In the context of substantial changes in health service policy and public health policy in England over the last two decades, Health Policy, Power and Politics fills an important gap by providing an up-to-date and accessible account of recent trends in health policies and a sociological analysis of why these policies have taken the shape they have.This book provides a theoretically informed analysis of key recent policy changes in England and how the interplay of powerful ...

Coronary Heart Disease is the major cause of death in the UK, being responsible for thirty-one percent of male deaths and for twenty-four percent of female deaths in 1987 in England and Wales. Preventing Coronary Heart Disease examines these statistics and focuses specifically on policies for its prevention by the Government, general practitioners, and concerned groups. Michael Calnan looks at the feasibility and effectiveness of these health policies and the obstacles in the way of their ...

Providing a sociological analysis of the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, this study places particular analytical emphasis on the interplay between powerful structural interests and the influence on the development of COVID-19 policy. Considering a range of actors, (including the government, scientific experts and the medical profession, the media, and the public) and the nature of their relationships with one another, the authors identify the key sociological aspects t...

This volume and its companion, The new dynamics of ageing volume 1, provide comprehensive multi-disciplinary overviews of the very latest research on ageing. Together they report the outcomes of the most concerted investigation ever undertaken into both the influence shaping the changing nature of ageing and its consequences for individuals and society.This book concentrates on four major themes: autonomy and independence in later life, biology and ageing, food and nutrition and re...

There are significant variations in how healthcare systems and health professionals are regulated globally. One feature that they increasingly have in common is an emphasis on the value of including members of the public in quality assurance processes. While many argue that this will help better serve the public interest, others question how far the changing regulatory reform agenda is still dominated by medical interests.Bringing together leading academics worldwide, this collecti...

Health service policy and health policy have changed considerably over the past fifteen years and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date sociological analysis of health policy. Not only have policies themselves changed but new policy themes – such as evidence-based policy and practice, an increasing focus on a primary care led health service, a growing recognition of the need to address inequalities through public health policies and a focus on the views and the voice of the user and t...

Do lay people view modern medicine as a fountain of hope or a font of despair? What are their experiences of modern medical care and technology, and how do their views and experiences differ across different social groups? Combining theoretical insights with a range of qualitative and ethnographic research, this volume examines lay experiences and evaluation of medicines and drugs, chronic illness and life-saving technology, and reproductive technologies. It also considers the growing popu...

Taking as its point of departure recent developments in health and social theory Health, Medicine and Society brings together a range of eminent, international scholars to reflect upon key issues at the turn of the century.Contributors draw upon a range of contemporary theories, both modernist and postmodernist, to look at the following themes:*health and social structure*the contested nature of the body*the salience of consumption and risk*the c...