, the prominence of therapy and the search for happiness.

People-centred public health provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of policy, practice and research in how members of the public can be involved in delivering health improvement as volunteers or lay health workers, drawing on a major study of lay engagement in public health, and using case studies and real life examples.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. This book is a vital review of the impact of austerity on the wellbeing of the UK. Case studies from Stockton-on-Tees, home to some of the starkest health divides, are combined with a review of the repercussions of budget cuts and welfare reforms to show the vast inequalities in health in the UK today.

Bringing together leading academics worldwide, this collection compares and critically examines the ways in which different countries are regulating healthcare in general, and health professions in particular, in the interest of users and the wider public.

What size is 'just right' for a care provider? This book explores size as an independent variable in care services, comparing outcomes and value for money across micro, small, medium and large organisations.

Health and legal experts from England and Canada consider the influence of medical doctors on reforms in this comparative study. With reflections on participation since the inception of publicly-funded healthcare systems, they show how the status of doctors affects change.

In its 75th anniversary year, this book examines the history, evolution and future of the NHS. With contributions from leading researchers and experts across a range of fields, it provides a long-term critical review of the NHS and key themes in health policy.

Critical realism helps researchers to extend and clarify their analyses. This original text draws on international examples of health and illness research across the life course, from small studies to large trials, to show how versatile critical realism can be in validating research and connecting it to policy and practice.

Adult social care was the first major social policy domain in England to be transferred from the state to the market. This book meticulously charts this shift, challenges the dominant market paradigm, explores alternative models for a post-Covid-19 future and locates the debate within the wider political thinking and policy change literature.

Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis to explore 11 developed countries’ health services, this ambitious text identifies which factors are associated with the strongest outcomes.

At a time of global ‘permacrisis’, Sebastian Taylor applies his extensive frontline experience working with health systems and healthcare in the Global North and South to assess the concrete impact of contemporary liberal values on our welfare, development and environmental survival.