Global health has important role in the global security. Currently, the world has become more globalized through integration of economies and easy access to information. Furthermore, people are now able to move from one part of the world to the other. This is posing a great challenge to health practitioners in relation to spread of diseases. Rarely a week passes without being reported of either emergence or re-emergence of a certain disease which is highly infectious and can affect the population if it is not tackled by all stakeholders. Initially, respective governments used to deal with these issues without involving other countries. However, with the increasing movement of the people, international bodies such as World Health Organization has put more emphasis on the need to deal with these global health issues together in order o combat them and prevent them from spreading to other parts of the world (Sprinkle, 2001).
Information sharing is one of the major aspects that have been identified to be of great importance in dealing with these issues. For instance, the recent emergence of Ebola in West Africa is an indication of how nurses and researchers can work together in preventing the spread of infectious disease to other parts of the world. Different countries across the world sent their highly qualified nurses to help Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone deal with this outbreak. This was very critical in enabling these countries to reach remote areas and pass the
We live in a country where all children go to school to gain an education and 25% of them will go onto receive some type of college degree. Compare this to low-income countries, in which children are 16 times as likely to die prior to their fifth birthday (Nickitas, Middaugh & Aries, 2016). Beyond the lens of our smartphones, Facebook friends and Nike sneakers is a world full of desperate people wishing to have enough food to eat for today. Many parts of the world lack sanitation, safe housing, sparse medical care and no medication. The global health issue are everyone’s problems not only for the sake of altruism but, with the increase in global travel for routine business and pleasure, dangerous pathogen are no longer confine by boarders. The Ebola outbreak four years ago, proved the necessity of a global solution to global health issues. The collaborative practice of several world health agencies and economically developed countries along with the use of volunteers, statistical updates, the latest literature and practices kept this outbreak mostly contained to its region of origin and the death toll to approximately 11,000 people (mainly in West Africa) (WHO,
“Without a lifespan view of women’s health… we are unlikely to be successful in advancing women’s health” (Woods 2009, pg. 400). A Global Health Imperative (2009) by author Nancy Fugate Woods explains the issues about health status and opportunities for the health of girl-children world-wide, which includes sex and gender disparities. Girl and women’s health is important, but just not as important as men’s health. Woods gives example of women’s health issues that are extremely serious. “Health issues or problems that occur predominantly in women are breast cancer and menopause” (Woods 2009, pg. 400). Women all over the world have the risk of getting breast cancer, HIV and Aids. Women that are affected by these diseases in some countries may
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the principal government agency in the United States working to improve the health of all Americans despite their economic, social and educational status. HHS has identified three national goals of global health, including strengthen health care, advance scientific knowledge and innovation, and advance the health, safety and well-being of Americans (Secretary, 2014). The first goal to strengthen healthcare refers to HHS's push in making health insurance affordable for all Americans. This will increase access to preventative care as well as ensuring assess to high quality, culturally competent care. This goal focuses on improving transitions in care across the continuum, which in
The way diseases spread is fairly uniform from disease to disease, interaction with foreign land or those who dwell on that land. Thus, foreign trade and travel, boat, ship, land, or plane, is a crucial tool in the spread of a disease, turning it into a national or even worldwide
There is no universal fix to the complexities of each country and what they face with regards to their health care needs. Health care is a fundamental need among all peoples. Each country will have to work on solving the disparities that exist in access of care, funding of care, and availability of care. Because we now find ourselves facing the dilemma of fighting many infectious diseases once thought to be under control, we must work with all countries around the world. Every country faces the potential of an outbreak of a disease like SARS or a terrorism strike involving biological or chemical agents. Global initiatives to improve the health of nations across the board regardless of resources in these nations will benefit all. We need to continue with consistent and comprehensive measures to ensure health equity to all (Williams & Torrens, 2010).
Global authorities should not just focus their efforts on only one certain country, in fact it would be smart to branch out and help another country when in need. For instance, it would may be completely justified for the CDC to go into a third-world country and provide them with the resources they need in order to save lives and even stop the transmission of the infection. The collection of biological specimens is completely ethically vindicated under certain regulations. FirstlyHowever, the collection of the specimens should be strictly regulated by government agencies. Strict regulation would prevent the possibility of bioterrorism. Secondly, governments should only provide the specimens to qualified researchers with their only purpose to study the effects of the disease, thus learning how to prevent future outbreaks. The obligation of front line healthcare workers can be a touchy subject. Generally speaking, healthcare workers know that they are risking a lot by treating sick individuals, it is their job. If healthcare workers practice safe methods to help stop the transmission between the sick to and the workers, then they can focus on trying to save afflicte’s patient’s lifeves. All things considered, when dealing with the dilemma of what should be our responsibility and in respondingse to emerging disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define epidemic as “the occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time.” Epidemic of an infectious disease can be precipitated by a change in the host population, for example, an increase in the density of a vector species or an introduction of a new parasite due to an ecological disaster (flooding, famine, earthquake, etc). Epidemic can also be caused by human behavior (population growth and migration, war, sexual behavior, urban decay, etc), international travel (movement of goods and people), technology and industry (widespread use of antibiotics, organ/tissue transplantation, food processing/packaging, etc), and microbial evolution (adaptation of microbial organism to the environment). In the recent years, delayed or inadequate prevention programs or lack of effective communications between the public health agencies has contributed to the insurgence of epidemics.
Internationally, there are consistently mass spreadings of diseases especially in indigent countries. Just in the previous year there has been an outbreak of ebola and without these diseases being controlled, they will continue to spread and terminate mass hoards of people. In the past, quarantines were issued, sanitation was enforced, and health regulations were established. In the face of the black plague during the 14th century, the quarantine was ineffective due to the lack of control and coordination of the disease. Yet, when there was an outbreak of the disease in Indiana in 1994, it was able to be controlled within 2 months. In regards to sanitation, the need for safe water and hygiene is still a major problem. Many diseases are the source of dirty drinking water and poor sanitation. Organizations, such as the International Health Regulations and World Health Organization, were set up to take measures towards controlling these
Have you ever traversed hat seemingly weird contradiction where you both want to donate to aid organisations, yet at the same time, are sceptical of the act itself? Fear not, for you are certainly not the only one. And neither is your intuition wrong. If anything, with the current state of the global health system, there leaves room for regular donors to be disheartened, and current sceptics to be somewhat boastful.
Health is a complex concept, and global health adds to this complexity. When I think of health as a concept, I view it as being absent of disease. This understanding is a very biomedical approach to health and is a very narrow viewpoint of health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (a cited by Jacobsen p. 2). This definition does give a better understanding of what health is from a broader perspective. At the University of Victoria’s Global Health class, I have become to understand better the WHO’s definition and that it is linked to the social determinants of health. In this paper, I will reflect and analyze the learning that occurred for myself while taking the Global Health class, and how this knowledge has helped my nursing practice evolve at the local and international level.
By the early 20th century the world was weary from two world wars and had endured countless epidemics and pandemics (bubonic plague, yellow fever, typhus, cholera, smallpox, influenza. ). After World War II, the Communicable Disease Center was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1946, now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, under “CDC Timeline”). Two years later the World Health Organization (WHO), formed “out of the UN’s desire to have a single global entity charged with fostering cooperation and collaboration among member countries to address health problems” (Evert 2006, 7).
Recognition of healthcare systems globally in both high and low income areas is a key component to understanding the health of each country overall. Each country can only function and be as strong as the weakest country due to communicable diseases that spread worldwide. As technology advances so do the pathogens that enter each individual's body. In the past pathogens were contained to their country of origin and were not easily spread but in today’s society they can travel within in a matter of hours or minutes. Understanding each healthcare system allows world leaders and healthcare workers to determine changes that need to be made in order to eliminate health disparities and the spread of various communicable diseases. Analyzing and
Globalization aided in impacting human health by population mobility. The source of epidemics throughout history can be traced back to human migration (Saker). The effects of these epidemics have changed whole societies. International efforts to prevent the spreading of infections from one country to another have been focused on. Early diseases that spread between Asia and Europe included the bubonic plague, influenzas of various types, and other similar contagious diseases. The world is more interdependent and connected than ever in the era of globalization. This is because inexpensive and efficient transportation allows access to almost everywhere and the increase of global trade of agricultural products brought an increasing number of people into contact with animal disease. Trade routes had long been established between Europe and Asia along which diseases were unintentionally transmitted. The management of malaria is a global role (Carter). Global institutions support the
Global health is defined as “health problems, issues, or concerns that transcend national borders” (Institute of Medicine, 1997, p. 2). Koplan (2009) proposed a new definition for global health which he described as an “area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide” (para, 7). Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective and blends population health and clinical care.
"The failure to engage in the fight to anticipate, prevent, and ameliorate global health problems would diminish America's stature in the realm of health and jeopardize our own health, economy, and national security, " stated by The Institute of Medicine. Global health refers to health phenomenon that transcends across national borders. For instance, global health would address predicaments such as: infectious and insect-borne diseases that can spread from one country to another. Thus, global health should be addressed by collaborative actions and solutions. On the other hand, countries tend to focus on other essential issues that are occurring in the present day and therefore, overlook the global health issue. Some issues that countries