Summary: Unhealthy Civilian Health Habits

“There are three basic goals for a National Health Care System; 1) keeping people healthy, 2) treating the sick and 30 protecting families against financial ruin from medical bills”, (Physicians for a National Health Program, 2016). No truer statement could there possibly be written or proclaimed as there is a crisis in healthcare costs across the United States. United States, one of the most developed western country, yet we suffer from – higher infant mortality rates, have shorter life spans and are affected by more chronic disease and or illness – than our contemporaries all while spending the most for insurance per capita and less annual doctor visits with less physicians, (OECD Health Data 2015). There is a question to be answered, “why”, why are we trailing our contemporaries and more important than that is, is our National Health Care system really working for us? The year 2010 was the beginning of change in the United States where we transitioned from primarily private insurance and welfare to a universal healthcare model, under President Obama with the signing into Law of the Affordable Health Care Act March of 2010. The purpose of the Affordable health care act is to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare, however in 2016 we are still questioning we’ve been successful based on funding, government sponsored healthcare programs, effects on the current HCO, elderly, military and accessibility.

In “Is US Health Really the Best in The World?”, Barbara Starfield (M.D.) discusses health indicators that result in the poor performance of the U.S. health care. Starting by covering th mortality rates from neonatal to elderly ages. Establishing that a strong primary care infrastructure, where there is access to care, includes universal health insurance, and delivers efficient care, associates to better health ranking. Explaining how the U.S. neglects to take these factors in to consideration, averaging to almost 225,000 deaths per year, because of iatrogenic damage. She also mentions income inequality as being another indicator, socioeconomic status, with the way the health system works, leading to inadequate care or failure to recognize

The U.S. Health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.” (WHO, 2000, p. 1) Progression in the United States has not kept up with the advances in other wealthy nations dealing with the population health. Disease and chronic disability report almost 50% of America health problem (JAMA, 2013).

In “The American Health Care Paradox”, Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor explore why the American health care system achieves mediocre results, despite spending a higher percentage of its gross domestic product than any other country in the world on health care. They explain that health care is more than just getting medical treatment, but there are social factors that affect a person 's health. The authors claim that more government spending on medical treatments is not the solution to the health care paradox, but we should focus more on social needs that have a greater impact on health. Case studies and interviews with physicians, other health care providers, and social service providers are used to support the authors’ claims. Though the authors do not explicitly state the path they believe the American health care system should follow, they give examples of foreign health care systems and domestic health care projects that may point in the right direction.

According to Schroeder “ the United States spends more on health care than any other nation in the world, but ranks poorly on every measure of health status” ( Schroeder,1). Schroeder discussed the two main reasons why the United States ranks so poorly on every measure of the health system. One of the reasons for the low ranking in the American health system is “the pathways to better health do not generally depend on better health care” (Schroeder, 1); the fact that we have access to advance tools and technologies in our health care system does not necessary mean that we are healthier than other countries. Determinants such as behaviors patterns, environmental exposures and social circumstances also greatly influence our health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “health equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of social position or other socially determined circumstances” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Satcher (2010) reports that health inequities are “systematic, avoidable, and unjust” disparities (p. 6). He also states that the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that social conditions are the most important determinant of a person’s health. Social conditions “determine access to health services and influence lifestyle choices” (Satcher, 2010, p. 6). These determinants must be addressed in order to reduce health inequity. Inequity can be

Although the overall health of the United States population has improved, large disparities in terms of health outcome and access to healthcare exist between wealthier Americans and their “poorer counterparts primarily because of differences in education, behavior, and environment.” (Longest, 2015, p8). Access to health care and other services is associated with wealth, employment, education and power. Higher education, which translates to higher income, allows people to buy healthier food, live in safer, cleaner neighborhood and access the best healthcare possible. Power on the other hand permits people to secure health for themselves and their families, while others without power have limited or no access to the resources they need to be

Socioeconomic status and gender is considered a cause of racial disparities in health since it constrains access to power, social and psychological resources, and economic capital. Those with low socioeconomic status and in segregated areas have less access to quality elementary and high school education since they normally have less qualified teachers, lower test scores, and fewer connections to colleges. These individuals also experience less employment opportunities because employers discriminate based on the residence of the job applicants since they view individuals in low-income areas as being drug users, having poor communication skills, low reading levels, and family issues. This leaves the residents in racially segregated neighborhoods jobless so they cannot increase their socioeconomic status (Takeuchi et al. 2010). The state of poverty is likely to continue for these individuals because they do not possess the necessary means to reduce their

Evidence show that people from lower class backgrounds and ethnic minority’s backgrounds are more likely to suffer more health problems to the majority ethnic group this shows a pattern of inequality.

“Health disparity: A higher burden of illness, injury, disability, or mortality experienced by one population group relative to another group” ("Disparities in Health," 2012, para. 7). There are many factors which contribute to the disparities in health among certain groups here in the United States. The low income populations seem to be at the greatest risk when it comes to health inequality. Whether this is due to lack of education, access to services, or even neighborhood safety, the divide between the higher income populations and that of lower income populations are growing at an alarming

The Health and wealth connection distilled is our health will most commonly reflect from our amount of wealth. The wealthy can afford the cost of quality care and the time to take care of them selves. Within the textbook, Dimensions of Human Behavior Hutchison writes. Public health experts have long noted the association of poor health outcomes, in all body systems, with low income, low education, unsanitary housing, in adequate healthcare, on stable employment, and unsafe physical environment (Hutchison, 2015). Easily demonstrated throughout American society the rather dubious and is somewhat perplexing phenomenon of the Health-and-Wealth connection theory. The gap between the haves and have-nots are ever expanding. Those who have the funding to pay for resources will pay to get those resources. And those who do not have adequate funding to pay for said resources will unfortunately have to stand in the long lines to receive seemingly, deceptively, scarce resources.

Why is it that in the world most advanced country, health disparities are so prevalent among ethnic minorities, especially African-Americans? Why is this issue so resilient despite countless efforts to bring it under control? Health disparities among socially disadvantaged populations are no laughing matter, and the African-American population of Clayton County, Georgia are no exception. They are at greater risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, or have higher rates of infant mortality compared to whites. Since the advent of the “Healthy People” initiative some two decades ago, it has centered its goals on disparities in the United States and establishing efforts for reducing it among all Americans.1 Therefore, this article will look at a few significant researches done on the topic of health disparities, especially in the area of infant mortality, and how other researchers have addresses it; also, along with its strengths and limitations.

Health inequalities are preventable and unjust differences in health status experienced by certain population groups. People in lower socio-economic groups are more likely to experience health inequalities than people in higher socio-economic classes. Health inequalities are not only found between people of different

classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as

As a matter of fact Wise and Yashiro, 2006 assert that there some individuals who describe the America’s system as being fragmented and inefficient, considering the staggering statistics regarding how Americans spend more on health care compared to other countries in the world. Additionally, they suffer from massive insurance costs and uneven quality of care, and thus understanding the debate about the two diametrically opposed viewpoints requires an in-depth understanding of the current health care issues in the United States (Rashidian, Joudaki, Vian, & Baradaran, 2012).