Health Policy Analysis

This book is intended for students interested in the prevention and promotion of public health or, briefly, health policymaking. A key theme in the book is that health policymaking includes more than putting empirical knowledge about the determinants of health and dis-ease into practice. A linear path from knowledge to health policy does not exist. Though undoubtedly of great importance, empirical knowledge on the determinants of life expec-tancy, quality of life, infant mortality, maternity death, health disparities, and other public health parameters is only one dimension of health policymaking. An instrumental view on health policymaking falls short because it neglects what may be called its political face. Health policymaking is not only a matter of applying empirical knowledge into practice but also the outcome of political contests, ideological beliefs, commercial interests, and power. The purpose of this book is to train students in analyzing health policymaking as a political process.