The need for policy coherence between trade and health has never been greater, yet few public health workers are equipped to navigate this complex field. This book aims to fill this gap, providing a focused and readable introduction to the topic. It introduces the principles underpinning trade treaties and examines the implications of trade rules for health services and access to medicines, unhealthy commodities, labour rights and the environment. It explores the trade policy making process, methods for trade and health research, and recommendations for strengthening policy coherence.

Contemporary globalization has had tremendous impact on health equity across the globe. However, no volume has systematically analyzed the relationship between globalization and global trends in health outcomes. This book consolidates and updates the findings of a global research project undertaken by the Globalisation Knowledge Network (GKN) of the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Chapters examine such questions as: How has trade liberalisation affected the social determinants of health? How has globalization affected food security, nutrition and equitable access to water and sanitation? How well do present global governance structures take account of the health equity effects associated with the social determinants of health? This landmark volume will be a necessary addition for researchers and scholars studying the field of globalization, health and social policy, and public health across the social sciences.

Contemporary globalization has had tremendous impact on health equity across the globe. However, no volume has systematically analyzed the relationship between globalization and global trends in health outcomes. This book consolidates and updates the findings of a global research project undertaken by the Globalisation Knowledge Network (GKN) of the World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Chapters examine such questions as: How has trade liberalisation affected the social determinants of health? How has globalization affected food security, nutrition and equitable access to water and sanitation? How well do present global governance structures take account of the health equity effects associated with the social determinants of health? This landmark volume will be a necessary addition for researchers and scholars studying the field of globalization, health and social policy, and public health across the social sciences.

The government, the media, HMOs, and individual Americans have all embraced programs to promote disease prevention. Yet obesity is up, exercise is down, teenagers continue to smoke, and sexually transmitted disease is rampant. Why? These intriguing essays examine the ethical and social problems that create subtle obstacles to changing Americans' unhealthy behavior.

The contributors raise profound questions about the role of the state or employers in trying to change health-related behavior, about the actual health and economic benefits of even trying, and about the freedom and responsibility of those of us who, as citizens, will be the target of such efforts. They ask, for instance, whether we are all equally free to live healthy lives or whether social and economic conditions make a difference. Do disease prevention programs actually save money, as is commonly argued? What is the moral legitimacy of using economic and other incentives to change people's behavior, especially when (as with HMOs) the goal is to control costs?

One key issue explored throughout the book is the fundamental ambivalence of traditionally libertarian Americans about health promotion programs: we like the idea of good health, but we do not want government or others posing threats to our personal lifestyle choices. The contributors argue that such programs will continue to prove less than wholly successful without a fuller examination of their place in our national values.

The need for policy coherence between trade and health has never been greater, yet few public health workers are equipped to navigate this complex field. This book aims to fill this gap, providing a focused and readable introduction to the topic. It introduces the principles underpinning trade treaties and examines the implications of trade rules for health services and access to medicines, unhealthy commodities, labour rights and the environment. It explores the trade policy making process, methods for trade and health research, and recommendations for strengthening policy coherence.

Why do some countries and populations suffer from poverty and ill health, whilst others are more prosperous and healthy? What are the inherently global (trans-border) issues that affect inequities in disease burden and health opportunities for individuals and nations? Traditionally, the focus of global health has been 'international health': the concern for high burdens of disease in generally low-income countries. To answer these questions however, we need to modernise our understanding of globalization as a phenomenon. Health Equity in a Globalizing Era: Past Challenges, Future Prospects examines how globalization processes since the on-set of neoliberalism affect equity in global health outcomes, and emphasises access to important social determinants of health. With a basis in political economy, the book covers key globalization concepts and theory, and presents a thorough background to the field. Case studies, illustrations, and new research all combine to make this title a comprehensive and current discussion of the various pathways that connect globalization to health equity outcomes. It looks at changes in migration, labour markets, trade and investment rules, international development assistance, health systems, infectious and non-communicable disease risks, environmental health, and gendered aspects of globalization's health dialectic. In addition, it argues for a reform of the global governance structure, the significant role of human rights, and the importance of a strong civil society in achieving greater social justice in health. Ideal for senior undergraduate and graduate students in global health programs, global health scholars and practitioners in government policy and health/development NGOs, Health Equity in a Globalizing Era: Past Challenges, Future Prospects is a significant contribution to our new understanding of globalization and global public health.

The concept of Comprehensive Primary Health Care focuses on health system efforts to improve equity in health care access, community empowerment, participation of marginalized groups, and actions on the social determinants of health. Despite its existence since the late 1970s very few studies have been able to highlight the outcomes of this concept, until now. Revitalizing Health for All examines thirteen cases of efforts to implement CPHC reforms from around the globe including Australia, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, South Africa, and more. The findings presented in this volume originate from an international action-research set of studies that utilized triads of senior and junior researchers and knowledge users from each country's public health system. Primary health care reform is an important policy discourse both at the national level in these countries and in the global conversations, and this volume reveals the similarities among CPHC projects in diverse national contexts. These similarities provide a rich evidence base from which future CPHC reform initiatives can draw, regardless of their country.