Compared to other developed nations, the United States healthcare system produces worse health outcomes for its citizens even though it spends the most amount of spending on the healthcare. Health outcomes measure the length and quality of life for the people. Health outcomes are measured in the average life expectancy as well as other metrics like the infant mortality rate and types of diseases that are endemic a country. And so we look to the social institutions that set up the structure for cultural behavior and the responses to the problems it may face in order to see why America fares so poorly. Our main focus is with the medical institution and the inequality that is built within the system. This allows us to see the health disparities that exist for different countries due to their social characteristics. We will examine the health care industry and how that affects a countries’ health outcomes. …show more content…
I would like to see why this is the case and understand how inequality is created in the healthcare field. This inequality has continued to sustain itself in the past 100 years and produces large differences in health outcomes between people. Part of the answer lies in what we as a society value and do not value. Looking at structure shows us the value a country places on healthcare and we see that in the United States, it is highly capitalistic and economic based. The United States is unique in that it is the biggest spender on healthcare yet other countries have better health outcomes according to the commonwealth fund (Davis, Stremikis, Schoen, Squires,
Having Cultural Safety and Professional Relationships in workplace Includes- ★ Developing Trust ★ Recognising and avoiding stereotypical barriers ★ Clear, value free, open and respectful communication ★ Actions which recognize and respect the cultural identities of others ★ Also examining our own cultural identities and attitudes ★ Treating everyone the same including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and accepting each others culture
These challenges are rooted in historical and ongoing social, economic, and political factors that have resulted in limited access to quality healthcare, inadequate
“in conflict theory, all social arrangements… have a political and economic bases and consequences” (p.10, Clarke) It is evident that health care is no stranger to this concept of class structures and the inequalities that are result from it. The government makes all the major decisions and implements the rules in regulations when it comes to health care. While individuals with low socio-economic statuses feel abandoned and suffer from the
Health Care in the US is arguably available to all who seek it but not everybody has had the same experience and treatment when walking through the doors of a healthcare facility. In many cases, people are discriminated against due to their gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income and are often provided with minimal service. Differences between groups in health coverage, access to care, and quality of care is majorly affected through these disparities. Income is a major factor and can cause groups of people to experience higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality relative to another group.
The United States is one of the most powerful countries on the planet. The leader in democracy, sheer economic power, and military might. However, the United States is behind in one major issue: Health Care for it 's citizens. The United States is one of the only developed nations to not offer universal health care (Fisher). Without Universal health care there are people who fall into a trapped inside of a 'death spiral ', where the individual cannot receive health care because they cannot afford it, but they cannot afford it because they are too ill to find gainful employment.(Hussey, p. 295).
What factors do you think contribute to the disparities in health among ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender groups in your country? Back to my country, Indonesia, it has more than 14 thousand islands scatter within 5 thousand miles from East to West in South East Asian region. There are tremendous disparities between islands to other islands in health due to ability to access to health facilities; poor; low education; and area isolation. As described by Crimmins, Hayward and Seeman (2004) that poorer and less education people will likely to suffer from diseases. Poorer people always experience with cognitively and physically impaired.
Sir Michael Marmot put into perspective how serious social disparities are and how they influence health not only between countries but also, within countries. The issue is not medical care; in fact the United States spends the most on medical care. You would initially think the country in which spends the most on medical care must have higher health rates. Well, believe it or not, this is actually false, for instance, sixty-two countries had higher maternal health rates than the United States. This displays that a lack of medical care fundamentally is not the conflict, whereas social inequality is.
Equity is an important policy objective in almost every health care system. However, what is actually meant by equity might well differ across countries. The precise meaning and importance of it will depend on factors such as cultural beliefs and attitudes (Morris, Devlin, Parkin, p. 205, 2007). Equity in the finance of health care has focused on whether there is vertical equity in the finance of health care. This considers the extent to which individuals with unequal ability to pay for health care make appropriately unequal payments.
Culture refers to the unified forms of philosophies and human behaviors pooled within a particular society. These unified forms classify adherents as part of an assemblage and extricate adherents from other assemblages. It includes the language, religion, sexual orientation, upbringing, life experience, geographical origin, ethnicity and assemblage history. Each culture has beliefs concerning health, disease, treatment and health care providers (https://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/culture/influence). All cultures have schemes of health beliefs to elucidate the grounds of illness, by what means it can be cured or treated, and who ought to be involved in the process.
Popular opinion emphasizes that medical benefits should be equally distributed to everyone. The goal of universal health care is ensure that rich and poor people have the same access to medical care regardless of economic status. Therefore, some countries dispense free health care to their citizen such as Canada and England. The free medical system has brought a great deal of positive influence on our life; however, it also caused various negative results like long wait times and lack of medical equipment. According to free-market Fraser Institute, “4,2000 Canucks” traveled to other countries as “medical tourists” because long waiting time, dismal health care and a want of adequate medical facilities in 2013(Bastasch, Jan. 16, 2104).
Many Americans were led to believe that the introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2009 would put an end to disparities in health care access. While it did improve the situation for a small percentage of the population there are still many Americans who lack access to good quality health care. Health care access in America is determined by money and those in lower socioeconomic groups frequently tend to miss out on adequate care. In a recent health care report by the national health research foundation Kaiser Family Foundation, it was noted “health care disparities remain a persistent problem in the United States, leading to certain groups being at higher risk of being uninsured, having limited access to care, and experiencing poorer quality of care” (Kaiser Family Foundation). The current health care
It is well known that health outcomes differ widely between cities, states, and countries. The scale and nature of health inequalities has shifted over time, with an overall long-term upward trend in life expectancy in virtually all countries (Wilson, 2014). Sometimes there are significant inequalities in health outcomes even within the same small geographical area. There are also significant inequalities between countries in inputs relevant to health. This includes the total amount spent on health care.
Poverty in the Healthcare System in the United States Student's Name Institutional Affiliation Course Title Professor's Name Date 2 Poverty in the Healthcare System in the United States Although the healthcare system in the United States is one of the most advanced in the world, it is also one of the most expensive and inaccessible.
Healthcare is defined as the maintenance and improvement of the general public health status through the facilitation of health services such as diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illnesses, diseases or injuries among other health impairments in the general population. Healthcare services are provided by health professionals usually through both public and private institutions and usually encompass three main tiers of basic healthcare i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary care. Globally, healthcare varies across the different countries and the level of healthcare access in different countries will be determined by socio-economic factors as well as governmental policies regulating healthcare (Williams, 2008). This article will dissect the structure of healthcare systems and give an insight into the crucial aspects that dictate and determine the provisions and effectiveness a healthcare system. Without a doubt, in order for all to enjoy optimal and non-redacted healthcare services – as individuals and as the
After living in Los Angeles for a while, the more I acclimated with the social setting, the more similarity I found with the social context that I experienced in Bangladesh. Even though I was accustomed to seeing people lack basic health care, I was shocked by the transparent disparity in the underserved community in America, in arguably one of the most developed countries in the world. It was puzzling to see that even though America has the best health care, there was still a lack of care in the underserved community. Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and so on, are more prominent in these communities. Lack of education, socio-economic status, and even gender impacted the way people sought health care.