Cuban Health Care Introduction Healthcare is the “efforts made to maintain or restore physical, mental, or emotional well-being especially by trained and licensed professionals” (Merriam Webster). Healthcare in Cuba is regarded as a human right, therefore making “healthcare a national priority” (Iatridus, Demetri, 1988) and free for all its citizens. Cuban healthcare policies state that the attention is greatly focused on “prevention, primary care, services in the community, and the active participation of citizens” (Iatridus, Demetri 1990). The Development of Cuban Healthcare Under the oppression of Batista’s dictatorship, Cuba’s healthcare was close to non-existent. The upper-class went to clinics that were privately funded and the …show more content…
The government has looked at the individual needs of its citizens and has provided free healthcare for everyone. Not only free healthcare but anything that would affect the factors of health, such as mental health and education. Research (ndjff) shows that before the new healthcare policies took place, Cuba spent 112 US dollars on per person in terms of healthcare services and now recently in 2014, statistics show that 817 US dollars are being used per person. Cuba’s healthcare is very accessible to all of the citizens. “Family physician and nurse teams were assigned to live in the neighborhoods where they practiced, literally next door to their patients. Originally, each team was responsible for improving and maintaining the health status of 600 to 800 people (120–150 families) in their catchment area, generally holding office hours in the morning and reserving the afternoon for house calls” (NIH GOV). This idea allowed Cubans have complete access to healthcare and more thorough check-up from the physicians. Thanks to the free education, students who wish to become doctors are given free education and are able to also attend medical school for free. Medical students are required to help with the country and provide their free service to all individuals around Cuba. However, there are still many negative critiques for Cuba’s healthcare, some of them being not having the proper medical equipment for surgeries and other emergencies,
A nation’s healthcare system plays a pivotal role in the overall well being of it’s citizens, and it can also be a significant factor in their citizen's viewpoint towards their government. The documentary Sicko, by Michael Moore examines America’s profitable healthcare system in contrast to other countries government based health care systems such as: Canada, U.K, France, and Cuba. This documentary does an outstanding job of giving a balanced and well rounded view because of the amount of evidence used and examined. On top of comparing the American healthcare system to Canada’s, this documentary goes into depth of the healthcare systems in France, United Kingdom, and Cuba. This allows the viewer to get the full perspective
In this writing assignment I will describe the healthcare conditions of the Dominican Republic and will offer a brief look at the country’s history, and current status health and economic status. The primary focus will be the country’s healthcare and economic systems as they pertain to access to care, quality of care, primary health determinants, and the financial situation surrounding the county.
Secondly, Cubaneeds to repair its corrupt, failing state-run economy. The reality of thisstruggling economy is that Cuba’s resources are plenty, and its
The documentary "Sicko" provides an extensive analysis of the different drawbacks of the American healthcare framework. Michael Moore, the director, is upfront with regards to the dissipation of statistical data and portrayal of real-life stories of the healthcare in other nations is better in comparison to that of the US. It is interesting to see the director careful utilize experiences from the Cuba, France, and the UK. A lot of film critics have issued a lot of reviews regarding the significance of the movie in highlighting the real image of the healthcare framework (Zaccagnini & White, 2015, p.110). For example, the illustration of Cuba's health system seems a bit far-fetched to the critics. All in all, Michael Moore does an adequate job in drawing comparisons from the other significant healthcare plans as a way of depicting the ailing form of America's health system.
The day to day living of Cubans show how they can adapt to their lives regardless of what state it is in. Cuba is a country short of everything. The people of Cuba still exhibit extraordinary resilience and
During Fulgencio Batista’s 26 year reign from 1933 to 1959, access to healthcare for the majority of Cuban citizens was very limited. There were large
Access and availability of primary care providers are just two of many drivers that are shaping the health care industry. Passage of the ACA will result in improved access however the challenge of having enough primary care physicians for poor communities has not been properly addressed. Health care administrators in impoverished communities will have to be resourceful in attracting primary care providers to serve in their communities. The lesson provided by Cuba has shown that through their network of neighborhood clinics, preventative care can be successful (Bourne, Keck, & Reed, 2006). Cuba has shown that low cost care can result in health care outcomes that are comparable to the US (Bourne, Keck, & Reed, 2006). US health care is undergoing a transformation that
Cuban healthcare is a unique system that came about as a result of campaign promises from Fidel Castro in 1959. Although during Batistas rule doctors were well trained and respected, most all the countrys health services and facilities were located in concentrated population centers. The lack of access to rural farmers and families had created marked disparities between the two groups. However, as Fidel rose to power, his new state would act to provide free and accessible care to all citizens of Cuba.2 He set very specific policy goals for the country such as:
While Cuba has endured the embargo by the United States, it has not had the access to the rapid development of medical progress. Therefore, Cuba has had to rely on internal development programs to ensure the overall health to its people. Not only could Cuba benefit from access to medical research and trade, the United States could benefit as well. William Keck wrote the following in the New England Journal of Medicine:
Throughout the documentary we see many things wrong with the resources people receive, we see this primarily with money. There are two types of currency in Cuba, peso and cuc, even having certain money makes you more privileged than others. Peso was described as being worth almost nothing that can buy basic necessities such as rice and coffee, while cuc on the other hand is described as more privileged. People with access to this money are able to buy things like shampoo, strollers and handbags; things that everyone should be able to have access to. Having special rights because of money seems to be very common in Cuba, there was a moment in the documentary when the narrator was denied access to one of the best hospitals located in Cuba because he didn’t have enough money, this comes to
In the first major article utilized for research, “Relaxation of Cuban Embargo Urged in Congress”, the main claim is that congressional action taken to limit the effects of the embargo and possibly eliminate it entirely would only strengthen the grip that Fidel Castro, the former dictator of Cuba has on his country. The article talks about congressional action being taken in the United States congress, or the lack of action that is being taken, and the effect that it has on Cuban humanitarian conditions. The tie into the medical field is quite broad but the focus it brings on the Cuban embargo reveals significant problems. The lack of medical supplies and equipment in the country due to the embargo is said to be deliberate. “…shortages of
Sanger-Katz, Margot. “Can Cuba Escape Poverty but Stay Healthy?” New York Times. 18 December 2014. Web. 15 April 2016. .
While Felgenico Batista was running Cuba many American companies grew rich off of Cuban resources while the Cuban people remained poor. An American mobster named Meyer Lansky came to Cuba to open a hotel. The mobster gave Batista 10% of the profits of the hotel and casino, so Batista became wealthy off of that. Batista became very wealthy off of American business and also organized crime. Meyer Lansky also turned Havana into a drug port. Batista did very little to help the Cuban citizens. While running Cuba Batista did not offer the people neither health care nor education. So many Cubans lived in poverty. When they became ill they wouldn’t be able to go to a doctor because they wouldn’t be able to afford it. When Batista took over the country in
This led to a budget cut of imported medical supplies. After the population’s food consumption dropped one-third and there were insufficient funds for the some of the country’s basic needs, there was an increase in new diseases. There are still continuous shortages of medicines today in Cuba, so the government has been trying to train local doctors to try using herbal medicines to deal with these shortages when they occur. Currently, Cuba has been doing better in its efforts to expand their medicine. They produce as much as two thirds of all types of drugs prescribed there, but they have some problems in purchasing raw materials for some drugs
An application of the Marxist approach to health will first identify the role of medical science and it's association with all other parts that create a capitalist economy that are inherently geared to the accumulation of capital and that the healthcare system, and specifically doctors as agents of the state, promotes individual responsibility of illness (Navarro, 1979) that is evocative of the predominant ideology of the state and political system that is geared to a capitalist economy and individualistic world view. Secondly health as a