Making Health Policy

by Kent Buse

"Making Health Policy is an excellent and easily accessible introduction to its subject and thus of particular interest to all those who seek to influence health policy....this book is highly recommended for all who seek to better understand the policy process and who seek to influence health policy at a sub-national, national, or international level."Studies in Family Planning"This book is an excellent choice for an international health policy course- it is engaging, practical and up to date and provides a great core. I highly recommend it!" Susan D. Foster, Professor of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health "May I congratulate Nicholas Mays, Kent Buse and Gill Walt on their excellent health policy book which we are finding most useful in our health policy and management course here at the Karolinska and which I will also use in the masters in health management course in Bergen"Dr John Øvretveit, Director of Research, The Karolinska Institute Medical Management Centre, Stockholm,and Professor of Health Policy and Management, Bergen University Faculty of Medicine, Norway.Surprisingly little guidance is available to public health practitioners who wish to understand how issues get onto policy agendas, how policy makers treat evidence and why some policy initiatives are implemented while others languish. This book views power and process as integral to understanding policy and focuses on the three key elements in policy the context, the actors and the processes. It is a guide for those who wish to improve their skills in navigating and managing the health policy process, irrespective of the health issue or setting. The book analysisPowerPrivate and public sectorsPolicy makersPolicy implementationResearch and policy

Genres: Health

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Martin Omedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the public health policy development process, often the case, scientists give much weight to evidence on the one hand. Yet, on the other hand, politicians are influenced by other interests and values that don't necessarily lie in the realm of scientific evidence. Simply put, health policy development is not value-neutral.

The COVID 19 pandemic has enunciated the considerable role of politics and power (resources and technical know-how) in the process of making public health decisions and bringing those decisions to fruition. While the policy-making tools call for both creativity and evidence- the art and science of policy analysis - they also demand judgement and will be infused with values and ethical question. Hence, there is a need for public health specialists, research scientist and other health professionals to understands the three streams of public health policy development, i.e., problem streams, solution stream and politics streams. Often, health professionals have a grip of the first two streams and very little understanding of how to handle the latter despite being a very fundamental and instrumental tool in policy development.

Making Health Policy by Prof Kent Buse et al. is a very instrumental read for public health professionals and health research scientists to understand the nuances of politics and the role of politics in policy development. But, above all, it provides palpable solutions to manoeuvre the murky waters of politics as a policy entrepreneur or broker.

Making Health Policy is a must-read for those studying and working in global health. It provides a unique introduction to core concepts in global health policy and brings politics to the core of public health. If you have ever wonder Why do some issues get more attention than others? Why is evidence-based policymaking so difficult? How can we understand and study power in the health system? This book provides the answers to these fundamental questions.

[Marina Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for an international health policy class. It was very helpful in introducing policy concepts, processes, etc. It takes an almost negligent attitude towards the role of politics in policy. It does acknowledge that politics can be influential in the policy agenda and decision making processes, but it takes a rather optimist tone in that corruption is unlikely, policy makers act in the interest of the people, etc. But for a textbook on health policy, it is helpful in forming a solid foundation.

[Sumudu Perera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dense, read cover to cover as part of my Public Health masters. An interesting read, with enlightening aspects on health policy creation and evaluation/analysis that I had not previously considered.

Knocking it down a star or two purely because, despite the interesting nature of the content in retrospect, it was a chore to get through. Additionally while giving very strong frameworks to asses, evaluate and enact policy, I found that it could have done a bit more (maybe an additional chapter) to have some practical policy elements

[Bee Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only textbook I have read cover-to-cover. Informative and dense. A good overview for my health policy, process and power course.

[Vika Rion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very well written and helpful