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Environmental Health in International and EU Law: Current Challenges and Legal Responses (Routledge-Giappichelli Studies in Law)
by Stefania NegriThis book presents a broad overview of the many intersections between health and the environment that lie at the basis of the most crucial environmental health issues, focusing on the responses provided by international and EU law. Consistent with the One Health approach and moving from the relevant international and EU legal frameworks, the book addresses some of the most important issues of environmental health including the traditional, such as pollution of air, water and soil and related food safety issues, as well as new and emerging challenges, like those linked to climate change, antimicrobial resistance and electromagnetic fields. Applying an intersectoral and interdisciplinary approach, it also investigates other branches of international and EU law including human rights law, investment law, trade law, energy law and disaster law. The work also discusses ethics and intergenerational equity. Ultimately, the book assesses the degree of effectiveness of the international and EU normative framework, and the extent to which the relevant legal instruments contribute to the protection of public health from major environmental hazards. The book will be a valuable resource for students, academics and policy makers working in the areas of Environmental Health law, Global Health law, International law and EU law.
Human Thermal Comfort
by Ken ParsonsThermal comfort is a desirable state familiar to all people. Providing inspirational indoor and outdoor environments that provide thermal comfort, in the context of energy use and climate change, is a challenge for the 21st century. This book provides an up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of thermal comfort from principles and theory to practical application. The book begins with current knowledge and understanding of thermal comfort and its application to providing thermal conditions for indoor and outdoor environments. It integrates and presents new ideas to provide a comprehensive model of thermal comfort so that we can move on from the 20th and early 21st century and provide a focus for developments for future decades. This book will be of interest to practitioners and students and anyone involved with fields such as environmental design, physiology, ergonomics, human factors, industrial hygiene, architecture, health and safety and air conditioning. • Provides current thermal comfort standards and regulations • Describes the PMV, PPD, ET* and SET thermal comfort indices • Discusses adaptive thermal comfort, adaptive opportunity and explains why we have not moved towards a more dynamic and interactive approach to providing thermal comfort • Presents a new model relating thermal discomfort to performance • Shows how to construct a computer model of thermal comfort • Offers how to conduct a thermal comfort survey Human Thermal Comfort provides new ideas for achieving thermal comfort for offices, vehicles, atriums, and plazas of the future.
Human Thermal Comfort
by Ken ParsonsThermal comfort is a desirable state familiar to all people. Providing inspirational indoor and outdoor environments that provide thermal comfort, in the context of energy use and climate change, is a challenge for the 21st century. This book provides an up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of thermal comfort from principles and theory to practical application. The book begins with current knowledge and understanding of thermal comfort and its application to providing thermal conditions for indoor and outdoor environments. It integrates and presents new ideas to provide a comprehensive model of thermal comfort so that we can move on from the 20th and early 21st century and provide a focus for developments for future decades. This book will be of interest to practitioners and students and anyone involved with fields such as environmental design, physiology, ergonomics, human factors, industrial hygiene, architecture, health and safety and air conditioning. • Provides current thermal comfort standards and regulations • Describes the PMV, PPD, ET* and SET thermal comfort indices • Discusses adaptive thermal comfort, adaptive opportunity and explains why we have not moved towards a more dynamic and interactive approach to providing thermal comfort • Presents a new model relating thermal discomfort to performance • Shows how to construct a computer model of thermal comfort • Offers how to conduct a thermal comfort survey Human Thermal Comfort provides new ideas for achieving thermal comfort for offices, vehicles, atriums, and plazas of the future.
The Philosophy of Fiction: Imagination and Cognition (Routledge Research in Aesthetics)
by Patrik Engisch Julia LangkauThis book presents new research on the crucial role that imagination plays in contemporary philosophy of fiction. The first part of the book challenges the main paradigm set by Kendall Walton and Gregory Currie, according to which there is a necessary connection between fiction and a prescription that we engage imaginatively with its content. The contributors address the fundamental questions of how we can define fiction, and especially whether we can define fiction in terms of imagination. The second part focuses on a distinct but related question: can we point to some distinctive experiential features of our engagement with fiction? In the third part, the focus lies on the cognitive value of fiction and on the role that imagination plays in that respect. The chapters in this part discuss the cognitive value of fiction with respect to issues such as the training of the faculty of imagination, phenomenal experience, empathy, and the emotions. The Philosophy of Fiction will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in aesthetics, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and literary studies. Chapter 13 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
The Philosophy of Fiction: Imagination and Cognition (Routledge Research in Aesthetics)
by Patrik Engisch Julia LangkauThis book presents new research on the crucial role that imagination plays in contemporary philosophy of fiction. The first part of the book challenges the main paradigm set by Kendall Walton and Gregory Currie, according to which there is a necessary connection between fiction and a prescription that we engage imaginatively with its content. The contributors address the fundamental questions of how we can define fiction, and especially whether we can define fiction in terms of imagination. The second part focuses on a distinct but related question: can we point to some distinctive experiential features of our engagement with fiction? In the third part, the focus lies on the cognitive value of fiction and on the role that imagination plays in that respect. The chapters in this part discuss the cognitive value of fiction with respect to issues such as the training of the faculty of imagination, phenomenal experience, empathy, and the emotions. The Philosophy of Fiction will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in aesthetics, philosophy of mind, epistemology, and literary studies. Chapter 13 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Quality and Regulation in Health Care: International Experiences (Routledge Revivals)
by Robert Dingwall Paul FennFirst published in 1992, Quality and Regulation in Health Care employs socio-legal ideas concerning regulation to examine the methods used to influence the quality of health care in the US, UK, and Western Europe. Throughout the Western world, health care systems, both public and private, are grappling with the problems of assuring quality while containing costs. On the one hand, governments and insurers argue that there must be some limit to the apparently endless growth of health care expenditures. On the other, patient groups and consumer advocates, already dissatisfied by the problems in holding doctors accountable for their actions, protest that such limits must not result in sick people getting inferior treatment. This book examines in detail the debate surrounding the question: How can the professional expertise of the clinicians be reconciled with the preferences of their patients and the economic concerns of taxpayers or insurers? It will be essential reading for graduate and undergraduate courses in health policy, medical sociology, and health law.
Quality and Regulation in Health Care: International Experiences (Routledge Revivals)
by Robert Dingwall Paul FennFirst published in 1992, Quality and Regulation in Health Care employs socio-legal ideas concerning regulation to examine the methods used to influence the quality of health care in the US, UK, and Western Europe. Throughout the Western world, health care systems, both public and private, are grappling with the problems of assuring quality while containing costs. On the one hand, governments and insurers argue that there must be some limit to the apparently endless growth of health care expenditures. On the other, patient groups and consumer advocates, already dissatisfied by the problems in holding doctors accountable for their actions, protest that such limits must not result in sick people getting inferior treatment. This book examines in detail the debate surrounding the question: How can the professional expertise of the clinicians be reconciled with the preferences of their patients and the economic concerns of taxpayers or insurers? It will be essential reading for graduate and undergraduate courses in health policy, medical sociology, and health law.
Beyond Menopause: New Pathways to Holistic Health
by Carolyn Torkelson Catherine MarienauBeyond Menopause uncovers the unique healthcare needs of postmenopausal women. It offers women integrative holistic approaches that bridge the gap between conventional medicine and systems of holistic healing. The book highlights integrative strategies in the context of common health conditions, including anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance, sexual health, weight concerns, bone health, and brain health. It provides information on the use of hormone therapy during the menopause transition. The book features clinical vignettes illustrating how individual women explore pathways to better health through shared decision-making with their health practitioners. Women of postmenopausal age want to remain healthy, vital, and engaged, yet they are often overlooked in the healthcare system. In this phase of life, women need to create their own integrative path to wellness. Beyond Menopause shows women how to prime their voice for self-advocacy and establish collaborative relationships with their health practitioners. Women are advised to create an adaptable network of practitioners to accommodate changing needs—their own “web of wellness.” Beyond Menopause brings a fresh perspective to the mental, physical, and spiritual elements of holistic living. From the distinct vantage points of medicine and neuroscience, the authors guide women toward new pathways to optimal health and well-being.
Beyond Menopause: New Pathways to Holistic Health
by Carolyn Torkelson Catherine MarienauBeyond Menopause uncovers the unique healthcare needs of postmenopausal women. It offers women integrative holistic approaches that bridge the gap between conventional medicine and systems of holistic healing. The book highlights integrative strategies in the context of common health conditions, including anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance, sexual health, weight concerns, bone health, and brain health. It provides information on the use of hormone therapy during the menopause transition. The book features clinical vignettes illustrating how individual women explore pathways to better health through shared decision-making with their health practitioners. Women of postmenopausal age want to remain healthy, vital, and engaged, yet they are often overlooked in the healthcare system. In this phase of life, women need to create their own integrative path to wellness. Beyond Menopause shows women how to prime their voice for self-advocacy and establish collaborative relationships with their health practitioners. Women are advised to create an adaptable network of practitioners to accommodate changing needs—their own “web of wellness.” Beyond Menopause brings a fresh perspective to the mental, physical, and spiritual elements of holistic living. From the distinct vantage points of medicine and neuroscience, the authors guide women toward new pathways to optimal health and well-being.
Patient Autonomy and Criminal Law: European Perspectives (Routledge Research in Health Law)
by Pawe 322 DanilukThis book shows how the legal systems of individual European countries protect patient autonomy. In particular, it explains the role of criminal law, that is, what criminal law protection of patient autonomy looks like on a European scale in both legal and social dimensions. Despite EU integration processes, the work illustrates that the legal orders of individual European countries are far from uniform in this area. The concept of patient autonomy here is generally in the context of the patient's freedom from unwanted medical activities: the so-called negative freedom. At the same time, in countries where there are no regulations clearly criminalising the performance of a therapeutic activity without the patient's consent, the so-called positive freedom is also discussed. The book will be a valuable reference work for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in Health Law, Medical Ethics, Applied Ethics and Criminal Law.
Patient Autonomy and Criminal Law: European Perspectives (Routledge Research in Health Law)
by Paweł DanilukThis book shows how the legal systems of individual European countries protect patient autonomy. In particular, it explains the role of criminal law, that is, what criminal law protection of patient autonomy looks like on a European scale in both legal and social dimensions. Despite EU integration processes, the work illustrates that the legal orders of individual European countries are far from uniform in this area. The concept of patient autonomy here is generally in the context of the patient's freedom from unwanted medical activities: the so-called negative freedom. At the same time, in countries where there are no regulations clearly criminalising the performance of a therapeutic activity without the patient's consent, the so-called positive freedom is also discussed. The book will be a valuable reference work for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in Health Law, Medical Ethics, Applied Ethics and Criminal Law.
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on People and their Lives: Socio-Political and Economic Aspects
This book explores the unparalleled adversities and strain that the COVID-19 pandemic caused on the social and economic lives of people. The book allows readers a glimpse into the experiences of death of near and dears, loss of livelihood, psychological trauma, restrictions on movement and social life, shifts in international relations, and effects on big and small industries caused by the pandvnemic. It focusses on the major shifts caused within communities and highlights how politics, power dynamics, and socio-cultural systems have been reset and recovered during recent times. The volume also offers suggestions to offset economic hardships the pandemic has caused especially to the poor and marginalized as well as policy changes to help governments and communities to build more resilient economic and health infrastructure and support systems. With interdisciplinary contributions, this book is an essential read for students and researchers of public health, social sciences, health economics, healthcare management, development studies, public policy, and South Asian studies.
The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on People and their Lives: Socio-Political and Economic Aspects
by R. C. Sobti Vipin Sobti Monika AggarwalThis book explores the unparalleled adversities and strain that the COVID-19 pandemic caused on the social and economic lives of people. The book allows readers a glimpse into the experiences of death of near and dears, loss of livelihood, psychological trauma, restrictions on movement and social life, shifts in international relations, and effects on big and small industries caused by the pandvnemic. It focusses on the major shifts caused within communities and highlights how politics, power dynamics, and socio-cultural systems have been reset and recovered during recent times. The volume also offers suggestions to offset economic hardships the pandemic has caused especially to the poor and marginalized as well as policy changes to help governments and communities to build more resilient economic and health infrastructure and support systems. With interdisciplinary contributions, this book is an essential read for students and researchers of public health, social sciences, health economics, healthcare management, development studies, public policy, and South Asian studies.
Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19's Health Lessons for the World
by Stephen BezruchkaThe complex answer to why the United States does so poorly in health measures has at its base one pervasive issue: The United States has by far the highest levels of inequality of all the rich countries. Inequality Kills Us All details how living in a society with entrenched hierarchies increases the negative effects of illnesses for everyone. The antidote must start, Stephen Bezruchka recognizes, with a broader awareness of the nature of the problem, and out of that understanding policies that eliminate these inequalities: A fair system of taxation, so that the rich are paying their share; support for child well-being, including paid parental leave, continued monthly child support payments, and equitable educational opportunities; universal access to healthcare; and a guaranteed income for all Americans. The aim is to have a society that treats everyone well—and health will follow.
Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19's Health Lessons for the World
by Stephen BezruchkaThe complex answer to why the United States does so poorly in health measures has at its base one pervasive issue: The United States has by far the highest levels of inequality of all the rich countries. Inequality Kills Us All details how living in a society with entrenched hierarchies increases the negative effects of illnesses for everyone. The antidote must start, Stephen Bezruchka recognizes, with a broader awareness of the nature of the problem, and out of that understanding policies that eliminate these inequalities: A fair system of taxation, so that the rich are paying their share; support for child well-being, including paid parental leave, continued monthly child support payments, and equitable educational opportunities; universal access to healthcare; and a guaranteed income for all Americans. The aim is to have a society that treats everyone well—and health will follow.
Christian and Faith-based Counseling for Brain Injury: Techniques for Survivors and Families
by Deana AdamsChristian and Faith-based Counseling for Brain Injury is the first book of its kind to offer faith-based therapy to address the emotional, cognitive, and mental health needs of individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A highly researched piece of work, the book puts forth an innovative and effective method for not only addressing the challenges of a life-changing injury but also for creating a sense of purpose. Through the nuances of faith-based counselling, this book focuses on the spiritual and existential aspects of understanding the diagnosis and creating a purpose post-injury. It examines how brain injury can affect an individual by exploring the deficits of brain injury, the impact of brain injury, and the challenges specific to damage to certain brain lobes. It also describes the mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, grief, anger, and posttraumatic stress, that can affect both the survivor and their family members. Offering targeted counseling techniques and adaptive strategies, it shows how faith-based counselors can effectively treat brain injury. This book is valuable reading for all individuals invested in providing support to the TBI community. It is aimed at counselors, lay counselors, healthcare professionals, social workers, psychotherapists, seminary students, and upper-level graduate students. It will further be of use to for clinicians working in the outpatient level of care and private practice settings.
Christian and Faith-based Counseling for Brain Injury: Techniques for Survivors and Families
by Deana AdamsChristian and Faith-based Counseling for Brain Injury is the first book of its kind to offer faith-based therapy to address the emotional, cognitive, and mental health needs of individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A highly researched piece of work, the book puts forth an innovative and effective method for not only addressing the challenges of a life-changing injury but also for creating a sense of purpose. Through the nuances of faith-based counselling, this book focuses on the spiritual and existential aspects of understanding the diagnosis and creating a purpose post-injury. It examines how brain injury can affect an individual by exploring the deficits of brain injury, the impact of brain injury, and the challenges specific to damage to certain brain lobes. It also describes the mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, grief, anger, and posttraumatic stress, that can affect both the survivor and their family members. Offering targeted counseling techniques and adaptive strategies, it shows how faith-based counselors can effectively treat brain injury. This book is valuable reading for all individuals invested in providing support to the TBI community. It is aimed at counselors, lay counselors, healthcare professionals, social workers, psychotherapists, seminary students, and upper-level graduate students. It will further be of use to for clinicians working in the outpatient level of care and private practice settings.
Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
by Kathleen Kevany Paolo ProsperiThis handbook presents a must-read, comprehensive and state of the art overview of sustainable diets, an issue critical to the environment and the health and well-being of society. Sustainable diets seek to minimise and mitigate the significant negative impact food production has on the environment. Simultaneously they aim to address worrying health trends in food consumption through the promotion of healthy diets that reduce premature disability, disease and death. Within the Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets, creative, compassionate, critical, and collaborative solutions are called for across nations, across disciplines and sectors. In order to address these wide-ranging issues the volume is split into sections dealing with environmental strategies, health and well-being, education and public engagement, social policies and food environments, transformations and food movements, economics and trade, design and measurement mechanisms and food sovereignty. Comprising of contributions from up and coming and established academics, the handbook provides a global, multi-disciplinary assessment of sustainable diets, drawing on case studies from regions across the world. The handbook concludes with a call to action, which provides readers with a comprehensive map of strategies that could dramatically increase sustainability and help to reverse global warming, diet related non-communicable diseases, and oppression and racism. This decisive collection is essential reading for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with promoting sustainable diets and thus establishing a sustainable food system to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food for all.
Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets (Routledge Environment and Sustainability Handbooks)
by Kathleen Kevany and Paolo ProsperiThis handbook presents a must-read, comprehensive and state of the art overview of sustainable diets, an issue critical to the environment and the health and well-being of society. Sustainable diets seek to minimise and mitigate the significant negative impact food production has on the environment. Simultaneously they aim to address worrying health trends in food consumption through the promotion of healthy diets that reduce premature disability, disease and death. Within the Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Diets, creative, compassionate, critical, and collaborative solutions are called for across nations, across disciplines and sectors. In order to address these wide-ranging issues the volume is split into sections dealing with environmental strategies, health and well-being, education and public engagement, social policies and food environments, transformations and food movements, economics and trade, design and measurement mechanisms and food sovereignty. Comprising of contributions from up and coming and established academics, the handbook provides a global, multi-disciplinary assessment of sustainable diets, drawing on case studies from regions across the world. The handbook concludes with a call to action, which provides readers with a comprehensive map of strategies that could dramatically increase sustainability and help to reverse global warming, diet related non-communicable diseases, and oppression and racism. This decisive collection is essential reading for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers concerned with promoting sustainable diets and thus establishing a sustainable food system to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food for all.
Queering Nutrition and Dietetics: LGBTQ+ Reflections on Food Through Art
by Phillip Joy Megan AstonThis book presents experiences of LGBTQ+ people relating to food, bodies, nutrition, health, wellbeing, and being queer through critical writing and creative art. The chapters bring LGBTQ+ voices into the spotlight through arts-based scholarship and contribute to experiential learning, allowing for more understanding of the lives of LGBTQ+ people within the dietetic profession. Divided into three parts, the first explores eating, food, and bodies; the second discusses communities, connections, and celebrations; and the final part covers care in practice. Topics include body image, eating disorders, weight stigma, cooking and culinary journeys, queer food culture, queer practices in nutrition counseling, and gendered understandings of nutrition. Exploring not only experiences of marginalization, homophobia, transphobia, and cisheteronormativity within dietetics and nutritional healthcare, this collection also dives into the positive connections and supportive communities that food can create. Special attention is paid to the intersections of oppression, colonialism, social justice, and politics. This book will be beneficial to all health professionals, educators, and students creating and fostering safer, more inclusive, and more accepting environments for their LGBTQ+ clients.
Queering Nutrition and Dietetics: LGBTQ+ Reflections on Food Through Art
by Phillip Joy and Megan AstonThis book presents experiences of LGBTQ+ people relating to food, bodies, nutrition, health, wellbeing, and being queer through critical writing and creative art. The chapters bring LGBTQ+ voices into the spotlight through arts-based scholarship and contribute to experiential learning, allowing for more understanding of the lives of LGBTQ+ people within the dietetic profession. Divided into three parts, the first explores eating, food, and bodies; the second discusses communities, connections, and celebrations; and the final part covers care in practice. Topics include body image, eating disorders, weight stigma, cooking and culinary journeys, queer food culture, queer practices in nutrition counseling, and gendered understandings of nutrition. Exploring not only experiences of marginalization, homophobia, transphobia, and cisheteronormativity within dietetics and nutritional healthcare, this collection also dives into the positive connections and supportive communities that food can create. Special attention is paid to the intersections of oppression, colonialism, social justice, and politics. This book will be beneficial to all health professionals, educators, and students creating and fostering safer, more inclusive, and more accepting environments for their LGBTQ+ clients.
Environment-Behavior Studies for Healthcare Design
by Suining DingEnvironment-Behavior Studies for Healthcare Design explains how environment-behavior (EB) studies can contribute to healthcare design research and explores how evidence-based theories can be applied and integrated into the healthcare design practice. Drawing on EB theories and the latest research in environment-behavior studies, this book shows how the healthcare environment can positively impact patients' and caregivers' well-being and healthcare organization's efficiency by modifying environmental attributes, such as space configuration, color, lighting, signage, acoustics, and artwork. It addresses a range of healthcare facilities including children's hospitals, long-term care, acute care and outpatient care facilities, and uses a range of evidence-based design research methods, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, surveys and space syntax. The author also explains how research evidence and evidence-based design can be integrated into healthcare design more cohesively in a redefined design process. This book provides a solid conceptual structure that informs a clear map for understanding the EB theories and their applications in healthcare design. This research guide for healthcare design helps students, academics, designers and architects reconsider how to create environments that support patients’ healing and well-being whilst considering efficiency and safety.
Environment-Behavior Studies for Healthcare Design
by Suining DingEnvironment-Behavior Studies for Healthcare Design explains how environment-behavior (EB) studies can contribute to healthcare design research and explores how evidence-based theories can be applied and integrated into the healthcare design practice. Drawing on EB theories and the latest research in environment-behavior studies, this book shows how the healthcare environment can positively impact patients' and caregivers' well-being and healthcare organization's efficiency by modifying environmental attributes, such as space configuration, color, lighting, signage, acoustics, and artwork. It addresses a range of healthcare facilities including children's hospitals, long-term care, acute care and outpatient care facilities, and uses a range of evidence-based design research methods, such as interviews, focus groups, observations, surveys and space syntax. The author also explains how research evidence and evidence-based design can be integrated into healthcare design more cohesively in a redefined design process. This book provides a solid conceptual structure that informs a clear map for understanding the EB theories and their applications in healthcare design. This research guide for healthcare design helps students, academics, designers and architects reconsider how to create environments that support patients’ healing and well-being whilst considering efficiency and safety.
The English Prison Health System After a Decade of Austerity, 2010-2020: The Failed Political Experiment (Routledge Frontiers of Criminal Justice)
by Nasrul IsmailAusterity has reconfigured and scaled back the governance and delivery of public services and negatively affected society’s most vulnerable groups. This book opens up the closed world of English prisons to examine its impact on prison health governance and healthcare delivery. It argues that austerity has been a decade-long, large-scale political experiment that has caused debt to balloon, eroded the prison health system and perpetuated a cycle of punishment resulting in sicker prisoners. In short, austerity has violated prisoners’ human rights. Drawing on interviews and data from existing longitudinal and economic analyses, the book demonstrates how austerity has resulted in high rates of recidivism, diminished what remains of the welfare state, and increased inequality and punitiveness. Despite a decade of failure, there is a marked political reluctance to dispense with austerity, and the governmental juggernaut continues to produce the same result. As the spectre of recession increases, caused in part by Brexit and COVID-19, these failures are ever more perilous. This book blends the interdisciplinary perspectives of criminology, public health, sociology, law, social policy, politics, and economics to enable greater understanding of the impact of austerity on health governance, prison healthcare, the prison workforce, and prisoners’ health and safety. It challenges current policy, practice and thinking, and is a must read for anyone who wants to reflect on how the political economic structure can affect the governance and delivery of healthcare services in marginalised settings, beyond prisons, and indeed beyond England.
The English Prison Health System After a Decade of Austerity, 2010-2020: The Failed Political Experiment (Routledge Frontiers of Criminal Justice)
by Nasrul IsmailAusterity has reconfigured and scaled back the governance and delivery of public services and negatively affected society’s most vulnerable groups. This book opens up the closed world of English prisons to examine its impact on prison health governance and healthcare delivery. It argues that austerity has been a decade-long, large-scale political experiment that has caused debt to balloon, eroded the prison health system and perpetuated a cycle of punishment resulting in sicker prisoners. In short, austerity has violated prisoners’ human rights. Drawing on interviews and data from existing longitudinal and economic analyses, the book demonstrates how austerity has resulted in high rates of recidivism, diminished what remains of the welfare state, and increased inequality and punitiveness. Despite a decade of failure, there is a marked political reluctance to dispense with austerity, and the governmental juggernaut continues to produce the same result. As the spectre of recession increases, caused in part by Brexit and COVID-19, these failures are ever more perilous. This book blends the interdisciplinary perspectives of criminology, public health, sociology, law, social policy, politics, and economics to enable greater understanding of the impact of austerity on health governance, prison healthcare, the prison workforce, and prisoners’ health and safety. It challenges current policy, practice and thinking, and is a must read for anyone who wants to reflect on how the political economic structure can affect the governance and delivery of healthcare services in marginalised settings, beyond prisons, and indeed beyond England.