Across the globe, patients are no longer passive recipients of care — they are active participants, decision-makers and collaborators.This timely volume explores the evolving landscape of patient and public involvement (PPI) in healthcare, focusing on its intersection with the healthcare professions. Drawing on international perspectives, the book examines how patients and professionals navigate changing roles, peer support networks and complex healthcare systems. It considers the ...

Health and illness in the Neoliberal Era in Europe discusses the impact of neoliberalism on public health and the social construction of health and illness in Europe, analysing case studies at a European and national level.The book focusses on three main topics: health inequity, self-responsibilisation and organisational reforms. Increasing inequity is one of the main outcomes of neoliberal policy in Europe and here the authors examine the impact of neoliberal policies on ...

A wide-ranging collection of both classic writings and more recent articles in the sociology of health and illness, this reader is organized into the following sections:* health beliefs and knowledge* inequalities and patterning of health and illness* professional and patient interaction* chronic illness and disability* evaluation and politics in health care.With a thorough introduction which sets the scene for the field as a whole, and section i...

How do we understand health in relation to society? What role do social processes, structures and culture play in shaping our experiences of health and illness? How do we understand medicine and healthcare within a sociological framework?Drawing on international literature and examples, this new edition of Key Concepts in Medical Sociology:· Systematically explains the concepts that have preoccupied medical sociology from its inception, and which have shape...

This highly topical and controversial book presents a lively re-appraisal of the current changes to the health service and analyzes their effects on the status and practice of health professionals.Modern medicine is a powerful institution. With the help of highly-developed drugs and surgical techniques, it promises to relieve suffering, improve the quality of life and extend the life-span. Conversely, it is expensive for the governments, insurance companies and individuals who pay ...

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...

The Sociology of the Health Service responds directly to the need to develop a sociological analysis of current health policy. Topics covered vary from privatisation and health service management to health education and the politics of professional power. Also included is an histroical review of sociology's contributions to health policy and proposals for an agenda for sociological health policy research in the 1990s.

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...

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and Scientific American Book Club selectionMoreno pulls apart the debates on eugenics, abortion, end-of-life decisions, embryonic stem-cell research, reproductive cloning, chimeras and synthetic biology, among others, carefully reassembling what’s at stake for each side. In graceful, sparkling prose, he illuminates intricate threads of history and complex philosophical arguments. . . . Highly recommended for...

This book explores the concept of ‘critical’ public health, at a point when many of its core concerns appear to have moved to the mainstream of health policy. Issues such as addressing health inequalities and their socioeconomic determinants, and the inclusion of public voices in policy-making, are now emerging as key policy aims for health systems across Europe and North America.Combining analytical introductory chapters, edited versions of influential articles from the journal

Proof that high health care spending is linked directly to poverty.In Poverty and the Myths of Health Care Reform, Dr. Richard (Buz) Cooper argues that US poverty and high health care spending are inextricably entwined. Our nation's health care system bears a financial burden that is greater than in any other developed country in large part because impoverished patients use more health care, driving up costs across the board.Drawing on decades of r...

Moneyball meets medicine in this remarkable chronicle of one of the greatest scientific quests of our time—the groundbreaking program to answer the most essential question for humanity: how do we live and die?—and the visionary mastermind behind it.Medical doctor and economist Christopher Murray began the Global Burden of Disease studies to gain a truer understanding of how we live and how we die. While it is one of the largest scientific projects ever attempted—as breathtaking as ...