There are 19.1 new individuals get infected from STIs in the United States. The estimated total of individuals with STIs is about 110 million. Each year one in four teens contract STIs. The total direct cost STIs annually in the U.S. is $15.6 billion (2010 US dollars). The key factors for STI infections are poverty, poor healthcare system, education, alcohol and drug abuse. Poverty prevents individuals’ ability to afford good health insurance or if any. People who don’t have health care or have high co-pay tend to wait until the last minute to go to the doctor. In most cases of serious illness, it is either too late or too costly at the point for treatment. This brings us to the second point of healthcare system. The United States
Limited healthcare in the United States forces those who are too sick to get coverage are either forced to pay large medical bills or die. If those individuals were able to see a doctor more regularly, then their health could have been followed sooner. A few years ago, I was unemployed from work a battling a health issue that caused me to lose my job. Originally, I lost my health insurance and then was offered a plan through Cobra. The premium amount that I was requested was over a $1000 per month. Luckily, I was able to be add on to my husband’s plan so I could still receive treatment. When you are not able to receive healthcare even for simple situations like an antibiotic for a cold has the potential to turn into pneumonia or something worse that could cause death. As we get older, our bodies have a harder time fighting infections and we are more likely to have a serve health issue like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease; which all cause severe implications on the body that hinder both the physical and psychological development of an
Poverty also influences our responses to health and illness. The level of income below that which people cannot afford a minimum, nutritionally adequate diet, suitable and secure housing, heating and hot water, and beds to sleep on.
Most people are uninsured are below the poverty line. The United States Census Bureau states “In 2013, the uninsured rate for children younger than 19 in poverty (9.8 percent) was higher than the uninsured rate for children not in poverty (7.0 percent)” (“Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2013”).People cannot pay for the health insurance they need and that is why they do not have it. The impoverished could get chronically ill and not be able to do anything about it because they do not have the money or insurance. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation “In 2014, 48% of uninsured adults said the main reason they were uninsured was because the cost was too high.” (“Key Facts about the Uninsured Population”).A person who cannot pay for any health insurance at all is most likely in poverty. It is hard for someone to pay for any insurance if they are in
Socioeconomic Conditions – The text states it well that the connection between poverty and poor health is well-documented and undeniable. (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2017). Access to affordable health care is a challenge for those at the poverty level.
Also, many of the case studies conducted in the Three City Study show that the poor will only seek medical care for their children or themselves only when inoculations are required or need of care is visibly apparent (Angel 28). This results in very little preventive care and education, two key components for an efficient health care system. The United States currently spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases that physicians could treat more efficiently with earlier diagnosis (NCHC). The lack of preventative care will most likely be a larger financial burden on the poor later in life and further exhaust healthcare resources. Thus, the current health care safety net provides discontinuous care that essentially allows poor adults no health care, complicates the lives of poor with stringent requirements and protocol, and forces difficult choices upon adults regarding who in the family has the priority of care.
The barriers that stand in the way of maintaining a good health vary from one country to another. Moreover, within the same country these barriers vary depending on the socio-economic status of the individual. For individuals living in Canada, the main barrier to maintaining a good health is poverty. Even though poverty does not cause a disease directly, people living in poverty are lacking the resources to mitigate it. Poverty is a significant issue because it affects the health indirectly through the individual’s access to healthcare, housing and nutrition.
As stated by Engels, 1892 & Speybroeck, 2010, poor health outcomes have been mainly correlated with low income, low education, unsanitary housing, inadequate health care, unstable employment and unsafe physical environments (p.111). Unfortunately, socioeconomic status is often used to determine the type of medical care someone gets. For instance, people living in low-income neighborhoods have limited access to 'adequate' medical care, which is the opposite experience for those residing in upper-class
A sexually transmitted infect, STI, is transmitted through sexual contact, viruses, parasites, and/or bacteria. Studies show that 120 percent of the people in the United States have an STD. 50 percent of sexually active youth will contract an STD when they are 25 years old and 320 percent of high school girls already have the infection. (3) Although HIV is the least common case, in 2013, an estimated 47,165 people in the United States were diagnosed with HIV. About 1 in 6 people do not know they are infected. (2) These studies and values are shocking and concerning. Since STIs have such significant negative health consequences I believe that there should be legal discipline and you should be able to sue someone for spreading the disease if
Poverty does not simply mean people cannot afford excess, it means they suffer in countless other areas of their lives, such as their health. Mountains Beyond Mountains has convinced me there are undeniable ties between poverty and illness. Being poor does not only mean being unable to see a doctor, it means that the destitute are forced to live lifestyles that directly contribute to and cause the diseases and ailments they suffer. When people are living for under a dollar a day, there is no time to be
The World Health Organization defines sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as infections that are mainly passed through person to person sexual contact (World Health Organization [WHO], 2012). Some of the more common infections include syphilis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and genital herpes (World Health Organization [WHO], 2012). Every year about 19 million new STI cases are reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2011). Such high incidence rates cause the U.S health care system 17 billion dollars a year (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2011). Beyond having increased costs STIs also have a huge social impact on society.
The vast majority of poor people are unable to afford any type of health care. “The United States is one of the few developed nations that does not provide universal health care” (Rank). Due to having low income and being forced to pay for other necessities, many poor people are living
Income has a significant impact on a person’s health and well-being. According to an article titled “Where Health Disparities Begin: The Role of Social and Economic Determinants—And Why Current Policies May Make Matters Worse” by Steven H. Woolf and Paula Braveman, “US adults living in poverty are more than five times as likely to report being in fair or poor health as adults with incomes at least four times the federal poverty level” (Woolf & Braveman, 2011). Low-income people face many barriers to health care, which include lack of insurance coverage and unaffordable health care costs, resulting in poorer health and higher rates of death. Low-income people cannot afford the same health care as their wealthier counterparts, resulting in health
Exactly, income equality is a determinant in the U.S. Most families that fall into poverty are less likely to look for healthcare. They prefer to feed their children and the older children dropout high school to find a job to help pay bills or food. Poverty increases negative human behaviors, such as alcoholism, drugs or crime. The lack of education prevents individuals from obtaining high paying jobs. I believe, education is the key in the low-income communities. They need active government or private programs that reach out to the community, educate, motivate, and encourage.
Numerous things can affect the health of an individual such as not being able to afford to visit a physician being able to pay for medications is a serious issue. If health care improved it could better the quality of life for a lot of individuals, especially the low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Rationing health care services have continuously been practiced
Some people do not seek treatment for STIs, because they are simply unaware of the infection. Unaware in the sense of not knowing what a STI is, and how dangerous it could become if it is undetected. Numerous of individuals are uneducated on the issue or have very little knowledge about it. There is a massive amount of individuals that are unfamiliar with the different forms of a STI, and how it is transmitted. Others are simply frightened, mortified, and or very nonchalant about the issue entirely. I believe our upbringing and the environment we live in, plays a major role in how we accept, see and deal with things as a whole.