1st Edition

Contemporary Issues in Health and Social Care Policy and Practice A Comparative Introduction

Edited By Julia Morgan, Vincent La Placa Copyright 2025
    270 Pages 21 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    270 Pages 21 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This accessible text presents a comparative analysis of health and social care policy and practice from around the world, with learning points drawn out for the UK. It supports readers to improve practice by reflecting on differences and similarities in the policies of other OECD countries.

    Divided into two parts, the book opens with a focus on core concepts in health and social care policy and practice such as service user involvement, the promotion of wellbeing, health inequalities, funding, and integrated care. The differing philosophical, socio-political, and historical perspectives that underpin these key areas in different countries are explored, in order to develop a greater understanding of the UK system. The second part of the book takes a close look at a range of specific contemporary issues, such as end-of-life care, long-term conditions, homelessness, refugee and migrant health, disability, domestic abuse, substance use, and women in prison. These in-depth case study chapters enable readers to identify best practices and challenges in relation to specific areas of health and social care policy and practice.

    Ideal for undergraduate students studying health and social care policy from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, this practical text provides a deeper understanding of complex health and social care issues, and supports the development of a global and comparative skill set.

    Part I

     

    Chapter 1:  Introduction

    Julia Morgan and Vincent La Placa

     

    Chapter 2: Theories of Social Policy and Welfare States 

    Vincent La Placa and Lotta Hackett  

    Chapter 3: Health and Social Care Funding Across the OECD

    Paul McCrone

     

    Chapter 4:  Towards a Definitional Framework of Wellbeing in Health and Social Care Research, Policy, and Practice

    Vincent La Placa 

     

    Chapter 5: Health Inequalities 

    Nadya Belenky 

     

    Chapter 6: Partnership Working in Health and Social Care

    Julia Morgan and Jackie Yaskey

     

    Chapter 7: Service User Involvement in Health and Social Care: Understanding Power Relations and the Political Nature of Participation

    Julia Morgan

     

    Part II

     

    Chapter 8: Health, Social Care, and Homelessness 

    Nicholas Pleace

     

     

     

    Chapter 9: Domestic Violence and Abuse 

    Dana Sammut and Caroline Bradbury-Jones

     

    Chapter 10: Substance Use and Policy across the OECD 

    John Foster and Betsy Thom

     

    Chapter 11: Health Inequalities and People with Intellectual Disabilities

    Genevieve Breau

     

    Chapter 12: Women in Prison 

    Julia Morgan

     

    Chapter 13: End of Life Care Policy Across the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and Romania

    Panagiotis Pentaris

     

    Chapter 14: Dental Services Across the Four Nations of the United Kingdom

    Charlotte Jeavons and Maria Morgan

     

    Chapter 15: Emerging Long-Term Care Systems: Learning from Comparison

    Cassandra Simmons, Johanna Fischer and Kai Leichsenring

     

    Chapter 16: Refugees and Migrants: Health Policies in OECD Countries

    Floor Christie-de Jong

     

    Chapter 17: Loneliness 

    Julia Morgan and Vincent La Placa

     

    Chapter 18:  Conclusion: Comparative Perspectives on Health and Social Care Policy and Practice across OECD Countries

    Vincent La Placa and Julia Morgan

     

    Biography

    Julia Morgan is an associate professor for public health and wellbeing. She has previously worked on a child development study, and for several non-government organisations which support families with young children and community participation. Her primary research interests focus upon social justice and inequality; nomadic and Indigenous peoples; Gypsy, Roma and Travellers; rural and remote health; loneliness; gender; maternal and child health; community development; and wellbeing among people who are imprisoned. She is currently researching ADHD late diagnosis in adult women. She is the co-editor, with Vincent La Placa, of the Routledge book Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health.

    Vincent La Placa is associate professor of public health and policy and associate head of school for student success in the School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich. He has been a senior research consultant at the Department of Health (now DHSC) where he managed the qualitative strand of the Healthy Foundations Life-stage Segmentation Model, one of the largest pieces of qualitative research conducted across UK government. He co-edited the book Social Science Perspectives on Global Public Health with Julia Morgan, published in 2023. He is an honorary fellow of Eurasia Research’s Teaching, Education and Research Association.