Health Policy and Analysis

Awarded second place in the 2023 AJN Book of the Year Awards in History and Public Policy.

Significantly revised and updated from the first edition, Health Policy and Analysis: Framework and Tools for Success, Second Edition retains the systematic practicality of the original text while providing enhanced background, real-world applications, and analysis that will help students develop nuanced and comprehensive health policy analysis papers or projects.

The book guides students through a step-by-step framework for formulating and analyzing health policy options, blending theory and political considerations to reflect policymaking and the health policy analysis process in practice at the local, state, and federal levels. New chapters provide relevant and concise background information on the American political structure, process, and political culture. Discussion Questions, Key Terms, and Breakout Boxes featuring in-depth recent and historical real-world examples help students transfer their knowledge effectively into practice.

Health Policy and Analysis is an essential resource for graduate and undergraduate students of public health, health administration, nursing, medicine, data science, environmental health, and other related interdisciplinary professions in developing a systematic and comprehensive approach to understanding and addressing the complex health policy issues facing us today.

Key Features:

• Provides foundational background material for students regarding the American political system, with key characteristics of the formal and informal environment for policy making.


• Integrates a recap of methodological considerations that need to be considered when formulating or analyzing health policy.


• Delivers an evidence-based step-by-step framework for developing a health policy proposal.


• Offers alternative specific formats and advice in framing issues, working with stakeholders, considering policy options and drafting policy proposals.


• Aligns with principles of Health Impact Assessment (HIA).


• Includes a detailed Instructor's Manual, PPTs, and other tools for the classroom