backgrounds being among thecontested findings. The messy and dis-puted nature of health policy mighthave come through more strongly inthe book if the authors had made moreof the interview data that underpinnedtheir research. Much attention is paid topolicy documents and their formalaccounts of policy change, but onlyrarely are the interviews mentioned asa source of a particular piece of infor-mation. More engagement with therival stories, the policy failures and thepolitical realities that are likely to haveemerged from a project with a largishnumber of qualitative interviews(around 50) would have given an extradimension to the text.

Detailed comparative studies ofhealth systems are always welcomed,and there is much here to commendthe book, not least an attempt to traceand explain the commercialisationpressures that are so evident in currenthealth reforms. Scholars and healthprofessionals will gain much from thejuxtaposition of policy detail and nor-mative critique. However, if readers areinterested to understand the contestedand contingent nature of some of theevidence that Tritter et al. present, theymight do well to read Pollock et al.(2004) and Le Grand (2007) as compan-ion texts.

Catherine Needham

Department of PoliticsQueen Mary, University of London

References

Clarke J. (2004) ‘Dissolving the publicrealm? the logics and limits of neo-liberalism’. Journal of Social Policy 33(1), 27–48.

Klein R. (2001) The New Politics of theNHS, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Har-low.

Le Grand J. (2007) The Other InvisibleHand: Delivering Public Servicesthrough Choice and Competition.Princeton University Press, Prince-ton.

Ministers of State for Departments ofHealth, Local and Regional Govern-ment and School Standards (2004)The Case for User Choice in PublicServices. Joint Memorandum to thePublic Administration Select Com-mittee Inquiry into Choice, Voiceand Public Services, London.

Pollock A., Leys C., Rowland D. &Gnani S. (2004) NHS Plc. Verso, Lon-don.

Trentmann F. (2006) ‘The moderngenealogy of the consumer. In: J.Brewer & F. Trentmann (Eds) Con-suming Cultures, Global Perspec-tives: Historical Trajectories,Transnational Exchanges, pp. 19–69.Berg, Oxford.

International Perspectives onHealth and Social Care By JonGlasby and Helen Dickinson, WileyBlackwell, Oxford (2009), £42.99(hardback), 184 pp. ISBN 978-1-4051-6743-7

This book is a co-edited collection of 11chapters written by prominent writerswithin the field of health care andhealth policy from the UK, Australia,USA and France. The preface informsus that this book forms part of a seriesof works, which collectively considerthe subject of ‘Promoting Partnershipfor Health’ and is published in associa-tion with the UK Centre for theAdvancement of Inter-ProfessionalEducation. The series editor suggeststhat each book within the series will,‘compare and contrast national per-spectives, set within a global apprecia-tion of opportunities and threats tohealth’ (p. vii). As such, this book willappeal to health care professionals aswell as those working in the area ofsocial care in both a national and inter-national arena. It is particularly relevantto public sector managers within thesefields.

The book begins with an introduc-tory chapter from the co-editors whoargue that ‘partnership working andinter-agency collaboration are animportant and growing phenomenonin a number of different countries andcontinent ...’ (p. 1). They pose the ques-tion ‘why now’ in order to understandwhy there is a sudden push towardspartnership working between profes-sionals as a solution to current prob-lems: a marked change from what hashistorically been a professionally frag-mented way of tackling need and ser-vice delivery. They suggest that threekey factors have influenced this change:new public management reforms dri-ven by a combination of economic,

social, political and technological fac-tors; greater understanding of the nat-ure of complex social problems and therealisation that one agency (profes-sional group or sector) alone cannotseek solutions by working in isolation;factors relating to social change, whichinclude a ‘marked shift in the types ofproblems which public services are fac-ing, with chronic and complex healthand well-being issues becoming moreprevalent’, and consequently moreresource intensive (p. 3). They also sug-gest that service users have becomemore knowledgeable, with higherexpectations for a higher quality of ser-vice. The authors argue that this hasnecessitated a shift away from ‘pater-nalistic relationships’ with professionalcarers to one based on partnership. Thecombination of these factors haspushed agencies to collaborate witheach other in order to meet stakeholderdemand and share costs.

Chapter 1 (written by UK contribu-tors) considers partnership work (part-nerships, mergers, acquisitions) withinthe context of tensions arising from or-ganisational culture. I found this chap-ter compelling and informative. Ofparticular note, it is intriguing to readthat, ‘Despite the importance that cul-ture seems to have assumed within thepublic sector partnership literature, asurprisingly small proportion of theinternational literature discusses cul-ture in anything more than a norma-tive, coherent and unproblematicfashion (p.14)’. Certainly, if we are toconsider cross-cultural partnershipswithin an international arena, culturaldiversity would have a significantimpact on organisational culture (seefor example the work of Trompenaars& Hampden-Turner (1997)).

Chapter 2 (written by UK contribu-tors) begins with a fictional case studyto explore (‘Gerry’s story’ p. 27) inter-professional care within the context oforganisational structure and bound-aries. The authors rightly point out that‘The complex mix of relationships doesnot always run smoothly’ (p. 28). Thisclearly illustrates the need to getbeyond the ‘silo mentality’ and engagein ‘joined up thinking and action’ (p.29). Important issues relating to powerand trust are highlighted as barriersand a line within the case study which

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reads, ‘The social worker was reluctantto ask the psychologist for help in caseit confirmed his position as expert andhers as unskilled general dog’s body’(p. 30) aptly sums up some of thedilemmas within professional mindsetsthat need to be overcome. This chapterwould be particularly informative topractitioners.

Chapter 3 (written by USA author)builds on the previous chapter andhighlights culture and inter-profes-sional practice within the context of theintegration of Medicare acute care ser-vices with privately financed commu-nity care benefits. The author highlightsnine ‘Laws of Integration’ (p. 44). I par-ticularly like Law 4 which states, ‘Youcan’t integrate a square peg and around hole’. The author presents a clearsummary that offers compellingthoughts for professionals and manag-ers of those services where many hur-dles that have to be overcome, forexample, ‘joint working requiresupfront investments to build systemsand to win cooperation from collaborat-ing agencies and practitioners’ (p. 51).

Chapters 4 and 5 (written byauthors from the Netherlands andUSA, respectively) take a systemsapproach: Chapter 4 argues that effec-tive partnership should be based onuser involvement. The author clearlypoints out that demographic changes,resulting in an ageing population withmultiple problems, cannot be tackledby single agency intervention, thus,picking up on one of the factors identi-fied in the introductory chapter. Chap-ter 5 also considers the demographicchallenges and the needs of ‘frailelderly’ service users and considers a‘whole system approaches’ through acomparative evaluation for three sys-tems – one in the USA and two in Can-ada.

Chapter 6 (written by an authorfrom the UK, Social Care Institute ofExcellence) presents the reader with avery useful analytical framework forprobing how inter-professional bound-aries are managed in practice in differ-ent countries. The author argues thatthree qualities are essential to createworking relationships that add value:judgement, coherence and review. Thiswas a particularly useful chapter that Ienjoyed reading.

Chapter 7 (written by UK authors)tackles the claim that ‘networked elec-tronic services’ (p. 95) are essential formore effective partnership working. Anexploration into how information tech-nology can advance individuals to con-trol their health and social care recordsis made. However, I would have per-haps welcomed the debate to go furtherinto the barriers and solutions to inter-professional working in the midst ofdata protection dilemmas.

Chapter 8 (written by French andUK authors) considers the economicsof integrated care and different fundingnetworks. It considers three differentfunding models: public funding forgood practice; funding co-ordinatedhealth care programmes; fundingtotally integrated health care networks.The section relating to ‘French geronto-logical networks’ (p. 113) was particu-larly interesting. The authors concludethis chapter by saying that financialnetworks need to be seen as part ofwider social and political systemsotherwise they will remain small andtime limited.

Chapter 9 (written by Australianauthors) begins with a case study of arecovering (from heart attack) serviceuser who became part of a ‘self-man-aged group’. The ethos being that ‘thegroup’ form a collective support systemaround each other in an active ratherthan recipient manner. The authorsexpand on this by developing an‘Expanded Chronic Care Model’ (p.124), which is clearly illustrated toinclude the important elements of com-munity and family. I would recom-mend that people working in the arearead this.

Chapter 10 (written by UK andUSA authors) looks at partnershipwithin the context of the citizen. It isclearly illustrated with several casestudies that demonstrate the elementsof self-directed support. The ‘ControlModel’ (p. 146) is very well demon-strated through an interesting figurethat highlights the range of communitysupport. The ‘In-Control’ web address(http://www.in-control.org.uk)allowed me to explore further. I wouldrecommend that readers have a look atthis informative web site.

Chapter 11 concludes this workthrough a synthesis by one of the co-

editors. Overall, this was a very interest-ing, well researched and important col-lection of chapters, which togethermake up a coherent book that considersthe enormity of issue relating to part-nership and inter-professional working.My only thought might be that it is writ-ten almost predominantly from a Wes-tern perspective. The impact onglobalisation and recession affects allnations, and there is certainly muchdebate within organisations such as theInternational Federation of Social Work-ers (IFSW), which allude to the need forglobal partnership. However, I wouldstrongly recommend this work for theprofessionals identified at the outset.

Isabel Williams

Senior LecturerAnglia Ruskin University

References

International Federation of SocialWorkers (IFSW). Available at:http://www.ifsw.org, accessed 10March 2010.

Trompenaars F. & Hampden-Turner C.(1997) Riding The Waves of Culture:Understanding Cultural Diversity inBusiness, 2nd edn. Nicolas BrealeyPublishing, London.

Living with Arthritis By JulieBarlow, Wiley Blackwell, Oxford(2009), £26.99 (paperback), 320 pp.,ISBN 978-1405108102

I have read Julie Barlow’s book ‘Livingwith Arthritis’ from two perspectives;one as a person who has lived withsevere sero-negative polyarthritis forsome 30 years and one as CEO of theNational Rheumatoid Arthritis Society(NRAS), representing people with RAand working closely with rheumatol-ogy teams across the UK.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) featureslarge among the four diseases that arediscussed, perhaps because there havebeen more studies and more researchdone in the field of RA. The book cov-ers the psycho-social aspects of livingwith these diseases in great detail andis extremely well referenced. Examin-ing the impact on both the individualand the close family of those livingwith these diseases is, I believe, extre-mely helpful for health professionals

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554 ª 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd