Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services - Essay Example

? Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services Even though medical science is advancing rapidly, the remedy for some diseases are still difficult. For example, cancer and AIDS are some diseases which are still remaining beyond the control of healthcare professionals. Changing life styles, changing food habits, changing environment etc are bringing new diseases which are difficult to treat with the present capacities of medical science. However, it is a fact that many of the diseases which caused big problems to the existence of human in the past are under the control now because of the developments in medical science. As a result of that the average life span of human has been increased considerably. Moreover, population is growing rapidly and adequate delivery of healthcare services seem to be getting more and more difficult. This paper analyses the trends in diseases and the delivery of healthcare services in America with respect to various factors such as aging, demographics, environment, changing life styles etc. Demographics and disease trends According to a recent statistics released by US census bureau, “The 55-64 population is projected to be the fastest growing segment of the adult population over the next 10 years”(The silver book 2011). The above fact clearly shows that the death rate is coming down drastically in America compared to the birth rate. Moreover, better healthcare helped adult population to extend their life span considerably. The Census Bureau's latest population projections illustrate the future size and composition of the United States, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, under three assumptions about fertility, life expectancy, and net immigration: Fertility in the middle series was assumed to remain almost constant, near the current fertility level of about 2.1 births per woman. Life expectancy is projected in the middle series to increase from 76.0 years in 1993 to 82.6 years in 2050. In 2050, life expectancy in the low assumption would be 75.3 years and in the high assumption would be 87.5 years. Net immigration for the middle series remains constant at 880,000 per year (National Population Projections, 2010). From the above statistics, it is evident that life expectancy is growing or death rate is decreasing rapidly even though fertility or birth rate and immigration remain to be somewhat constant. In other words, US population is growing day by day not because of increased immigration or increased birth rate, but because of the increased life expectancy. Better healthcare helped US people to extend their life span considerably and this trend may continue in the coming decades also. “In 2050, the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to be 88.5 million, more than double its projected population of 40.2 million in 2010 (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010, p.1). It should be noted that baby boom generation may decline for the next couple of decades and then before it shows increasing trends again between the periods of 2030-2050. “By 2030, all of the baby boomers will have moved into the ranks of the older popula­tion. This will result in a shift in the age structure, from 13 percent of the population aged 65 and older in 2010 to 19 percent in 2030” (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010, p.2). “A demographic analysis of age distribution, fertility, and mortality data shows that if there had been no immigration to the U.S. since 1990, the population in 2000 would have been 262 million - 19 million less than the 281 million counted” (Elbel, n.d). In fact uncontrolled immigration seems to be the major factor behind US population growth. Because of better living standards and employment opportunities, people all over the word are trying to reach America at any cost. This trend is causing many problems in America. All the healthcare services provided to the locals are equally distributed to the immigrant people also. It should be remembered that America is a secular democratic country which cannot impalement double standards in healthcare delivery services. However, America has enforced some strong restrictions upon immigration after 9/11. Moreover, recent financial crisis has made the authorities aware of the challenges caused by uncontrolled immigration. All these factors may force the authorities to put more control on immigration in future also. Life styles of Americans are changing day by day. Instead of marital relationship, many people are more interested in modern concepts such as staying together. Moreover, homosexuality and same sex marriage cases are also growing. The interest of people, in taking the burden of having a child seems to be decreasing. In other words, fertility rates not at all increasing in America. However, better healthcare helped the public to prolong their life span and this trend seems to be continuing. Changing demographics and environmental factors Environmental pollution is a major concern for the existence of human kind in this word. America is a heavily industrialized country in which automobile usages are more than that in any other countries in the world. Moreover, Americans are using more fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides for increasing agricultural yields. All these factors are polluting the environment in one way or other. Atmospheric temperature rise, unexpected floods and storms, volcano eruption, earthquakes, ozone layer depletion etc are some of the major problems associated with environmental pollution. It should be noted that all these problems can affect the life span of people in one way or other. In fact medical science believes that the major reason for some of the modern diseases is the depletion of ozone layer above the atmosphere. Ozone layer was responsible for shielding earth from harmful radiations coming from outer space. In short, environmental problems are causing major worries to the sustainment of human life on earth. In other words, more challenges are waiting for medical science in future in delivering adequate healthcare to the public, not because of the increasing population alone, but because of the increasing environmental problems as well. Health complication related to aging Aging trend is likely to increase in future also because of the rapid progress in medical science. As mentioned earlier, 13 percent of the population aged 65 and older in 2010 may increase to 19 percent in 2030 because of the increase in life expectancy as a result of adequate healthcare delivery services. However, health complications related to aging is increasing day by day. For example, obesity, mental depression and memory losses are some of the major health problems associated with the aging population. Obesity or mover weight is caused by changing life styles. Current generation is consuming more foods than actually required and the excess of fat contents in food items accumulated in the body. Lack of physical workouts preventing older generation from burning out the excess calories deposited in their body as a result of over eating. Obesity can cause coronary problems, high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and many other psychological diseases. Healthcare delivery in future “About one-third of U.S. adults (33.8%) are obese. The number of states with an obesity prevalence of 30% or more has increased to 12 states in 2010” (Adult Obesity, 2011). These statistics clearly indicate that obesity trends are growing and it may become a big problem in the near future itself. Practicing of healthy eating habits and increasing of physical workout sessions are the only way to prevent obesity related problems. Healthcare professionals should educate the public about the necessities of healthy diet and physical workouts in maintaining sound health even at older ages. Instead of going after fast food, people should go after nutritious food prepared in their own kitchens in order to maintain a healthy body and mind and healthcare professional can do a lot in encouraging people to practice such things at present and in future. Lots of researches are going on in medical science to get rid of some of the complicated diseases. The development of genetic engineering and Nano technology may help medical science immensely in finding solutions for the complicated health problems in future. Stem cell research is also providing more hopes to medical science in fighting against some of the present chronic diseases. According to Dr Rickard (2002), “the culturing of embryonic stem cells holds tremendous potential for the development of new forms of regenerative medicine to treat debilitating or fatal conditions that would not otherwise be curable” (Dr Rickard, 2002, p.1). Moreover, Starr et al have pointed out that embryonic stem cells have huge importance in the life of a person and it could be used to provide new nerve cells (Starr et al., 2010, p.449). All these factors are encouraging signs for medical science in countering many of the age related health problems. It should be noted that old people may suffer from lot of Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers', Huntington’s, Dimenisia and Parkinson’s disease. Stem cell researches may help medical science in attacking these problems more effectively in future. Conclusions US population is growing day by day not because of high birth rate, but because of increasing life expectancy. Better healthcare delivery helped old generation to prolong their life span substantially and this trend may continue in future also. Changing life styles, food habits and increasing environmental problems are causing big problems to the healthcare professionals in maintaining effective healthcare delivery services to the public. Advancements in genetic engineering, stem cell researches and Nano technology are positive factors for the healthcare professionals in providing better healthcare to the public in future. References 1. Adult Obesity, (2011). Centre for disease control and prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html 2. Dr Rickard M. (2002). Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Current Issues Brief No. 5 2002–03. Department of the Parliamentary Library. Commonwealth of Australia. 2002. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib05.pdf 3. Elbel F. (n.d.). U.S. Immigration, Population Growth, and the Environment. Retrieved from http://www.susps.org/overview/immigration.html 4. National Population Projections, (2010). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/natproj.html 5. Starr C., Evers C.A. & Starr L. (2010). Biology: Concepts and Applications. Cengage Learning, 07-Jun-2010 6. The silver book (2011). Retrieved from http://www.silverbook.org/browse.php?id=57 7. Vincent GK & Velkoff VA. (2010). Current population reports, U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration. U.S.CENSUS BUREAU Washington, DC 20233 Read More