Shaping Health Policy

This collection examines the role that case-studies play in understanding and explaining British health policy. Overall, the chapters cover the key health policy literatures in terms of the policy process, analytical frameworks and some of the seminal moments of the NHS. They have been written by leading health policy researchers in sociology, social policy, management and organisation studies. The collection explores and promotes the case-study as an under-used method and thereby encourages a more reflective approach to policy learning by practitioners and academics. Case studies have become a key method in social science, including health policy. However, they suffer inherent problems in designing and conducting research, including abuse and misuse, in theory and practice, in analysis and in application. This book invigorates the case study as a valuable technique for researchers and practitioners in British health policy and offers insights into the workings of the NHS and opportunities for the testing of theories and concepts. The book will appeal to under-graduates, post-graduates and academics in social policy, public management and health services research. It will also be of interest to clinicians, managers and policy-makers as they seek to understand better previous and current developments in the NHS.