The palgrave international handbook of healthcare policy and governance

Abstract

Healthcare policy is one of contemporary society's most dynamic policy arenas. Heightened pressures such as the global economic crisis, demographic changes, and inequity have increased interest in international, transnational, and global health policy. Yet, new concepts of healthcare may create diverse and contradictory results around the world that call for careful empirical investigation and for a systematic approach that brings the complexity of governing healthcare into perspective. This international handbook addresses key themes in the debates over changing healthcare policy. This includes health human resources planning; major concepts of management and leadership in healthcare; traditional and emergent areas of governance; and the challenges of equity and equality in the development, provision of, and access to healthcare services for diverse groups of citizens. With a focus on connections, including global and local perspectives, and macro-and micro-level policy using a multi-level governance approach, this handbook provides nuanced research that illuminates the intricate issues in global healthcare policy and governance.