Amid ongoing debate about health care reform, the need for informedanalyses of health policy is greater than ever. The twelve original essays inthis volume show that common public debates routinely bypass complexethical, sociocultural, historical, and political questions about how we shouldaddress ideals of justice and equality in health care. Integrating perspectivesfrom the humanities, social sciences, medicine, and public health, the contributorsilluminate the relationships between justice and health inequalitiesto complicate and enrich debates often dominated by simplistic narratives.

Understanding Health Inequalities and Justice grounds key conceptualdiscussions in timely case studies and policy analyses that explore threeoverarching questions: first, how do scholars approach relations betweenhealth inequalities and ideals of justice; second, when do justice considerationsinform solutions to health inequalities, and how do specific healthinequalities affect perceptions of injustice; and third, how can diverse scholarlyapproaches contribute to better health policy? From addressing patientagency in an inequitable health care environment to examining how scholarsof social justice and health care amass evidence, this volume combines theskills and sensibilities of diverse scholars to promote a richer understandingof health and justice and the successful paths to their realization.

The contributors are Judith C. Barker, Paula Braveman, Paul Brodwin,Jami Suki Chang, Debra DeBruin, Leslie A. Dubbin, Sarah Horton, Carla C.Keirns, J. Paul Kelleher, Nicholas B. King, Eva Feder Kittay, Joan Liaschenko,Anne Drapkin Lyerly, Mary Faith Marshall, Carolyn Mokley Rouse, JenniferPrah Ruger, and Janet K. Shim.