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BookWatch

Health Policy and Politics: networks, ideas and power

In this book, Jenny Lewis, employing leading-edge thinking about governance, policy and administration, provides a new framework for thinking critically about health policy.

Her approach characterises health policy as a network of interactions between people, organisations, structures and ideas. The formal and informal interconnections between people and organisations, the structuring of which ideas can be discussed and in what terms, and the location and use of power are central to the analytical framework.

Five interrelated elements of the framework are described. These are institutions and health systems, governance, power and influence, professions, and ideas. Both structure and action are important to the framework's components. Structures shape the role of actors but do not fully determine them, and actors inhabit structures and also change them to support and advance their positions. Central to the framework is the realm of ideas, where structure and action meet. Ideas are crucial in shaping structures, and how actors think, yet have been generally neglected in health policy analysis.

Discussion of each element of the framework is followed by three contemporary health policy studies. The first investigates state-profession relationships. The second looks at local level partnerships in health, specifically in primary care. The third policy study discusses contemporary health issues by linking the structure of the health policy agenda to the connections between influential people, their key issues, and foundational ideas.

Throughout, the focus is health policy in Western liberal democracies. The empirical research included is centred on Australia, but comparative analyses with other countries - especially the UK and the Netherlands - are included. The book will be useful to anyone interested in health policy, the politics of health, and governance and administration in health, as well as those interested in public policy and social policy more broadly.

Reproduced by permission of IP Communications Pty Ltd from Health Policy and Politics: networks, ideas and power by JM Lewis. © IP Communications Pty Ltd.

Reference
Lewis, J.M. (2005). Health Policy and Politics: networks, ideas and power. IP Communications Pty Ltd.

For further information contact:
IP Communications Pty Ltd
Ph: 03 9811 6818
E: ipcomm@bigpond.com
Web: http://www.ipcommunications.com.au

Communicating in the Health and Social Sciences

Communicating in the Health and Social Sciences is the only book of its kind, a comprehensive introduction to written, electronic, visual, and interpersonal communication in the health and social sciences. Written specifically for students preparing for entry to human service professions, it explains clearly, rigorously, and entertainingly how to successfully:

• write essays, theses, journal papers, case reports, referrals, and community health proposals
• access and review academic literature and manage references
• give talks in class and at conferences
• prepare posters and PowerPoint presentations
• incorporate graphs, diagrams, photos, and tables into papers and presentations
• communicate with colleagues, patients, clients, carers, and the community
• work in groups and lead meetings.

KEY TOPICS at the start of each chapter outline the major areas covered.

CASE STUDIES, EXAMPLES, AND ACTIVITIES throughout the book demonstrate effective communication strategies.

HANDY HINTS provide tips for improving your communication skills.

REFERENCES at the end of each chapter list the most relevant books and journal articles, to assist students and teachers in finding more information about each topic covered in the chapter.

Joy Higgs, Ann Sefton, Annette Street, Lindy McAllister, and Iain Hay are all highly accomplished educators and researchers in the health and social sciences.

Reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press from Communicating in the Health and Social Sciences by Higgs et al ©Oxford University Press, http://www.oup.com.au

Reference
Higgs, J., et al. (2005). Communicating in the Health and Social Sciences. Oxford University Press.

For further information contact:
Oxford University Press
Ph: 1300 650 617
E: cs.au@oup.com
Web: http://www.oup.com.au