Explores the role that the State can play in relation to new social challenges. Includes discussions of community participation in development, the role of social and cultural capital in the development process and approaches to efficient social management. Suggests a move away from an omnipotent or minimal State towards a more integral one. Highlights the role the State can play in overcoming inequities and analyses the specific case of Latin America.

Nursing is vital to millions of people worldwide. This book details the ebb and flow of its fascinating history and politics through case studies from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Authors from across the Americas share findings and explore new thinking about Western hemisphere-specific issues that affect nursing and health care. Using economic globalization as an overarching framework, these cross-national case studies show the strengths and contradictions in nursing, elucidating common themes and examining successes. The partnership of authors shapes a collective understanding of nursing in the Americas and forms a basis for enduring hemisphere-wide academic exchange. Thus, the book offers a new platform for understanding the struggles and obstacles of nursing in a climate of globalization, as well as for understanding nursing's richness and accomplishments. Because politics, economics, health, and nursing are inextricably linked, this volume critically explores the intersections among political economies and nursing and health care systems. The historical and contextual background allows readers to make sense of how and why nursing in the Americas has taken on its present form.

Reviewing epidemiological and demographic trends internationally, this book provides an overview of major health trends, summarises the current state of the world's health, and reviews recent estimates of the global burden of disease.

Linking classical public health and intervention with evolving healthcare strategies and policies for the 21st century, The New Public Health provides a broad perspective on current issues & the kinds of solutions & expectations needed in the future.

Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services, in a wider range of ways than is sometimes recognized. These conclusions are based on case studies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, as well as on cross-national comparisons involving these cases and others.

Health care reforms around the world—from Europe and North America to Africa, Latin America and Asia—seem to all be market-oriented reforms driven by international business interests and right wing political parties. There seems to be a sudden and broad concern with the efficiency of medical care, with the assertion that democratically or professionally run systems are inherently inefficient. Far less concern is evident for the more traditional values held regarding medical care, effectiveness (or quality) and equity. The fact is that we have little good cross-national research that systematically addresses the reform issue. This book addresses that problem, and attempts to look at health care reforms in a number of countries, representing as wide a spectrum as possible, and using a common conceptual framework that allows for comparable information to be gathered and presented on each, despite differing levels of socio-economic development. The authors agreed on a set of models that were thought to provide reasonable guidance in answering the questions of the source of pressures for reform, the alternative modes of organization that have been found in the world in recent years, and the direction of change among those alternatives.

Following a successful first edition published in 2007, the follow-up 2011 edition of Wastewater Sludge - A Global Overview of the Current Status and Future Prospects will present an updated and expanded perspective on developments in relation to wastewater sludge around the world. Sludge arising from wastewater treatment represents a serious environmental issue, requiring technological and management solutions to ensure it is processed in a safe and economically efficient manner. Extension of sewers, the construction of new wastewater treatment facilities and the upgrading of existing wastewater plants means the amount of sludge to be handled continues to increase. Alongside this, aspects relating to energy consumption and sustainable operation need to be considered. Within this general picture, sludge is generated in different technical, economic and social contexts around the world, demanding that different approaches need to be taken. The 2011 edition of this report provides a strategic overview of the wastewater sludge market around the world, based on regional and country contributions. These look at the current situation in terms of sludge generation, legislation, technology applied and management management approaches. These will then look at anticipated developments over the short / medium term, including expected developments in terms of legislation and the technology and management solutions to be implemented. These will be complemented by longer term perspectives also. The report has been prepared for the Market Briefing Series of the International Water Association's magazine Water21, with input from IWA's network of wastewater sludge experts around the world. Contributions in the 2011 edition include Western Europe, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Eastern Europe, Turkey, USA, Canada, Latin America / Caribbean, Colombia, Brazil, East Asia, Korea, Malaysia, South Asia, China, Africa, and Australasia.