Drawing on the expertise of Chinese and Western academics and practitioners, the contributors to this volume aim to advance the understanding of philanthropy for health in China in the 20th century and to identify future challenges and opportunities. Considering government, NGO leaders, domestic philanthropists, and foreign foundations, the volume examines the historical roots and distinct stages of philanthropy and charity in China, the health challenges philanthropy must address, and the...

Health care costs make up nearly a fifth of U.S. gross domestic product, but health care is a peculiar thing to buy and sell. Both a scarce resource and a basic need, it involves physical and emotional vulnerability and at the same time it operates as big business. Patients have little choice but to trust those who provide them care, but even those providers confront a great deal of medical uncertainty about the services they offer. Selling Our Souls looks at the contradictions in...

The provision of care within the context of the modern health service environment involves a wide range of professionals. The health care team might include general practitioners, nurses, midwives, hospital doctors, physiotherapists, other allied health professionals, as well as receptionists and practice managers. To optimise delivery of care at both individual and population levels, team members must work collaboratively with colleagues in their own profession and others. This book, in t...

For more than a century, we have relied on chemical cures to keep our bodies free from disease and our farms free from bugs and weeds. We rarely consider human and agricultural health together, but both are based on the same ecology, and both are being threatened by organisms that have evolved to resist our antibiotics and pesticides. Patients suffer from C.diff, a painful, potentially lethal gut infection associated with multiple rounds of antibiotics; orange groves rot from inse...

Taking as its focus a highly emotive area of study, The Dying Process draws on the experiences of daycare and hospice patients to provide a forceful new analysis of the period of decline prior to death.Placing the bodily realities of dying very firmly centre stage and questioning the ideology central to the modern hospice movement of enabling patients to 'live until they die', Julia Lawton shows how our concept of a 'good death' is open to interpretation. Her study examine...

This volume offers new perspectives on questions which are highly relevant in the context of dementia and the arts and the humanities. The issues concern the personal identity of dementia patients, their familial relationships, advance directives and the patients’ autonomy, the cultural representation of the subjective experience of dementia, and the patients’ stigmatization due to the disease. By considering topics from philosophy and medical humanities, from cultural studies as well as f...

This volume looks at the key links between social determinants, health disparities and health and health care. There is a particular focus on macro-level systems and micro-level issues, including the examination of issues for patients, carers and providers of care. Coverage includes papers on geographical and place factors and disparities, SES and race/ethnicity factors, chronic care and serious health problems such as HIV/AIDs and kidney transplantation, comparative aspects and perception...

The 30th Anniversary volume of Research in the Sociology of Health Care looks at the important links between major social factors and health and health care. The four main factors examined in the book are race/ethnicity, immigration, Socioeconomic Status (SES) and gender. Starting with an introductory chapter which reviews some of the important sociological literature on these social factors as linked to health, the book goes on to cover various key issues, including obesity, ageing, immig...

The global burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as hypertension, diabetes and cancers, and of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, has a disproportionate impact on the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa, Asia and Latin America. The pattern persists in African and Asian migrant populations in European and North American countries, despite the higher standards of living and improved health infrastructure. The consensus of experts is that...

*Highly Commended in the Health and Social Care category of the 2011 BMA Medical Book Awards*For those involved in commissioning and running projects working with people, measuring performance and assessing outcomes are an essential part of applying for and maintaining funding, and a way of demonstrating the project's achievements. This versatile 'how to' book guides you through the process of evaluating your project in order to improve funding applications and build the case for y...

Susan Sontag once described illness as “the night-side of life.” When we or our loved ones fall ill, our world is thrown into darkness and disarray, our routines are interrupted, our deepest beliefs shaken. The modern regime of hyper-logical biomedicine offers little solace when it comes to the effects of ill health on our inner lives. By exploring the role of desire in illness, Eros and Illness offers an alternative: an unconventional, deeply human exploration of what it means to...

Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases worldwide and continues to be a public health concern in many countries. China made huge progress in the control of Schistosomiasis japonica, aiming at the elimination of the disease from many previously endemic areas. This book presents a scientific investigation into the practical implementation of the Chinese national control strategy at the grass root level. It focusses on availability and composition of human resources fo...