1
3
Issues In Healthcare
FirstName MiddleInitial(s) LastName
Institutional Affiliation (Department Institution)
Course Number and Name
Instructor Name and Title
Assignment Due Date
The healthcare industry faces local and global challenges. These challenges impede the system’s success in improving the health of people and the community, which is the primary goal of the entire healthcare industry. Multiple issues slow down the healthcare industry, and they may differ from one global jurisdiction to another (Edmonson, McCarthy, Trent-Adams, McCain, & Marshall, 2017). There paramount need to introduce the high cost of care, contraceptive use as a reproductive right, and discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community during care delivery as three issues that impede the quality of healthcare outcomes locally and globally.
Issues in Healthcare
The first issue in healthcare is the high cost of care. The issue is local in the United States and other parts of the world. The affected populations are low-income families and individuals lacking decent healthcare insurance coverage. Research links income inequality with morbidity and mortality, with high-end families and individuals reporting better health outcomes and longer life expectancies than financially unstable families and individuals. Policies that supplement poverty and enhance educational opportunities for children from poorer neighborhoods can reduce poverty, consequently improving the prospects in the population of health insurance-covered individuals (Khullar & Chokshi, 2018). As a result, it has a chance of improving the affordability of care in the future, improving health outcomes in poorer neighborhoods and families.
The second issue in healthcare is the reproductive right to use contraceptives and is a global concern. The affected population is women in male chauvinistic communities. The United Nations developed a millennial development goal to increase contraception and sexual education to sexually active women on the same. Years later, WHO reported progress, but it remains sluggish. In 74 countries that joined WHO’s initiative in Cairo (1994), repeated in Nairobi (2019), 43 of them had registered an increase in the number of sexually active individuals. Forty-two reported needs for contraceptives, but only 37 reported an increase in the use of contraceptives (Shaw, 2020). Policies directed towards comprehensive sexual education to the sexually active population and children at some age can increase contraceptives, reducing the number of cases of unwanted pregnancies.
A local concern in the United States healthcare system is the segregation of the LGBTQ+ community during care delivery. The affected people include members of the LGBTQ+ community members. They report discrimination in healthcare systems that vary. According to Casey et al. (2019), 18% of community members reported avoiding health care because of discrimination. 57% reported experiencing slur while receiving care, while 53% reported microaggression. Other forms of discrimination include sexual harassment and violence while receiving care (Casey et al., 2019). A policy to reeducate the healthcare practitioners and healthcare facilities workers on how to treat all patients respectfully and respect people’s sexual orientation as per the federal standards outlined in Obamacare can reduce LGBTQ+ community members’ discrimination in healthcare.
Conclusion
The high cost of care is a concern facing low-income individuals and families in the United States and globally. The segregation of members of the LGBTQ+ community also impedes the quality of care they receive. Women in male-chauvinistic communities also lack the right to decide whether and when to use contraceptives in birth control or not. Policies on and related to these issues in healthcare can enhance health outcomes in women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people living in poverty. The overall result is a healthy community with more productive individuals if countries and the global communities can resolve these healthcare concerns.
Casey, L. S., Reisner, S. L., Findling, M. G., Blendon, R. J., Benson, J. M., Sayde, J. M., & Miller, C. (2019). Discrimination in the United States: Experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans. Health Services Research, 54(S2), 1454–1466. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13229
Edmonson, C., McCarthy, C., Trent-Adams, S., McCain, C., & Marshall, J. (2017). Emerging global health issues: A nurse’s role. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(1).
Khullar, D., & Chokshi, D. A. (2018). Health, income, & poverty: Where we are & what could help. Health Affairs, 10.
Shaw, D. (2020). Patchy progress on the ICPD: are we asking the right questions? The Lancet Global Health, 8(4), e466–e467. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(20)30080-2