Introducing Health and Social Care

Natalija Atas is a Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at Liverpool Hope University, specialising in poverty, inequality, and public health. She co-founded the Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN), co-leads the Social Policy Association's Poverty Policy Group, and is a trustee of Academics Stand Against Poverty UK.Leah Burch is a Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at Liverpool Hope University. Her research specialises in criminal justice outcomes for disabled victim-survivors of rape and sexual violence, and disability hate crime. She is also interested in the use of creative research methods as a tool for researching sensitive topics and creative more inclusive research environments. She is a member of the British Society of Criminology Hate Crime Network.Jo Hogan is the Academic Lead for Health, Social Care and Social Work at Liverpool Hope University, where she has worked for over 17 years. She teaches across a range of Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes. Her interests include lay perspectives of health, chronic illness and health promotion.

"A clear, accessible and very wide-ranging introduction to how social, policy and political environments shape our opportunities, and chances in health and wellbeing. Focusing on the UK, this carefully collated collection of chapters introduces students to contemporary issues and ideas across health and social care studies."Danny Dorling, 1971 Professor of Geography, University of Oxford, UK"Introducing Health and Social Care is a timely, compelling textbook that challenges individualistic narratives and places social justice firmly at the core of human services. Thoughtfully structured and critical, this comprehensive guide is an invaluable resource for empowering students to understand structural inequalities and drive meaningful change in practice."Kate E Pickett, Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science, University of York"This important book guides students and general readers through the crisis in health and social care: the needs of people with disabilities, young people in looked after settings, an aging population, and declining 'healthy life expectancy' among the poorest. Underpinning these is a strong focus on 'structural inequalities' - class disadvantage and the failure of state institutions to confront the 'problem of the rich'."Michael Lavalette, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, Liverpool Hope University, UK"A comprehensive, interesting and critically engaged text which will provide students with a rich understanding of the health and social care sector and help equip them with a questioning attitude and strong commitment to addressing enduring inequalities in this area."Professor Sara Ryan, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

• Introduction 1.What is Health? 2.Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Health 3.Lifestyle, Environment and Health 4.Public Health and Health Promotion 5.Mental Health and Wellbeing 6.Defining Social Care 7.Theories for Social Care 8.Pre-Birth to Early Childhood 9.Adolescence and Young Adulthood 10.Ageing and Later Life 11.The National Health Service 12.Professional Skills, Values and Ethics 13.Human Rights and Violations 14.Anti-Oppressive Practice 15.Integrated Health and Social Care Conclusion