About this eBook
Advances in healthcare mean that increasing numbers of young people with life-shortening conditions are transitioning into adulthood. Issues such as sex and intimacy, dating and relationships, fertility and having children are increasingly relevant to them and to the people that support them, including families, carers, practitioners and professional education, health and social care agencies. This three-part book explores the relevance and significance of this field, examines everyday experiences, and highlights the challenges faced by individuals and organisations in addressing the needs of such people in daily life and in the context of practice.
Drawing on perspectives from sociology, disability studies, epidemiology, health policy, psychotherapy, legal studies, queer studies and nursing, this ground-breaking volume is written by academics, policy makers, practitioners and experts by experience. It is an essential read for all those practising and researching in the fields of sexuality, chronic illness and disability and transition.
About the author
Sarah Earle is Professor of Medical Sociology at The Open University, UK. She is a medical sociologist with internationally recognised expertise in the sociology of reproductive and sexual health. Her inclusive research theorises the sexual and reproductive lives of under-researched or marginalised groups, exploring how this lack of agency impacts on everyday life and its meaning. She was a founding member and, later, Chair of The Open University Sexuality Alliance.
Maddie Blackburn is a retired lawyer and senior health professional, and a Visiting Fellow at The Open University, UK, where she completed her PhD. Maddie was the founding Chair of The Open University Sexuality Alliance and was previously a Chief Executive at Iain Rennie Hospice at Home and Director of Children’s and Young People’s Strategy at the Healthcare Commission, now the Care Quality Commission.
