Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This new edition of Staying Alive provides readers with a fresh perspective on health, health care, and illness in Canada and abroad. Grounded in a human rights approach to health, this edited collection includes chapters on the social construction of illness and disability, social determinants of health, and current critical issues in the field. The third edition has been thoroughly updated and includes recent national and international developments in health care, with current world statistics and an emphasis on austerity-related changes and their effects on health and health care systems. It includes chapters on pharmaceutical policy, social class, women's health, and the impact of economic forces such as globalization and privatization in health care."-- Provided by publisher.