First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

How did seven low- and middle-income countries, inspired by the landmark Alma-Ata Declaration, dramatically improve citizen health by focusing on primary health care? The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 marked a potential turning point in global health, signaling a commitment to primary health care that could have improved the safety of air, food, water, roads, homes, and workplaces in all 180 countries that signed it. Unfortunately, progress in many countries stalled in the 1980s. The declaration was, however, embraced by a number of countries, where its implementation led to substantial improvement in citizen health. Achieving Health for All reveals how, inspired by Alma-Ata, the governments of seven countries executed comprehensive primary health care systems, deploying new cadres of community-based health workers to bring relevant services to ordinary households. Drawing on a set of narrative case studies from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Nepal, Ghana, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam,the book explains how a primary health care focus succeeded in improving population health. The book also conclusively demonstrates that comprehensive, multisector, community-controlled, and population-level primary health care is a viable strategy that, against the odds, has led to sustainable, scalable good health at lower cost. Bringing together a group of experts to analyze the forty-year legacy of the Alma-Ata Declaration, Achieving Health for All is a fascinating look at the work needed to transform nations from places that make people sick to places where they stay healthy. An inspiring array of lessons learned along the way shows how readers can make policies that support the health of all people. Contributors: Onaopemipo Abiodun, Vinya Ariyaratne, John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Kedar Prasad Baral, Ayaga A. Bawah, Pedro Más Bermejo, Fred N. Binka, David Bishai, Carolina Cardona, Dennis Carlson, Chala Tesfaye Chekagn, Hoang Khanh Chi, Svea Closser, Luc Barrière Constantin, Zufan Abera Damtew, Marlou de Rouw, Nadia Diamond-Smith, Philip Forth, Mignote Solomon Haile, Nguyen Thanh Huong, Taufique Joarder, Alice Kuan, Seblewengel Lemma, Sasmira Matta, Ahmed Moen, Rituu B. Nanda, Frank K. Nyonator, Ferdous Arfina Osman, Claudia Pereira, Henry B. Perry, James F. Phillips, Meike Schleiff, Melissa Sherry, Rita Thapa, Kebede Worku

Health services can and should be improved by applying research findings about best practice. Yet, in Knolwedge to Action?, the authors explore why it nevertheless proves notoriously difficult to implement change based on research evidence in the face of strong professional views and complex organizational structures.The book draws on a large body of evidence acquired in the course of nearly fifty in-depth case studies, following attempts to introduce evidence-based practice in the UK NHS over more than a decade. Using qualitative methods to study hospital and primary care settings, they are able to shed light on why some of these attempts succeeded where others faltered. By opening up the intricacies and complexities of change in the NHS, they reveal the limitations of the simplistic approaches toimplementing research or introducing evidence-based health care.A unique synthesis of evidence, the book brings together data from 1,400 interviews with doctors, nurses, and managers, as well as detailed observations and documentary analysis. The authors provide an analysis, rooted in a range of theoretical perspectives, that underlines the intimate links between organizational structures and cultures and the utilization of knowledge, and draws conclusions which will be of significance for other areas of public management. Their findings have implicationsfor the utlization of knowledge in situations where there is a professional tradition working within a politically sensitive blend of public service, managerial accountability, and technical expertise.Knowledge to Action? will be of interest to Academics, Researchers, and Advanced Students of Organizational Behaviour, Public and Health Management, and Evidence-Based Medicine; and also of particular interest to Practitioners, Clinicians, and Public Health Managers concerned with implementing change to clinical practice.

Integration is now a key expectation within the delivery of health and social care services in the UK and internationally. However, it still remains difficult to achieve and sustain in practice. Based on learning from successful, and unsuccessful, integrated care initiatives, this book is an invaluable guide for those responsible for leading, managing and delivering integrated care across health, social care and housing. Written by an experienced team of researchers who have studied, led and supported integrated care for many years Integrated Care in Practice draws on latest evidence, innovative practice and helpful theory. It provides insights into the common pitfalls that such initiatives can encounter and demonstrates positive approaches to anticipating and responding to such challenges. Throughout, real-case examples are provided, and concepts and models are connected with the realities of day-to-day life for those working within these services. Integrated care is a goal to aspire to - this book helps to explain how we can turn this goal into practical action and positive outcomes.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

A new release in the Quality Chasm Series, Priority Areas for National Action recommends a set of 20 priority areas that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other groups in the public and private sectors should focus on to improve the quality of health care delivered to all Americans. The priority areas selected represent the entire spectrum of health care from preventive care to end of life care. They also touch on all age groups, health care settings and health care providers. Collective action in these areas could help transform the entire health care system. In addition, the report identifies criteria and delineates a process that DHHS may adopt to determine future priority areas.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book examines the concept of care and care practices in healthcare from the interdisciplinary perspectives of continental philosophy, care ethics, the social sciences, and anthropology. Areas addressed include dementia care, midwifery, diabetes care, psychiatry, and reproductive medicine. Special attention is paid to ambivalences and tensions within both the concept of care and care practices. Contributions in the first section of the book explore phenomenological and hermeneutic approaches to care and reveal historical precursors to care ethics. Empirical case studies and reflections on care in institutionalised and standardised settings form the second section of the book. The concluding chapter, jointly written by many of the contributors, points at recurring challenges of understanding and practicing care that open up the field for further research and discussion. This collection will be of great value to scholars and practitioners of medicine, ethics, philosophy, social science and history.