Introduction
Individualized worldviews are the accumulation of personal experience, bias and influence that have molded a perception over time. Those experiences influences structure personal outcome, political and employment decision making. In the following essay further insight would be provided as to my overall my familial, religious values and upbringing and how those values have influenced my outlook on healthcare policy.
Description of Personal Values and Spiritual Beliefs Growing up in an Anglican denomination, which is a derivative of Catholicism, a high regard for religion and daily if not on going prayer was precedent. Anglicans believe that faith is like a three legged stool, referring to the balance and obedience to the sun, father
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“Public health-related policies come from local, state, or federal legislation, regulations, and/or court rulings which govern the provision of health care services. In addition to public policies, there are institutional or business policies related to health care.” (Cherry & Trotter Betts, 2005). Naturally those changes are influenced by experience, ethics, culture, demographics and financial exposures to name a few. Upbringing, religious stance, political affiliations and life experiences can most definitely influence healthcare policy outlook. Personal experiences of residing in a city versus suburbs have influenced my stance on healthcare policy. In my experience in practicing in both areas, patients in the inner cities often express that they’ve received subpar care in comparison to others. In addition having experienced racial bias throughout different times in my life has prompted me to become more culturally competent. “Persons of lower socioeconomic status and minority populations are more likely to live in urban areas and are more likely to lack health insurance. Thus, these populations face barriers to care, receive poorer quality care, and disproportionately use emergency systems. Other commonly represented populations …show more content…
Relative to my experiences in life and spiritual enlightenment I thought myself to be a devout humanitarian a seeker of all that is fair and free. However in review of key points the HSA, I questioned my stance on pro High-deductible health plans and out-of-pocket plans. In comparison to friends, family and coworkers I believe the implementation of HSAs assist high deductible plans participants to set aside pre-taxed monies for future health care expense. The area of contention is that the wealthy use HSAs as an avenue to store pre-taxed money. This disadvantage causes a disequilibrium causing some to delve deeper into their pockets for copay and medical cost which will cause a hesitation in seeking treatment in fear of medical uncovered medical cost. I am not opposed to this, given the reason of fairness. If I were in the same financial position to save money even if I were of the upper class in society I would, knowing the potential shift in balance. As much consideration and empathy that is given to the disadvantaged some of those consideration should be given to those who are privileged. In retrospect the moral questions that I internalized centered on fairness knowing that leaning to one side causes millions to be without treatment. However for the same principles of equality that I hold dear, I think there’s
Longest Jr., B.B (2009) Health Policy making in the United States (5th Edition). Chicago, IL: HAP/AUPHA.
Healthcare disparities are when there are inequalities or differences of the conditions of health and the quality of care that is received among specific groups of people such as African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, or Hispanics. Not only does it occur between racial and ethnic groups, health disparities can happen between males and females as well. Minorities have the worst healthcare outcomes, higher death rates, and are more prone to terminal diseases. For African American men and women, some of the most common health disparities are diabetes, cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infections. Some factors that can contribute to disparities are healthcare access, transportation, specialist referrals, and non-effective communication with patients. There is also much racism that still occurs today, which can be another reason African Americans may be mistreated with their healthcare. “Although both black and white patients tended not to endorse the existence of racism in the medical system, African Americans patients were more likely to perceive racism” (Laveist, Nickerson, Bowie, 2000). Over the years, the health care system has made improvements but some Americans, such as African Americans, are still being treating unequally when wanting the same care they desire as everyone else.
Therefore, considering these issues is an impediment when discussing the disparities in health. Some minorities are disadvantaged in the current healthcare while some are not. However, it is complicated to identify reasons for inequalities because health outcome is a result of numerous interactions with factors including the individual’s access to care, the quality of care provided, health behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, the presence or absence of complicating conditions, and personal attitudes toward health and medicine. Therefore, Examining existing racial and ethnic issues, developing potential solutions for current disparities, and preparing for future challenges as shifts in trends emerge are essential aspects of health care improvements” (Boslaugh,
Jean Giddens (2013) defines culture as “a pattern of shared attitudes, beliefs, self-definitions, norms, roles, and values that can occur among those who speak a particular language, or live in a defined geographical region.” (Giddens, 2013). A person’s culture influences every aspect that person’s life. Beliefs affected by culture include how someone interacts within the family, how to raise children, the types of foods eaten, the style of clothes chosen, which religion is practiced, and the style of communication (including verbal, and body language, slang used etc.) (Giddens, 2013). In addition to these beliefs, health care practices are also affected by culture. The cause
Research shows that racial or ethnic minorities have—on average—poorer access to health insurance and health care than those who are white.
People of color face inequality and intersectionality in healthcare whether through insurance coverage, access, social economics, and quality of care. This leads to our health care system having disparities. It remains a big challenge today as 41% of people living in the United States are people of color (kff.org). People of color aren't getting the same care as someone who's white. Racial and ethnic minorities received lower care. Race also plays a role if someone will be uninsured or not. Another problem with health care is social economics which causes some race to have better care than others. There have been little improvements to address these issues. Today our society is becoming more diverse not less. In 2015 minorities represented
Ku, L., and T. Waidmann. (2003). Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Urban Institute: How race/ethnicity, immigration status and language affect health insurance coverage, access to care and quality of care among the low income population. Print.
As American transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “money often costs too much”. This famous quote can be interpreted in many different ways; it seems very logical in parallel to the idea that money can result in a high social and moral cost. As individualistic as American society is, the preference for monetary stability has become a higher priority for Americans than general societal health and stability. It is then not a surprise that the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as ObamaCare) has become one of the most controversial health care reforms as it looks to improve the health care system for the country whilst conflicting with cost reform at the same time. Essentially, the ACA is a program that works to entirely reform the government’s health insurance by raising taxes in order to improve quality and affordability. This taxation is done in order to provide everyone, those from different socioeconomic backgrounds, with a good and competent health care plan. The purpose of this essay is to show the importance of the ACA, as general health is more important than monetary cost.
I believe that every citizen deserves good healthcare services regardless of his or her geographical area, income, or race. An underserved community is a community in which people are unable to obtain health care or have limited access to the health care system for different of reasons. These reasons include ethnic background, socioeconomic variables, lower salary in some areas, extreme weather, or other life circumstances that produces an uneven distribution of healthcare resources, including nurses. The individuals in underserved communities lack affordable comprehensive health insurance, have gaps in insurance, or are living in remote areas and unable to access care. Additionally, the lack of basic necessities such as money for food, medications,
According to the institute of Medicine (IOM), racism is a problem in the health care system, that is, the difference between the quality of health care received by minorities and non-minorities is due to racism. IOM is a nonprofit organization that advises the federal government and the public on science policy. It released a report that on average, minorities receive a lower quality of care, even when factors such as income and type of health insurance are accounted for. The report by IOM states that racial stereotypes and prejudice are the cause of the health care disparities. The article by IOM points ...
An individual’s culture and belief may significantly impact the type of services they require. In addition, it may affect the time, place, and method in the delivery of health care
The matter of religion in relation to law is an age old question that many generations of people have had to face. In fact, in some ancient civilizations, religion was as much a part of the law, as water is a basic human necessity. Leaders were often worshiped as messengers or children of gods, and sometimes even as gods themselves. Religion has shaped the backbone of many a community, and still today, in some parts of the world, it is a force to be reckoned with. However, it is in my belief, that the religious and moral values of an area should not influence the laws that people are meant to abide by. Not only because many people do not share the same religious beliefs (or even have a religion for that matter), but because in doing so, it allows for the possibility that people will try to take advantage of the system and commit acts that are morally unjust, in the name of their religion.
During everyone 's lifetime, there is always something we hold closest to our hearts; it maybe our principles we live by, values, and even our own beliefs. Values are those things that are very important to us but never really realize how much we actually value them in our life. Have you ever been asked to define three of your main values and rip them up? I have and I never noticed how much they meant to me. Each and every one of us believes in our own personal values. These values are what gives us strength and strive us to do what makes us happy. These values are very important to us and are standards that we live by whether we realize it or not. Everyone has something we value including me. Some of the values I might think highly of,
I am fortunate to have realized my faith in god in early years of my life and experiences in life have only strengthened my faith; I was born and raised in a small town in India and my elementary to undergraduate education has been from a Christian, catholic school, Convent of Jesus & Mary, a congregation established by Mother Claudine Thevnet who wanted to undertake the education of girls in India. It was in school, I first experienced the introduction to Christianity and my family being Hindu resonated a lot of common values being taught at school. Since there was no conflict in my values learnt at school and those at home, these were only deepened and have become an important part of my personality. As a result of my upbringing and my education, memories of my faith are amongst my earliest. I believe in the presence of god and I believe that god has bigger plans for me. My education and my family has integrated values in me for respecting, accepting, understanding other members of the society. Hinduism taught me how to be respectful and tolerant to others, it taught me that I need to understand that I am a human and I am here to serve and help others in need. There have been times when faced with difficult challenges in life and I have followed the path laid by god, ignorance went away and I found solutions and answers to the problems and challenges that I faced.
Understanding who we are as individuals can be a struggle for people throughout life. It can be difficult to comprehend who we are and why we exist. There are daily outside influences that help create who we are and what our values are. Values play a significant role in our lives. They shape the choices we make and reveal a big part of our identity to the world. Some values may be more important than others, but they still manage to influence our lives in one way or another, whether we know it or not. Values can range from a tangible item to an idea that has influenced us to stand by and remember those values. The values we hold with the highest importance act as a guide and help us prioritize our purpose and goals in our daily life. My family has taught me a list of values and traits that have helped me become a well-rounded individual. I value my family more than anything because most of my core inner values have started from their teachings at one point or another. My top values that I have developed from my family are dedication, honesty, and wisdom. I will discuss who I am in terms of the important values that shape my personal belief system and decision making framework that, in essence, describes the direction of my life.