Health Care Equity

As the society acknowledges the importance of human rights and dignity, the issues among the poverty, homeless, violence victims are now more considered. Although there are difference in roles between nurses from acute care, intensive care, and emergency settings nurses, community nurses engage those issues to become advocates for social justice. Health care nurses collaborate to identify strategies for incorporating social justice aims into their work environment (Johnstone, 2011). As a public nurses, there has been many researches to address vulnerability, diversity, health literacy, health care access, health care disparities and issues of particular populations such as ethnic and racial minority health, gay and lesbian health and the health of children, women and older adults (Johnstone, 2011). For example, affordable health care 2010 was implied for equitable delivery of healthcare for all individuals in United States. Although there are pro and cons on success of the system, it was aimed to promote the justice of human need to have least of health care when necessary. Among with the issues of inequality and unfairness of worldwide insurance system, this act was to provide fair access to health care. To achieve the aims of a just, accessible, affordable health care system for all, public health nurses make an effort to engage the professional advocacy.

The essay discusses the article "Access to Health Care in the U.S", which highlights the key issues of the healthcare system in US and how has it impacted the society as a whole. The healthcare system based on social inequalities has a lot of shortcomings which are discussed in the essay.

Race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic position are social determinants that lead to disparities in healthcare. Despite declining death rates, African Americans have consistently had higher mortality rates than Whites. For example, breast cancer is more prevalent in whites however the incidence of mortality from breast cancer is higher in black women. Black women are also likely to have more advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis than their White peers. Williams (2002) proposes that racial categories are more alike than different in terms of biological characteristics and genetics. Furthermore, they do not capture patterns of genetic variation. Thus, it is not biologically reasonable for genetic differences alone to play a major role

The disparities in healthcare amongst minorities, elderly, and the poor are mind blowing, but in order to help reduce disparities, there needs to be an awareness and accurate data available to assess and implement a plan to bring better quality healthcare to communities.

Disparities in health and health care in the United States have been a longstanding challenge resulting in some groups receiving less and lower quality health care than others and experiencing poorer health outcomes. Hispanics, Blacks, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and low-income individuals are more likely to be uninsured relative to Whites and those with higher incomes. Low-income individuals and people of color also face increased barriers to accessing care, receive poorer quality care, and experience worse health outcomes. The Department of Health and Human Services Disparities Action Plan (HHS) sets out a series of priorities, strategies, actions, and goals to achieve a vision of a nation free of disparities in health and health care.

Public spending on healthcare in India is one of the lowest in the world. With a 20% of healthcare expenditure is in the public sector. The lack of investment in public health care actually means that India has fewer hospitals and fewer physicians. Because of the fact they have fewer hospitals and fewer physicians, it means the public has reduced access to healthcare. In practical terms, what it means is the public hospitals with a physician is not very close to the individual that needs to be treated and would have to travel long distance in order to receive treatment. When a patient reaches

Healthcare disparities within racial minority groups are an ongoing issue in the United States. Factors that affect these disparities are overall quality of care, access to healthcare, and access to insurance. Numerous efforts have been made to decrease the access and quality of care for minorities. The current intervention being used is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This act was initiated by President Obama in 2010 and has had much controversy in the past years. The main arguments are the ACA increasing the taxes for Americans and the fact that all Americans must obtain insurance if proper funds are available. In 2014 the ACA Medicaid expanded and each state had the opportunity to expand if the state believed it appropriate. Out of the 50

The United States is plagued with stark health disparities across its communities (Institute of Medicine, 2013). Defined as the “variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between socioeconomic and/or geographically defined population groups,” disparities describe the inequality of access to basic health services in America (HSRIC, 2016). Over the past decade, health reform has attempted to address this issue of health inequality by strategizing to insure more people and provide increased access to care.

Though the civil rights movement made substantial progress yet race remains a controlling factor in dictating who gets access to healthcare, the quality of care, and health insurance coverage. Because this stems from the supremacist belief that one race is superior, I would educate my patients, my colleagues, and my classmates on the importance of equity between all

In today’s society, there is still a great struggle with health care disparities and many lives are affected by the lack of this fundamental program in our society. There are millions of people who die each year because they are unable to afford quality healthcare. The debate still continues about healthcare inequalities, what causes this disparity and who are affected by it. Health care is more of a necessity rather than a luxury and even though skeptics may argue to the latter, it only underlines the importance of the need for the wellbeing and care of individuals. There are several factors that could contribute to the lack of health care in the United States which ranges from but not limited to race, gender, socio- economic status, and lack of insurance coverage. The truth is there is a great disproportion between who can really afford quality healthcare as appose to individuals who have it. One would imagine that an employed individual would easily afford quality healthcare but we could be no further from the truth, since one’s economic status is an essential determinant to its affordability.

Because the child is from the inner-city, she may not have had equal access to quality healthcare and adequate resources for deaf children, which has hindered her from learning official sign language. In the USA, many children that are deaf do not receive “equal access to care, intervention, and follow-up services” (Sacks et al., 2014, p. 92). Socioeconomic, minority status and non-English native language are barriers to children having access to various types of services and health care that produce favorable developmental outcomes (Sacks et al., 2014).

For the purpose of this paper it will provide an overview of ways that diabetes, type 2, can be prevented if a person is at risk for developing it. Although there has been little research that diabetes can always be prevented there are ways that a person can delay or improve their symptoms.

Their social structure is built on a caste system or social stratification where people are categorized based on their socioeconomic status. There is an upper, middle, and lower class which are all subdivided into stratum. Gender also plays a part in social order and role expectations. The caste system can even go as far as interfering with the healthcare system. Those of lower socioeconomic status and/or women have the most difficulty getting their health needs met. India still has an ongoing issue of healthcare inequality. The National Center for Biotechnology Information says, “…there are marked variations in general hospitalization rates by gender, wealth, and urban-rural residence. Some of this variation may be due to differences in actual and perceived need and health seeking behavior; indeed, there is evidence of gender inequalities in untreated morbidity with the likely underreporting of illness among women.” There is low government spending, lack of insurance, and most bills are paid out-of-pocket. India has top quality healthcare facilities located in the cities, but with lack of transportation, people living in rural areas are unable to gain access.

The United States is world renowned for having the best health care if not the most accessible. Citizens have at their disposal a plethora of hospitals, physicians, and therapists to improve their well-being. Statistical data was taken back in 2010 under the Central Texas Region and studied health care coverage and income in regards to the community. The data displayed in the surveys heavily suggest that income/ health in general have a high correlation. The issue that arose with the given data imply that those who are on the lower end of the income spectrum subsequently have no health care coverage and poorer health than those with higher income. In any case with high correlation there are a number of factors influencing the statistical evidence, and in this case sociological barriers are present in regards of inequality and health care.

The British Journal of Diabetes and Vascular Disease (http://dvd.sagepub.com/content/13/2/68.full) published a study showing that type 2 diabetes could be effectively managed and even reversed through intermittent fasting!