Presenting extensive coverage of key theoretical and policy issues within the field of health care research, this forward-looking Research Handbook contends that students of health care need to take policy more seriously.Emphasising the critical importance of policy research and theorising for health care, the Research Handbook argues that analysts of health care policy need to draw on conceptual models of the policy process, in particular the ‘stages model’ and the ‘3 Is’ model of ideas, interests, and institutions. It considers how these models could be applied using specific cases of countries and regions across the globe, bridging the divide between the existing literature on health systems in the global North and global South. Chapters explore the various stages of the policy process, from agenda setting and policy formation to policy implementation and evaluation, before examining central topics such as governance, health care inequalities, long term care, responses to Covid-19, and providing, financing, and regulating health care.This erudite Research Handbook will be an essential resource for postgraduate students and scholars of health care policy, public policy, and health systems research. Its astute analysis of different transnational actors and health care processes across the globe will also benefit policy makers and practitioners working in health care.
