In most European countries there is a growing imbalance between the supply and demand of medical manpower. Though many national gov ernments, international organizations and scientific institutes, and also, with a view from a different angle, doctors associations recognize this problem, it appears to be very difficult to bring all people concerned with this problem together in order to find a solution. On this occasion, the initiative to arrange an international meeting was taken by the junior-doctors associations of The Netherlands and Sweden with the organizational support of the Faculty of Medicine of University Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and under the auspices of the Permanent Working Group of European Junior Hospital Doctors. The symposium should be considered as a step in a series of continuing activities within the field of health manpower planning. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organized a working symposium on Long-Range Forecasting and Planning in 1968 (8ellaglio, Italy), followed by the Expert Committee ofthe OECD which produced the 'New Directives in Education for Changing Health Care System' (OECD CERI report, Paris 1975). The Dutch ministries of Education and Sciences and of Health and Environmental Protection organized a seminar on 'Cooperation of Health Care and Education at Regional Level, Responsibilities and Cost Alloca tion' (1978, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands). Following this, the Dutch Association of Junior Hospital Doctors (LVAG) organized a national con ference 'Today a consultant in training, tomorrow an unemployed special ist?' (1980, Utrecht, The Netherlands)."

In most European countries there is a growing imbalance between the supply and demand of medical manpower. Though many national gov ernments, international organizations and scientific institutes, and also, with a view from a different angle, doctors associations recognize this problem, it appears to be very difficult to bring all people concerned with this problem together in order to find a solution. On this occasion, the initiative to arrange an international meeting was taken by the junior-doctors associations of The Netherlands and Sweden with the organizational support of the Faculty of Medicine of University Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands, and under the auspices of the Permanent Working Group of European Junior Hospital Doctors. The symposium should be considered as a step in a series of continuing activities within the field of health manpower planning. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) organized a working symposium on Long-Range Forecasting and Planning in 1968 (8ellaglio, Italy), followed by the Expert Committee ofthe OECD which produced the 'New Directives in Education for Changing Health Care System' (OECD CERI report, Paris 1975). The Dutch ministries of Education and Sciences and of Health and Environmental Protection organized a seminar on 'Cooperation of Health Care and Education at Regional Level, Responsibilities and Cost Alloca tion' (1978, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands). Following this, the Dutch Association of Junior Hospital Doctors (LVAG) organized a national con ference 'Today a consultant in training, tomorrow an unemployed special ist?' (1980, Utrecht, The Netherlands)."

The second volume of a two-volume reader concerned with the findings of leading social scientists and medical researchers around the world. Contributors to this survey of the connections between social structures and public health, reveal that life expectancy, illness and other health factors are closely related to the structure of a given society, and that variations in health within a population are primarily related to socio-structural factors, including income inequality, educational differences, lack of opportunity and racism.

Why do societies experience higher rates of mortality after economic recession? What accounts for the persistent social class differences in mortality rates? How do we explain the health status differences between men and women, blacks and whites, and different communities or cultures? How do some families create more healthful environments for their children? How is stress generated in the workplace? Such fundamental questions about the social determinants of health are discussed in depth in this wide-ranging and authoritative book. Well-known contributors from North America and Europe gather and assess the evidence for the diverse pathways by which society influences health and provides conceptual frameworks for understanding these relationships. The book opens with a broad review of research on the social environment's contribution to health status and then addresses particular social factors: the family, the community, culture, class, race and gender, the economy, and the workplace. The concluding two chapters examine the contribution of medicine to the improved health of Americans and recast the health policy debate in a broad social policy context.