Healthcare Disparities and Public Health Policies

The health care system of any country should provide the best living conditions for each of its citizens. This state includes not only the absence of disease, since the World Health Organization back in 1948 defined health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being (Koh et al., 2010). Therefore, to ensure a high quality of life, it is necessary to comply with all these factors. However, people themselves are not always susceptible to each other’s problems and the system as a whole. This paper aims to investigate whether the integration of different public health policies can impact individuals, even without their active support.

First of all, it is necessary to highlight the reasons why there are problems in current healthcare. Despite technological advances, there are still a minimal number of countries where the health care system works as efficiently as possible in cooperation with society. In most states, entire communities cannot receive the care they need (Koh et al., 2010). Social and economic gaps between different strata make it much more challenging to provide quality services. However, many health systems are imperfect on their own because they do not take into account some societies.

However, an equally important problem is the attitude of people themselves to changes in the system. This factor is understandable because persons have no time to think about the injustices of a particular order when they are focused on daily survival. In the presence of sizeable social inequality, communities in a disadvantaged state will not always pay attention to existing problems, merely taking them for granted. Indirectly, their silence and non-participation in social movements make it difficult to change the system. However, the situation can be improved even without individuals’ active cooperation, at least at the initial stage.

First of all, to correct this situation, it is necessary to study the concept of health care and its components. Elimination of injustice should be carried out by analyzing the causes of inequality, which in the general case can be divided according to physiological influences, i.e., diseases, geographic, social, and risk factors (Koh et al., 2010). For each of these areas, a unique approach must be developed, and it must begin with the state. For example, through nation population analysis, health services can adjust existing aid programs, and developing countries need special attention due to insufficient resources. Simultaneously, the elimination of social gaps can be carried out only by the forces of the state itself; therefore, the influence of independent individuals is minimal.

The state has many more instruments of influence, thanks to which formal structures can address the health problem. Thus, even in the absence of active support from the population, changing the health care system is possible by addressing social determinants in combination with research and public interactions (Koh et al., 2010). However, in the later stages of the development of the medical system, social support is needed. The more developed a state is, the more its residents should pay attention to their health issues. Governments can create the basis for ensuring the health of their citizens. However, if the medical awareness of the population remains low, medicine will not rise above a certain level.

Thus, at the moment, there are many inequalities in health systems around the world that prevent the improvement of human living standards. Nevertheless, most of these difficulties can be overcome with the help of the state’s efforts, even in the absence of active support from the population. However, to achieve the best result, it is necessary to introduce particular social policies to disseminate awareness and medical knowledge among people. Through such strategies, they should be able to take care of themselves.

Reference

Koh, H. K., Oppenheimer, S. C., Massin-Short, S. B., Emmons, K. M., Geller, A. C., & Viswanath, K. (2010). Translating research evidence into practice to reduce health disparities: a social determinants approach. American Journal of Public Health, 100(S1), S72-S80. Web.