"Researching the People's Health" examines two related issues: the role of social research in the rapidly changing world of health services, and the relationship between lay and expert knowledge in public health and health care. The book examines these issues against the background of long-term transformations in patterns of health and illness and rapid changes in the strategic management and commissioning of health services. In doing so the book makes a contribution to the continuing and urgent debates on the assessment of health needs, the organization and delivery of health care, and the politics of health service organization and funding.

Researching the People's Health examines the different ways in which needs are assessed and health care is organized, prioritized and delivered in circumstances of rapid change in patterns of health and illness. The book also addresses the issue of relationships between lay and expert knowledge.