ABSTRACT
The introduction chapter opens the discussion with questions of ethics and contribution to a society connected with the ethical conduct and democratic participation of cooperative models as a potential alternative or complement to traditional economic systems, promoting fairness and sustainability. Further, the focus is on the presentation of the research monograph, introducing the explored areas as the history and modern aspects of health cooperatives, analysing its development in 20 countries across different continents and examining the relationship between healthcare systems, the evolution of cooperatives, and the progress of health cooperatives in each observed country. The text also discusses the role of international organisations, which will be further elaborated in the monograph, including their establishment and operation with health cooperatives worldwide. Through case studies within the monograph, it presents the rationale for identifying health cooperatives’ geographical and historical dispersion and their organisational structures, governance frameworks, financial models, and identities. Furthermore, the text introduced modern healthcare systems’ challenges, which are elaborated in specific chapters.
