Health in a changing world

Briefing
  • Published 25/06/10

Markets for healthcare and pharmaceuticals are spreading rapidly in many countries. Meanwhile, new information communications technology (ICT) is changing the way people access advice and medicines. And as recent events such as SARS, H1N1 and avian influenza have shown, changing patterns in human behaviour and the environment have meant that epidemics can spread in new ways.

As institutions, policies and practitioners struggle to keep up with these changes, how can alternative pathways be found which improve access for the poor? For over five years, the work of the ESRC STEPS Centre’s Health domain has focused on understanding the implications of these changes for poor people. This briefing explains our work so far and looks at future directions of research.