Where do a doctor's responsibilities lie in communicating diagnostic and predictive genetic information to a patient's family members? On the one hand, a patient may wish to retain confidentiality while the relatives seek information; on the other, a patient may wish to share the information while the relatives would rather not know. This volume investigates the doctor's professional legal and ethical obligations in the context of these two familial tensions. The examination is conducted w...

As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, stark social inequalities have increasingly been revealed and, in many cases, exacerbated by the global health crisis.This book explores these inequalities, identifying three thematic strands: power and governance, gender and marginalized communities. By examining these three themes in relation to the effects of the pandemic, the book uncovers how unequal the pandemic truly is. It brings together invaluable insights from a range of internation...

In recent years, healthcare professionals have recognized the distinctly different healthcare needs and concerns of men and women. Women's health, in particular, has come into its own in the last two decades. In Canada, however, there has been little available in the way of a general text on women's health. This volume works toward filling that gap by providing a resource for teaching and understanding women's health in this country.To lay out the methodological and theoretical fou...

For centuries, medicine aimed to treat abnormalities. But today normality itself is open to medical modification. Equipped with a new molecular understanding of bodies and minds, and new techniques for manipulating basic life processes at the level of molecules, cells, and genes, medicine now seeks to manage human vital processes. The Politics of Life Itself offers a much-needed examination of recent developments in the life sciences and biomedicine that have led to the widespread...

With the world's population getting increasingly older, there has never been a more pressing need for the study of old age and ageing. An Introduction to Gerontology provides a wide-ranging introduction to this important topic. By assuming no prior expert knowledge and avoiding jargon, this book will guide students through all the main subjects in gerontology, covering both traditional areas, such as biological and social ageing, and more contemporary areas, such as technology, the arts an...

Sociology is a key topic for all trainee health professionals, but many struggle to see what sociology has to offer. Based on years of experience teaching sociology to healthcare students, Lani Russell has written a truly introductory text which explains the main sociological concepts without jargon or becoming too advanced. Using carefully chosen examples, she shows how health issues are influenced by social phenomena such as class, race or sexuality and the relevance this has for practit...

Ageing is an activity we are familiar with from an early age. In our younger years upcoming birthdays are anticipated with an excitement that somewhat diminishes as the years progress. As we grow older we are bombarded with advice on ways to overcome, thwart, resist, and, on the rare occasion, embrace, one's ageing. Have all human beings from the various historical epochs and cultures viewed aging with this same ambivalence? In this Very Short Introduction Nancy A. Pachana discuss...

This book fills a gap for an introductory text that offers broad coverage of the sociological issues that are relevant to health students coming to the theoretical and experiential aspects of health and illness for the first time.

This comprehensive new textbook covers core ethical and legal content for pre-registration nursing students. It provides readers with a sound understanding of the interrelationships between the NMC's code of conduct, standards and competencies, ethics and relevant sections of the English legal system.The only truly integrated text in the field, it opens with overviews of law and nursing, and ethical theories and nursing. It goes on to explore key areas of contention – such as negli...

This popular title from the Fundamental Aspects of Nursing series has been revised and updated to reflect the advances in the field. Vital reading for all student nurses to help them develop an understanding of the myriad of dilemmas in professional practice and ensure they meet professional standards. This book will outline the implications and application of the relevant recent legislation that relates to nursing practice. Professionally, this book will look at the demands and requiremen...

The third edition of this work on family law, comprising text, cases and materials, provides not only an explication of legal principle but also explores, primarily from a feminist perspective, some of the assumptions about, and constructions of, gender, sexual orientation, class and culture that underlie the law. It examines the ideology of the family and, in particular, the role of the law in contributing to and reproducing that ideology. Structured around the themes of equality, welfare...

The purpose of public and community health is to improve the health of populations or groups rather than concentrating on individuals. This book examines the ethical issues associated with public and community health. The contributors analyse the major ethical issues in public health - prioritisation, public participation, health promotion and screening - all of which reflect current practice in the UK. They examine what health services should be available, who should have access to which ...