The politics and science of health and disease remain contested terrain among scientists, health practitioners, policy makers, industry, communities, and the public. Stakeholders in disputes about ...illnesses or conditions disagree over their fundamental causes as well as how they should be treated and prevented. This thought-provoking book crosses disciplinary boundaries by engaging with both public health policy and social science, asserting that science, activism, and policy are not separate issues and showing how the contribution of environmental factors in disease is often overlooked.
Specialist groups have often advised health ministers and other decision makers in developing countries on the use of social health insurance (SHI) as a way of mobilizing revenue for health, ...reforming health sector performance, and providing universal coverage. This book reviews the specific design and implementation challenges facing SHI in low- and middle-income countries and presents case studies on Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Colombia, and Thailand.
One Nation, Uninsured offers a vividly written history of America's failed efforts to address the health care needs of its citizens. Covering the entire twentieth century, Jill Quadagno shows how ...each attempt to enact national health insurance was met with fierce attacks by powerful stakeholders, who mobilized their considerable resources to keep the financing of health care out of the government's hands.
Health systems in low- and middle-income countries: an economic and policy perspective outlines the key aspects and issues concerning health systems of low- and middle-income countries, recognising ...the current global context within which these systems operate and the dynamics of this context. It brings together a set of renowned authors to tackle the issues that face population health and health care in the twenty-first century. The focus is predominantly low- and middle-income countries, with a distinct meeting of economic and policy perspectives, and grounding analysis of key issues within the broader international context. The book therefore provides a unique and comprehensive analysis of health systems, with a very different and unique 'flavour' in the field. It should have wide appeal to those engaged in health and health care, including health professionals, researchers and students, as well as those outside traditional health professions but with increasing interest within health issues, such as trade policy makers, researchers and students. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/publichealthepidemiolog9780199566761/toc.html Contributors to this volume - Lucy Gilson, Professor of Health Policy and Systems, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and University of Cape Town, South Africa Kara Hanson, Reader in Health System Economics; Head, Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Joseph Kutzin, Head, WHO/EURO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Strengthening, Spain Rene Loewenson, Director of Training and Research Support Centre, and founder and cluster lead, Regional network for Equity in health in east and southern Africa (EQUINET) Melisa Martinez-Alvarez, Research degree student, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Di McIntyre, Professor of Health Economics, University of Cape Town, South Africa and South African Research Chair in Health and Wealth Martin McKee, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Barbara McPake, health economist specialising in health policy and health systems research; Director, Institute for International Health and Development; Professor of International Health, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK Ellen Nolte, Director, Health and Healthcare Policy programme, RAND Europe; Honorary Senior Lecturer, London School of Hygiene, UK Richard Smith, Professor of Health System Economics; Head, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Anna Vassall, Lecturer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Prashant Yadav, Professor of Supply Chain Management, MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program; Research Affiliate, MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, Cambridge, USA
Sub-Saharan Africa has only 12 percent of the global population, yet this region accounts for 50 percent of child deaths, more than 60 percent of maternal deaths, 85 percent of malaria cases, and ...close to 67 percent of people living with HIV. Sub-Saharan Africa, however, has the lowest number of health workers in the world-significantly fewer than in South Asia, which is at a comparable level of economic development. The Labor Market for Health Workers in Africa uses the analytical tools of labor markets to examine the human resource crisis in health from an economic perspective. Africa's labor markets are complex, with resources coming from governments, donors, the private sector, and households. Low numbers of health workers and poor understanding of labor market dynamics are major impediments to improving health service delivery. Yet some countries in the region have developed innovative solutions with new approaches to creating a robust health workforce that can respond to the continent's health challenges. As Africa grows economically, the invaluable lessons in this book can help build tomorrow's African health systems.
When people come first Biehl, Joao; Petryna, Adriana
2013., 20130707, 2013, 2013-07-07
eBook
When People Come Firstcritically assesses the expanding field of global health. It brings together an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars to address the medical, social, political, ...and economic dimensions of the global health enterprise through vivid case studies and bold conceptual work. The book demonstrates the crucial role of ethnography as an empirical lantern in global health, arguing for a more comprehensive, people-centered approach.
Topics include the limits of technological quick fixes in disease control, the moral economy of global health science, the unexpected effects of massive treatment rollouts in resource-poor contexts, and how right-to-health activism coalesces with the increased influence of the pharmaceutical industry on health care. The contributors explore the altered landscapes left behind after programs scale up, break down, or move on. We learn that disease is really never just one thing, technology delivery does not equate with care, and biology and technology interact in ways we cannot always predict. The most effective solutions may well be found in people themselves, who consistently exceed the projections of experts and the medical-scientific, political, and humanitarian frameworks in which they are cast.
When People Come Firstsets a new research agenda in global health and social theory and challenges us to rethink the relationships between care, rights, health, and economic futures.
The last 10 years have seen a resurgence in interest and research around inequalities in the health sector. While a disproportionate share of the new research has focused on measuring inequality in ...the health sector, work is emerging on how to understand the causes of inequality and on identifying successful approaches for tackling the problem. This book summarizes the operational lessons emerging from this new focus. It is intended to be an operational resource for change agents within and outside government in low and middle countries committed to improve access and use of critical health services to income poor and social vulnerable populations.
After having successfully expanded health insurance coverage, China now faces the challenge of building an effective and efficient delivery system to serve its large and aging population. RAND ...researchers recommend that rather than emulate the models of Western countries, which have well-known limitations, China should create an innovative model based on population health management principles and sophisticated health information technology.
