This concise, introductory textbook provides an engaging and accessible introduction to health policy and planning. Aimed at students of nursing, medicine and other health disciplines, as well as practitioners, the book examines key concepts and models of health policy and planning in such a way that they can be applied to any national context. The final result will stimulate discussion amongst students of health care management in a context free from ethnocentric limitations.

Based on sound theoretical models, which explore the main criteria available for evaluating social care and health services, this book explains why the various criteria are used, identifies the problems inherent in using them, and offers specific guidance on how to use each of the criteria.