Health Systems and the Challenge of Communicable Disease : Experiences from Europe and Latin America

by Coker, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780335233663
• ISBN10: 033523366X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-01
• Publisher: Open University Press

Summary

"This is an excellent book, well-writtenand well-documented. The editors havesucceeded to bring together a largenumber of knowledgeable authors tocover comprehensively the vast area ... public health actors dealingwith infectious diseases bothat central and local level, whether inresearch, teaching or practice as well asprofessionals working in diagnostic andtherapeutic health services, notably inmicrobiology and infectious diseasescould greatly benefit from reading thebook. Politicians and lay administratorswith responsibility in the field would bewell advised to do the same." European Journal of Public HealthHealth systems everywhere face constant change as they seek to respond to evolving patterns of disease. This is especially true with communicable diseases where humanity is engaged in a constant evolutionary struggle with micro-organisms that are able to adapt rapidly to a changing world. This problem can be, for example, exemplified recently by the growth of antibiotic resistant infection.This fascinating book confronts this challenge, looking at two regions where the pace of change is especially rapid, Europe and Latin America - places where health systems, many themselves undergoing rapid organisational transition, must find ways of adapting to an ever changing context.The book begins with an historical overview, recalling how humans and micro-organisms have always competed, at times with profound historical consequences, before examining the current status of this evolutionary struggle. It assesses the extent to which human societies and their governments are prepared for the challenges ahead and reviews the experiences of countries in Europe and Latin America in developing effective responses.Health Systems and the Challenge of Communicable Diseaseswill be of interest to those engaged in the development of health policy in high and middle income countries, and to those who are studying the creation and implementation of health policy.

Author Biography

Richard Coker is Reader in Public Health and head of the Communicable Diseases Policy Research Group at the Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine, UK.

..Martin McKee CBE is Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine, UK and Research Director, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.

..Rifat Atun is Professor of International Health Management and Director of the Centre for Health Management at Imperial College London, UK, where he leads a multidisciplinary group of researchers..

Table of Contents

List of tables	p. ix
List of figures	p. xi
List of boxes	p. xiii
List of abbreviations	p. xv
List of contributors	p. xix
Foreword	p. xxiii
Contemporary emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases: challenges to control	p. 1
The changing face of transitional societies	p. 21
Effective governmental responses to communicable disease challenges in transitional societies	p. 47
A continuing evolutionary struggle: microbes and man	p. 61
Communicable disease in Europe	p. 75
Communicable disease in Latin America and the Caribbean	p. 95
Health systems and systems thinking	p. 121
International and European responses to the threat of communicable disease	p. 141
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis control in post-Soviet Union countries	p. 154
Enabling health systems in tuberculosis control: challenges and opportunities for the former Soviet Union countries	p. 171
Health systems and communicable disease control: emerging evidence and lessons from central and eastern Europe	p. 193
Health system reforms and communicable disease in Latin America and the Caribbean	p. 209
Brazil's response to AIDS and tuberculosis: lessons from a transitional economy	p. 217
Health financing and communicable disease control: conceptual issues and implications	p. 231
Health systems and communicable diseases: predicting and responding to future challenges	p. 251
Index	p. 257
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