Geopolitical aspects of health: austerity and health inequalities

Author(s):  
Clare Bambra ◽  
Kayleigh Garthwaite ◽  
Amy Greer Murphy

This chapter examines the effects of austerity on geographical health inequalities by focusing on the North–South health divide in England and health inequalities between local neighbourhoods. It first explains the importance of geography for health by presenting the two case studies involving the North–South divide and local inequalities. It then considers the austerity and welfare reforms that have been introduced in England since 2010 and how these policies are affecting these spatial health divides. It also reviews evidence from previous international research into welfare retrenchment, as well as qualitative data about the lived experiences of people at the sharp end of austerity. The chapter concludes by highlighting the uneven consequences of austerity measures for health across localities and across different sociodemographic groups, thus exacerbating existing health inequalities.

Author(s):  
Mohammad Yaghi

In this chapter, Yaghi offers detailed suggestions on how to code qualitative data after they have been gathered. Based on his doctoral dissertation, this chapter explains that the logic behind coding qualitative data is to turn a significant amount of information into categories that can be used to explain a phenomenon, reveal a concept, or render the data comparable across different case studies. It also elaborates through examples from author’s fieldwork in Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan on four potential problems that may face researchers in coding qualitative data. These are the questions of preparation, categorization, consistency, and saturation. The chapter concludes by asking researchers to be flexible, and open to the process of trial and error in coding, to confront the data with questions before categorization, and to gather sufficient data on their topics before running their qualitative surveys.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Holding ◽  
Hannah Fairbrother ◽  
Naomi Griffin ◽  
Jonathan Wistow ◽  
Katie Powell ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Improving children and young people’s (CYP) health and addressing health inequalities are international priorities. Reducing inequalities is particularly pertinent in light of the Covid-19 outbreak which has exacerbated already widening inequalities in health. This study aimed to explore understandings of inequality, the anticipated pathways for reducing inequalities among CYP and key factors affecting the development and implementation of policy to reduce inequalities among CYP at a local level. Methods We carried out a qualitative case study of one local government region in the North of England (UK), comprising semi structured interviews (n = 16) with service providers with a responsibility for child health, non-participant observations of key meetings (n = 6 with 43 participants) where decisions around child health are made, and a local policy documentation review (n = 11). We employed a novel theoretical framework, drawing together different approaches to understanding policy, to guide our design and analysis. Results Participants in our study understood inequalities in CYP health almost exclusively as socioeconomically patterned inequalities in health practices and outcomes. Strategies which participants perceived to reduce inequalities included: preventive support and early intervention, an early years/whole family focus, targeted working in local areas of high deprivation, organisational integration and whole system/place-based approaches. Despite demonstrating a commitment to a social determinants of health approach, efforts to reduce inequalities were described as thwarted by the prevalence of poverty and budget cuts which hindered the ability of local organisations to work together. Participants critiqued national policy which aimed to reduce inequalities in CYP health for failing to recognise local economic disparities and the interrelated nature of the determinants of health. Conclusions Despite increased calls for a ‘whole systems’ approach to reducing inequalities in health, significant barriers to implementation remain. National governments need to work towards more joined up policy making, which takes into consideration regional disparities, allows for flexibility in interpretation and addresses the different and interrelated social determinants of health. Our findings have particular significance in light of Covid-19 and indicate the need for systems level policy responses and a health in all policies approach.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146879412110059
Author(s):  
Barbara Barbosa Neves ◽  
Josephine Wilson ◽  
Alexandra Sanders ◽  
Renata Kokanović

This article draws on crystallization, a qualitative framework developed by Laurel Richardson and Laura Ellingson, to show the potential of using sociological narratives and creative writing to better analyze and represent the lived experiences of loneliness among older people living in Australian care homes. Crystallization uses a multi-genre approach to study and present social phenomena. At its core is a concern for the ethics of representation, which is critical when engaging with vulnerable populations. We use two case studies from research on loneliness to illustrate an application of crystallization through different narrative types. To supplement our sociological narratives, we invited author Josephine Wilson to write creative narratives based on the case studies. Josephine was awarded the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2017 for Extinctions, a novel exploring themes such as later life and loneliness. By contrasting the two approaches—sociological and creative narratives—we discuss the implications of crystallization for qualitative research.


2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 456-457
Author(s):  
Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay

Does Civil Society Matter? Governance in Contemporary India, Rajesh Tandon and Ranjita Mohanty, eds., New Delhi: Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications, 2003, pp. 363.In the last decade in North America, there has been an explosion of books on the subject of civil society. Like so many other concepts in contemporary political science, the notion of civil society has been imported to analyze other polities outside the North American hemisphere, and India is no exception. However, Tandon and Mohanty's edited book presents a fresh perspective by combining academic analysis with that of on-the-ground practitioners to examine the relationship between civil society and governance. The book is divided into two parts: the first deals with the theoretical conceptualization of civil society and the second with actual case studies.


Author(s):  
Ken P. Games ◽  
David I. Gordon

ABSTRACTSand waves are well known indicators of a mobile seabed. What do we expect of these features in terms of migration rates and seabed scour? We discuss these effects on seabed structures, both for the Oil and Gas and the Windfarm Industries, and consider how these impact on turbines and buried cables. Two case studies are presented. The first concerns a windfarm with a five-year gap between the planning survey and a subsequent cable route and environmental assessment survey. This revealed large-scale movements of sand waves, with the displacement of an isolated feature of 155 m in five years. Secondly, another windfarm development involved a re-survey, again over a five-year period, but after the turbines had been installed. This showed movements of sand waves of ∼50 m in five years. Observations of the scour effects on the turbines are discussed. Both sites revealed the presence of barchans. Whilst these have been extensively studied on land, there are few examples of how they behave in the marine environment. The two case studies presented show that mass transport is potentially much greater than expected and that this has implications for choosing turbine locations, the effect of scour, and the impact these sediment movements are likely to have on power cables.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Swanwick ◽  
Sue Wright ◽  
Jackie Salter

AbstractThis paper examines the meaning of plurality and diversity with respect to deaf children’s sign and spoken language exposure and repertoire within a super diverse context. Data is drawn from a small-scale project that took place in the North of England in a Local Authority (LA) site for deaf education. The project documented the language landscape of this site and gathered five individual case studies of deaf children to examine their plural and diverse language practices at home and at school. Analysis of the language landscape and case studies from this context is undertaken in order to define and exemplify deaf children’s language plurality and diversity in terms of context and individual experience. Concepts of repertoire are explored with particular reference to the unique type of translanguaging that the plural use of sign and spoken languages affords. Implications of these preliminary insights are discussed in terms of the development of methodologies that are sensitive to the particular translanguaging practices of deaf children, and approaches to pedagogy that are appropriately nuanced and responsive to deaf children’s language plurality and diversity.


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