Health_Care

Assignment #1 – Health Care Issues in the United States. 1. Explain how health is affected by behaviors, economics, and social structure. The relationship between lifestyle and health is well established. Behavioral determinants significantly impact each of the twelve leading causes of death. Chronic diseases such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease are end results of behavioral contributors such as alcohol, tobacco, and dietary behaviors. It is well documented that sexual behaviors are related to the increase of communicable diseases such as AIDS, syphilis, herpes, and gonorrhea. Societal stress is linked to the deterioration of the immune system and resulting morbidity and mortality contend Williams & Torres (2010). Comprehending and elevating health related behavior is vital to the posterity of public health. The social and economic climate of a community is built by the individual and the commingled efforts of its members and is distinguished because of social standards and cultural traditions. Widely accepted is the notion that people with higher incomes generally enjoy better health and live longer than people with lower incomes. Moreover, people tend to be healthiest when they have faith in their safety, supported and connected to and can trust others in their families, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities. As a result, economic and social structure determinants can influence choices and behaviors that improve or jeopardize health; they can offer a wide supply of possible choices to improve health that can have both negative and positive health effects. 2. Describe the three stages of medical technology development. The three stages of medical technology are review by regulatory agencies, technology assessments by insurance carriers, and review by purchasers, clinicians, and consumers. Review by regulatory agencies is the most recognized of the three stages and is administered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health by regulating pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Each product must go through a series of approvals, clinical trials, and post market surveillance protocols in order to ensure its safety and effectiveness. The second stage of medical technology addresses the payment made by health insurance companies for health services rendered. This process, typically called technology assessment, ensures the insurance company reimburses only for products and services which have proven to be safe, effective, and beneficial to those in need. Once a technology is introduced, the insurance company will receive a request from the developers of the technology asking to include it as a reimbursable service. Without this approval, providers would not be able to obtain payment for the new technology even though it may have been approved by the FDA (Williams & Torrens, 2010). The final stage of medical technology is review by purchasers, clinicians, and consumers. According to Williams and Torrens, clinicians are the most important end user because they determine how patients will be treated. For example, if a nurse or physician sees the benefit in using a new technology then that technology will be purchased and utilized (Williams & Torrens, 2010). Individual purchasers and consumers have also become very relevant in recent years due to an increased level of information available in the media. Medical technologies are developed in a variety of ways and places. Williams & Torrens (2010), contend that the development, diffusion, and eventual widespread utilization of a particular health care technology is a three-phase process that moves from the birth of a scientific concept, through the development of a specific product, and on to acceptance and use by physicians and their patients. New technologies are created from the convergence of many lines of basic, applied, and clinical research, and the rationale of the development pattern itself. Knowledge absorbed from basic research may be applied to the development of clinically useful technologies expeditiously and immediately or gradually and indirectly. The first phase of medical technology development consists of individual basic science research that manifest in the idea for a treatment, a drug, a medical device, or piece of medical equipment (Williams, S., & Torrens, P., pg. 26, 2010). Several questions are discussed at this phase of development including and not limited too, can the technology be developed, and is it likely o do what it is supposed to do' Will the technology cause undue harm to its providers or users' Is the technology worth developing' The process from moving from basic research to implementation consists of the second phase of medical technology development 3. Describe the major trends in population demographics over the past 80 years. Over the past 80 years the United States population has grown tremendously. This growth is primarily a result of two principal factors – rate of natural increase attributable to the higher number of births as compared to deaths and the increase in population attributable to net in-migration . Another important trend is the aging of the population. Typically, the average American is getting older and is living much longer than in previous centuries. For instance, today’s Baby Boomers appear to be much healthier and more functional than ever. Their interest in an active lifestyle, social activities, cosmetic medicines, and healthier eating is much greater than which in turn increases their longevity (William & Torrens, 2010). 4. Describe the most important trends in morality over the past century. Life expectancy and infant mortality are typically the two measures used to gauge the overall health of a population. Over the past century, life expectancy has shown an upward trend but still falls short in comparison to other international countries due to the complex social problems Americans face. A number of factors including accidents, violence, and infectious diseases have contributed to the less than desired rates. The second measure, infant mortality, has generally decreased since the beginning of the 20th century but has also fallen short in international comparisons. This poor performance is contributed to the lack of access to prenatal care, poor maternal nutrition, and other social, economic, and physiological factors . Researchers and policy makers are now more concerned than ever about the infant mortality rate because it has become somewhat stagnant within the last decade and has not declined significantly. During the past century, the shift from infectious diseases to chronic illness has also taken place. In the early 1900s influenza and pneumonia were the most common causes of death while today heart disease, cancer, and stroke have taken the lead. Although much of this shift was attributed to improvements made in living conditions and in the workplace, the public health arena must still challenge itself to remain vigilant against outbreaks of infectious disease because diseases such as AIDS and the Ebola virus still remain a principal cause of mortality in many developing countries. References Torrens, Paul R., & Williams, Stephen J. (2010). Introduction to Health Services. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.