Health Promotion is a growth area - there are a growing number of health promotion modules on Health Sciences, Nursing and Sociology courses Gordon Macdonald is a best-selling author and very well known in his field

Beginning with a critical appraisal of the concept itself, the second edition of Health Promotion: Planning and Strategies outlines models for defining `health promotion' and sets out the factors involved in planning health promotion programmes that work. Locating the principles and strategies of health promotion within an emerging sphere of multidisciplinary health, the authors show how these can be applied within a range of contexts and settings. In an attempt to bridge the gap that persists between ideological perspectives and practical implementations, they delve beyond the rhetoric of empowerment and show how it can be incorporated into practice. Focusing particularly on the synergistic relationship between policy and education, the book re-appraises the notion of health education - an idea which has become marginalised in recent years- and shows the fundamental importance of education in creating individual choice and generating effective advocacy for social change. The question of `evidence' is central to the text and the book examines methods of evaluation and the role it plays in creating more effective health promotion programmes. The new edition offers coverage of values and ethics; working with communities; the settings approach, and social marketing. It also provides students with a glossary of key terms. Internationally relevant and multidisciplinary, this is an essential text for students of health studies, health promotion, public health, interprofessional social care courses, and all healthcare professionals.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Written for all professionals who strive to improve the health of others.

2012 First Place AJN Book of the Year Award Winner in Nursing Research! "This is a resource for success and should be a part of any researcher's library."--Doody's Medical Reviews This book is a practical, user-friendly guide for health care researchers across multiple disciplines who are involved in intervention research. It provides all of the essential elements needed for understanding how to design, conduct, analyze, and fund intervention studies that are replicable and can withstand the scrutiny of the Institutional Review Board and peer review. Developed from an annual continuing education workshop on intervention studies conducted by Dr. Melnyk, this text is the most comprehensive body of information available on this topic. Contributors address the design of interventions that are ethically considerate and sensitive to culture, race/ethnicity, and gender, minimizing threats to external and internal validity, measurement, and budgeting. The guide explores such implementation issues as subject recruitment and retention, data management, and specialized settings, cost analysis, and explaining intervention effects. The text also guides readers in writing grant applications that fund , and addresses how to move intervention study findings into the real world. A unique addition to the book is the availability of digital examples of progress reports, final reports, and research grant applications that have received funding from the National Institutes of Health and other relevant organizations. This text is a valuable resource for all health care professionals conducting research and for doctoral students in health care studies. Key Features: Presents the essential tools for designing, conducting, analyzing, and funding intervention studies Designed for use by health care professionals conducting intervention research Provides comprehensive, accessible guidelines for doctoral students across all health care disciplines Instructs readers on writing grant applications that fund Includes digital examples of funded research grants, progress reports, and final reports

"Well before evidence-based practice became fashionable beyond clinical medicine, the team at SSRU was telling us what we ought to already know - that some interventions work better than others, and that that some well-meaning attempts at health promotion, just like medicine and surgery, may do harm. This book is a must for policy makers and practitioners who want to make a real difference, and understand how research evidence can inform their practice. The book will also be an important tool for researchers, who will increasingly be using the tools of systematic review if they want to inform and influence those who deliver services." - Helen Roberts, Professor of Child Health, City University This book bridges the gap between research and practice in health promotion. It advances evidence-based health promotion by illustrating how service providers and researchers can change their working practices to benefit the public. It addresses the need for health promotion services to be grounded in empirical research, and for research to focus on issues important to those delivering as well as those receiving the services. Using Research for Effective Health Promotion advances the debate about the relative values of qualitative and experimental research in health promotion, and encourages an increased participation of service users in the development and evaluation of services. It provides health promotion specialists with time-saving tools to draw upon research quickly and critically; and is an important resource for students and professionals in fields such as public health, nursing, education, social work, and voluntary services.

This volume, developed by the Observatory together with OECD, provides an overall conceptual framework for understanding and applying strategies aimed at improving quality of care. Crucially, it summarizes available evidence on different quality strategies and provides recommendations for their implementation. This book is intended to help policy-makers to understand concepts of quality and to support them to evaluate single strategies and combinations of strategies.