Health sciences and medicine - Term Paper Example

? HEALTH SCIENCES AND MEDICINE Various things are influential when it comes to the actual well-being of any particular nation. In actual sense, the issues, which are in question, center majorly on the population of the country in question. These range from the political to the social and economy of the country. The one, which is of interest, in this case is in relation to the social policies and the way they relate with the health status in any particular country (Acheson, 1998). Public health is something, which cannot be overlooked when looking at the general well-being of a country. It is also of the essence to note that the health of a particular nation is influenced by certain things, which majorly affect the population. Some of these things include the poverty and income levels of the individuals in the population among other various things. Public health and its importance in a country is something, which started gaining recognition in the early 1970s, and its significance has been stressed ever since it was recognized. Despite the fact that the importance of favorable policies related to the society and public health, there are still significant differences which crop up when looking at the state of individual countries. This is for finding out the differences, which are exhibited in these countries (Baldock, 2012). Case of the United Kingdom Just like in most countries, the extent of social policy is something, which is rather hard to elaborate. This is because there is no clear elaboration or clear-cut definition for the scope which social policy is supposed to cover. However, in light of these, it is of the essence to understand some of the areas involved which include health, education and general societal well-being, just to mention a few. In the light of these revelations, there are some things, which are also highlighted. These are the negatives. These include social inequalities, poverty, and child abuse among others. In the case of the United Kingdom, there was a problem of industrial capitalism. Because of this, not all individuals were in a position to put up with these changes. As from the late 1970s, there was significant revolution in the UK social policies. The changes that were being adapted were meant to be positive and for the benefit of the individuals in the country. These changes were being spearheaded by Margaret Thatcher in a bid to curb the social inequalities, which were being exhibited in the country. Some of the things, which were being advocated for, include the privatization of social and healthcare. One of the bodies, which are charged with the responsibility of ensuring good social and healthcare in the United Kingdom, is the National Health Service (Aspalter, 2006). Still in the 1970s, there was the proposition that goals for health improvement ought to be set. This was for seeing the achievements, which were being realized in relation to the health and social sector. It is significantly agreed that some of the mechanisms, which are in place in the United Kingdom, are not sufficient to cater for the individuals in the population especially the ones who are in the old age. In this case, it is argued that some of the developmental changes, which are to be brought forth, should borrow a leaf from Scotland and some of its practices in relation to the social well-being of the people in the country. For example, there ought to be an introduction of integrated budgets, which will cater across the board. This means that the budgets will be effective in all areas be it health or social care. At the same time, the partnerships which are to be formed ought to be accountable to all individuals in authority be it the ministers even up to the local authorities. Despite this, it is not a guarantee that the proposals about budgetary allocations will bring about the change, which is so much needed. This is because for as long as social care and health are in the hands of different organization there will be a tendency to question how the allocated money is being spent. Cultural change is something, which will aid in addressing the problems in question. The political leadership and management of the program is something which should be clear and identifiable (Aspalter, 2006). Proper healthcare is regardless of the social inequalities is something which the United Kingdom has significantly adapted. The Department of Health has developed some policies and guidance for providing adequate healthcare to all the individuals in the society. At the same time, the integrity, independence and control is still left with the people. The United Kingdom is significantly trying its best to provide the requisite health services to the individuals in the population. This is oblivious of the fact that there are social hurdles, which have to be dealt with (Aspalter, 2006). Case of Canada In the recent past, there have been significant concerns about the rising number of Canadians living in poverty to an extent that they cannot access healthcare and social services. The main reason for this is the low-income levels of some of the members of the population. It is even more concerning upon realizing that the authorities are majorly silent about this. The societal factors, which have a role to play in the case of health, include the social determinants for health, the prerequisites for health and the determinants of health. There is also a debate on whether the income levels of the people have a significant role in the health of the population or whether it is indeed the spreading of wealth among the population, which is to be looked at (Bambra, 2006) It is of the essence to note that a whole lot of social problems can be intertwined together to bring about significant problems in relation to the health of the people in the population. Once again, the income of the people in the population comes into question. For starters, low income brings about insecurity, lack of control of one’s life and general uncertainty (Leon, 2005) There is a significant increase in the number of people who are living with poverty in Canada. It is documented that there was a sharp increase in the people who live with poverty in quite a number of Canadian cities. These include Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg just but to mention a few. In the case of Canada, it has been identified that it is of the essence for the various stakeholders to work together for the purpose of ensuring that all the parties responsible for delivering public health work coordinated (Bettcher, 2006) Case of the United States There are some issues, which are of paramount importance when it comes to the delivery of services. The most important in this case is the delivery of quality services to the recipients of these services. There are certain fields whereby the aspect of quality tends to be stressed on more than other fields. One such field, which is of interest in this scenario, is the medical field. This is actually a pretty sensitive field majorly because the lives of people are in question. For this reason, proper care has to be taken so that only the best kind of service is delivered. In this connection, there are some policies, which are developed so that the services rendered are done so in the expected way and up to the requisite standards (Huynen, 2004) In the contemporary world quality, healthcare is something, which is not to be downplayed especially with the realization that the human life is something, which is actually remarkably precious. All individuals ought to have access to this healthcare without being limited by certain factors such as age or social inclination. Several institutions each have their own health policies, which are meant to bring to the open some of the objectives that they want to, achieve. These health policies have their strengths, and at the same time they have some lacking (Castles, 2003). The United States is a country, which has realized the importance of healthcare, and this is one of the primary reasons why the United States spends so much in this particular sector. The budgetary allocation for such is estimated to be in the region of $ 2 trillion. The medical field is one of those fields, which are rapidly changing in the present-day world. This is particularly because there are new regulations and policies that keep coming up. The reason for these developments is for the purpose of ensuring that the practice is also in line with the changing cultures of the people. In most cases, the practitioners in the medical field may be faced by situations, which demand more than the skills, which their careers call for. Some of the money allocated to healthcare is used for the purpose of training and ensuring that the people involved in the profession have the requisite skills and perform as expected (Dixon, 2002) There are also various social reasons in the country, which have significant weight, and influence in the area of health. These include ethnicity and race, income and education. The United States is a country, which has significant problems especially bearing in mind its cosmopolitan nature. In light of all these, it has been realized that there are some certain disparities, which are exhibited among the members of the population. For example, blacks and whites in the country have different mortality levels majorly due to the health provisions and access to certain things (Kvist, 2004). The medical field is one particular profession where utmost care has to be taken. This is one profession in which an individual who is involved in it is not allowed to gamble with his or her job. The main reason for this is that there are people’s lives that are at stake. Even though they may be seen to be somewhat as the underdogs in the field of medicine, the nurses are the people in the field who play one of the most crucial roles. One of these roles is that of taking care of the patients in the health facility. They are the ones who go to the basic level to interact with the patients for the purpose of making sure that their welfare is well taken care of. With this basic knowledge in mind, it will be of essence to have a look at some of the factors that affect the nurses. The issue of particular focus in this case is that to do with staffing. There are some disparities, which also come up when looking at the issues related to nursing (George, 1998) Recent surveys have shown that most hospitals in the United States are not well staffed when looking at the nurses. This particular concern has a detrimental effect on the quality of healthcare that will be provided in the hospital. It should be note that in the hospitals it is not just a matter of having the doctors and the surgeons around. Most of the heavy work is usually done by the nurses and in actual sense; they are the ones who go to the very basic level when interacting with the patients. This is the major reason that proved to be more of a motivator in undertaking the research. It is with the hope that some of the outcomes that are brought to the public limelight will go a long way in ensuring that the issue at hand is well addressed and that the healthcare that is provided bettered (Chung, 2007). The research into this topic will majorly entail going to the health institutions and carrying out a fact-finding mission. This in some cases may not actually give the results that are required since the hospitals may choose to be rather uncooperative or discrete in this case. At the same time it I seen that the issue of low staffing is variable from one hospital to the other. The public health facilities are the ones that are mostly affected. This is mainly because these institutions majorly rely on the government. On the other hand, the private facilities may not be very much affected basically because they are in a better position to come up with better benefits in comparison to the public hospitals (Eikemo, 1998). This particular study is very much important, as primarily it will go a long way in helping bring better healthcare to the patients that are in the hospitals that are affected. This is because when the nurses are well remunerated they will be better motivated to carry out their duties. At the same time, there will be no cases of shortages in the heath institutions. This problem is something that should be advised sooner rather than later. In this same connection a rather permanent solution should be developed such that problems relating to the staff of hospitals and in this particular case the nurses can be avoided from afar before they actually get to affect the operations of the hospitals (Lynch, 1998) References Acheson, D. 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(2005) Britain’s Long Road to the Welfare State,http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4696391.stm Schifferes, S. (2006) Is the UK a model welfare state? http  Sites relating to the contemporary work by Wilkinson, R and Pickett, K on social determinants of health (The Spirit Level)    http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/  http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2009/mar/05/the-spirit-level Taylor-Gooby, P. (2002). Welfare States Under Pressure. London, Sage. E-book: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998). Health, United States, 1998: Socioeconomic status and health chartbook. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Online at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hus/2010/98chtbk.htm. Wood, G. & Gough, I. (2006) “A Comparative Welfare Regime Approach to Global Social     Policy”, World Development, 34 (10) pp. 1696-1712. Webster, C. (2001) Caring for Health (3rd edition), Milton Keynes, OUP. [This book was the key text for module 4 Management of health systems] Whitehead, M. (2007) A typology of actions to tackle inequalities in health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 61: 473-478. Wilkinson R. G. (1996). Unhealthy societies: The afflictions of inequality. New York: Routledge. Wilkinson, R. G. & Marmot, M. G. (1998). Social determinants of health: The solid facts. Copenhagen Yalnizyan, A. (1998). The growing gap: a report on growing inequality between the rich and poor in Canada. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice. Read More