Understanding health services / Nick Black and Reinhold Gruen.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. A systems approach to health services -- 2. Challenges facing health services -- 3. Formal and lay care -- 4. Diseases and medical knowledge -- 5. Medical paradigms -- 6. Staff : the challenge of professionalism -- 7. Funding health care -- 8. The need and demand for health care -- 9. The relationship between need and use -- 10. Staff-patient interactions -- 11. Public as consumers and policy makers -- 12. Outcomes -- 13. Analysing health systems -- 14. Why are health systems as they are? -- 15. Low and middle income countries : from colonial inheritance to primary care -- 16. Low and middle income countries : from comprehensive primary care to global initiatives -- 17. Health services in high income countries -- 18. Defining good quality health services -- 19. Performance assessment -- 20. Improving quality of care

"Provides self-directed learning covering the major issues in public health affecting low, middle and high income countries....aimed at those studying public health, either by distance learning or more traditional methods, as well as public health practitioners and policy makers."--BOOK JACKET.