Studying Health Inequalities

Jonathan Wistow is a researcher and teaching fellow, in School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University. His interests include health inequalities, governance and local government.Tim Blackman is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy and Vice-President for Research at The Open University, UK, where his work currently focuses on urban change.David Byrne is Professor of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University. His interests include complexity theory, social inequality and the methodology of applied social science.Gerald Wistow is a Visiting Professor in Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His interests include integrating local government and the NHS, social care funding and the economic consequences of community capacity building.

• Introduction: Part one: Context and theory: developing an applied approach to studying health inequalities;Health inequalities, wicked problems and complexity;Health inequalities: adopting a whole systems approach;Measuring health inequalities;Part two: health inequalities in England;A history of health inequalities in England;Health inequalities post 2010;Part Three: Case studies;Evidence for public health practice: Health Inequalities National Support Team (Professor Chris Bentley and Peter Counsell);Qualitative Comparative Analysis case study;Part 4: Conclusion;Conclusion.

"An absolute 'must read' for health-care practitioners and social scientists, this book makes a compelling case for 'the way forward' for policy makers." Brian Castellani, Kent State University "An excellent overview of research on health inequality and measures to reduce them. The examples, while drawn mainly from the UK, have international relevance for the debate about 'what works' in tackling these inequalities." Sarah Curtis, FBA, Professor of Health and Risk, Durham University "This is a very important book and a must-read for anyone interested in doing applied social science in today's political climate where evidence and complexity matter." Emma Uprichard, Warwick University