Textbooks, monographs and policy-focused books on our Health and Social Care list push forward the boundaries of teaching, theory, policy and practice. The list covers areas including global health, health inequalities and research into policy and practice.
Key series include Transforming Care which provides a crucial platform for scholars researching early childhood care, care for adults with disabilities and long-term care for frail older people, and the Sociology of Health Professions, offering high-quality, original work in the sociology of health professions with an innovative focus on their likely future direction. Our leading journal in the area is the International Journal of Care and Caring.
Health and Social Care
This chapter describes The Salvation Army’s (TSA) response to the war in Ukraine through the lens of a ‘Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development’ framework. Mental health and psychosocial support unpinned both the emergency response and development and rehabilitation phases which also necessitated the coordination of capacity development and significant international resourcing. This chapter looks at the establishment of a Ukraine Response Unit at TSA International Headquarters and how the TSA International Emergency Services team and International Development Services team are collaborating with those closest to the war to provide the international perspective to a localised response.
This chapter provides a strategic planning approach to uncertainty and complexity in order to identify demand-side imperatives and drivers, and supply-side enablers that could be used to support more effective interventions, in a novel ‘Dynamic Change Model’ (DCM). Uncertainty and complexity are widely acknowledged to structure the contemporary decision-making environment (Geyer and Cairney, 2015) along with the various important imperatives that are faced in dynamic decision-making contexts. The DCM looks to maximise opportunity for ‘double-loop learning’ (Greenwood (1998: 1049) in this environment, from which emerge a number of key drivers of stability and change that are important for optimising stakeholder outcomes. The factors of demand-side imperatives and drivers of stability and change, and supply-side enablers and management of trade-offs, are explored in this model, and then linked to insights from the widely-used ‘Emergency Response Cycle’. Recognising that the model can be used responsively for future planning, in this chapter it is applied reflectively to the case study of The Salvation Army’s response to the war in Ukraine as a way to learn lessons about future strategy and practice for similar crises.
This chapter looks at the economic consequences of the invasion of Ukraine in Europe, which directly impacted the lives of millions of Europeans due to the resulting soaring energy prices, inflation and sharp rises in public spending, taxation and the cost of living. The war also occurred just as the world was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic whose global death toll was over six million and which had put huge pressure on European health systems and on their public finances through state financial intervention to help their citizens. The consequences of war in rocketing inflation and energy costs also starkly highlighted the pre-existing social determinants of health inequalities such as poverty, low wages, poor diet and inadequate housing, with the poorest households most negatively affected.
This chapter explores the critical role of faith actors—individuals, communities, and organisations tied to religious traditions—in addressing the direct and indirect consequences of war in Europe. It analyses three main areas of faith-based engagement: advocacy for peace, the use of faith spaces as sanctuaries for displaced people, and the role of prayer in peacebuilding efforts. The chapter discusses how faith actors advocate for peace through public statements, interfaith dialogues, and direct mediation efforts, often navigating complex political and social landscapes. It examines how faith spaces, such as churches and mosques, serve as sanctuaries and provide humanitarian support to those displaced by conflict, despite challenges like political pressure and security risks. Additionally, it highlights the significance of prayer as a tool for fostering hope, sustaining activism, and creating solidarity among communities. Drawing on recent conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war and the war in Ukraine, the chapter illustrates the 'ambivalence of the sacred,' where religion can be both a source of conflict and a catalyst for peace. The analysis underscores the importance of faith actors in promoting social justice and fostering long-term peace, revealing their unique ability to influence both immediate humanitarian outcomes and broader societal transformations.
This chapter explores the complex relationship between international factors, social justice and healthcare dynamics, which significantly influence the resilience of individuals and families in the Czech Republic. It begins by outlining the country’s dependence on global trends for economic and political stability, using a Politics, Economy, Society, Technology, Environment and Law (PESTEL) analysis framework for comprehensive insight. Introducing the innovative Gridded Uncertainty Impact Matrix (GUIM), the chapter addresses the challenge of effectively prioritising health indicators. While the World Health Organization has provided indicators and typologies, the GUIM is the first tool to grid and highlight these indicators, providing valuable insights into health system dynamics. Through detailed analysis, the GUIM helps policy makers identify critical issues and formulate effective strategies for social wellbeing. The chapter also examines the impact of economic instability and the war in Ukraine on the Czech Republic, shedding light on trade disruptions, energy dependence, investment confidence and the refugee crisis. This comprehensive overview provides a pathway for informed policy interventions and sustainable development strategies in the Czech Republic.
This chapter examines the influence of macroeconomic policies that shape the housing market in member states of the European Union (EU) and especially as they relate to Ireland, which has had a housing crisis since the financial crisis of 2008. The influence of neoliberal ideology on policy formulation within the EU and its institutions, the European Central Bank, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of Ministers as well as the member states is examined and found to be inadequate in tackling the issue. The solution proposed is for the member states and the European institutions to be more hands-on in shaping the framework within which housing is delivered – much the way that the EU and the member states reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian refugee crises.
In this chapter, we describe the impact of the recent experiences of war and long-lasting political and economic instability on mental health. Relying on the data and insights from the Western Balkans, we first review the data on the frequency of psychiatric symptoms in the region immediately after the war and 20–30 years later. Relying on the social identity approach, we discuss how socio-psychological characteristics of post-conflict societies impact mental health. We focus on post-conflict social identities, the salience of threat, religion and crisis of trust and solidarity that can affect the already deteriorated mental health. Finally, we discuss how the current situation can be employed in building the capacities to overcome the devastating consequences of war and instability.
