Beyond Rhetorical Differences
A Cohesive Account of Post‐devolution Developments in UK Health Policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11197727 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katherine E Smith (0000-0002-1060-4102, University of Edinburgh, corresponding author), Katherine Smith (0000-0001-7471-0708), Mark Hellowell (0000-0003-3474-2080, University of Edinburgh) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 178-198 |
| Publication date | 2012-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2011.00830.x |
| OpenAlex | W1792574422 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 22 |
Health is perhaps the most significant policy area to be devolved to decision‐makers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Consequently, there has been a great deal of interest in assessing the extent to which health policies (which already differed somewhat prior to devolution) have diverged since 1999. To date, analyses have tended to focus either on health care policies or on specific public health issues (e.g. health inequalities or tobacco control). The story that emerges from this body of work suggests health care policies have diverged significantly, whilst public health policies have remained remarkably similar. This article is one of the first to consider health care and public health policy alongside each other. It reassesses and updates previous analyses, incorporating developments relating to the 2010 general election and the 2007 and 2011 devolved administration elections. Drawing on a variety of textual sources (policy documents, research evidence and corporate literature), our findings differ from existing analyses in suggesting that, despite some noticeable differences in policy rhetoric, approaches to both health care provision and tackling public health problems remain similar. Looking to the future, the article concludes that the common economic challenges, combined with a tight fiscal policy (that remains excepted from devolution), means the similarities in health care provision across the UK are likely to remain more pronounced than the differences. However, current debate about the constitutional settlement, and in particular the prospect of greater fiscal freedoms for the devolved administrations, may provide opportunities for more meaningful divergence in health policy than has been possible hitherto
Devolution (biology · Health care · Political science · Public health · Public policy · Rhetoric · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Global Health Care Issues · Healthcare Systems and Challenges · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Health Policy
The role of cultural, community and natural assets in addressing societal and structural health inequalities in the UK
Scotland’s Progressive Rhetoric
Assessing the potential utility of commercial ‘big data’ for health research
The Wages of Continuity
How do general practitioners understand health inequalities and do their professional roles offer scope for mitigation? Constructions derived from the deep end of primary care
Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy
Policy Style and Governing without Consensus
Understanding the Influence of Evidence in Public Health Policy
Re-Imagining Healthcare and Medical Research Systems in Post-Devolution Scotland
The state They're in
Devolution, state restructuring and policy divergence in the UK
Social Determinants and Their Unequal Distribution
Equity in the finance of health care
Quasi-Markets and Social Policy
Assessing the impact of smoking cessation services on reducing health inequalities in England
Reducing health inequalities
Using Devolution to Set the Agenda? Venue Shift and the Smoking Ban in Scotland
The territorial bases of health policymaking in the UK after devolution
Divergence or convergence? Health inequalities and policy in a devolved Britain
Introduction
Choosing or losing health
Policy convergence and divergence in Scotland under devolution
Tackling Health Inequalities in Post‐devolution Britain
The role of ideas in policy transfer
| Citations per year | 0.85 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2013 - 2021 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |