Equity Concerns in Canadian Rural Health Care - Research Paper Example

 Equity Concerns in Canadian Rural Health Care Contents Contents 1 Thesis 1 Background Information 2 The Concept of Geography and Disease 3 Population Density and Disease 3 Social and Cultural Dimensions 4 Ethnicity and Migration 5 The Economical Aspect and Disease 6 Summary 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Thesis The location of a place determines many aspects of life of the individuals that stay there. For instance the weather patterns, the diet that the individuals consume, the lifestyle and so on. Therefore, the health of individual can directly be related to the geography in this area. In this case, the people in rural areas have a healthier life than those in the urban centers. Background Information Countries which have a higher economical ability such as Canada and the United States record different types of diseases and health issues from those that are developing. Because of this, it is easier to study and establish the dynamics that surround the individual’s health. In the same note, countries that are located in tropics are likely to have the citizens develop diseases such as malaria and other climatic diseases while those away such as Canada are likely to experience to have cancerous related diseases (MacLeod, Finlayson, Pell & Findlay, 1999). The environment, which the individual lives in, can also determine the level of health that the residents can have. People living in urban areas are likely to have diseases such as asthma and lung infection because of the constant polluted environment that they have to cope with everyday. Ethnicity and the background culture are also determinants of the type of medication which the people seek .The exercise will give an example of the Ghanaian immigrants who live in Europe who seek the biomedical attention while they also seek the alternative traditional medicine. This medicinal mix is termed as pluralism. The exercise will look at these illustrations in detail and give an insight into the same. The four-fold section of this study will look at the factors that surround the health sector’s dimension mostly by basing the argument on the area of study that is rural Canada. This is because the dynamics that surround the rural setting in the country have for a long time been seen to be not equitable. With this is in mind, the majority of the sources that this study is going to use have a basis in the Canadian health sector but with a global insight on the aspects that concern disease and its relationship with geography. The Concept of Geography and Disease Population Density and Disease Cities around the world are growing at an exponential rate. The aspect of housing and accommodation is becoming a challenge because of the population in surge. Canada which is a first world country has a relatively organized urban area as Jerret, Eyles, Dufournaud and Birch (2003) illustrate. The New York City on its part is one of the most populated cities in the world and because of this; its neighborhoods such as Bronx and Brooklyn have had a serious problem with new infections such as for asthma and lung cancer. This is because of the fact that fumes and smoke emanates from factories and the industrial section of the city. The situation is also made worse by the exposure and contact with unhygienic conditions present in the place. The high population density of other places in the African continent such as Nairobi and Johannesburg has seen the increase of slums and other informal settlements. This therefore implies that the hygienic conditions that are shared in this place are stretched to the limit. Poor sanitation coupled up with unsafe drinking water and poor education on sanitation sees the increase of diseases such as cholera dysentery and other diseases. Population increase makes it difficult to plan on different sections that affect the people such as the health aspects. The financial aspect of the health sector needs to be adequate in order to contain infections as well as other long-term diseases. That is why authorities constantly update their research on the populations increase patterns and how they are likely to affect service provision especially to the public sector. The denser the areas, the less likely they are to receive the adequate medical and health services. People who reside in other densely populated places are likely to share personal things than those who are in sparsely populated areas as Jin, Marrie, Carriere, Predy and Houston (2003) discuss. The increases the chances of them have contagious airborne diseases such as tuberculosis that come from staying in the same vicinity with the affected. Therefore, population density is a factor that affects the way diseases are transmitted between individuals. Statistics predict that more people are likely to be affected by contagious diseases in the next year more than the last five years combined. Therefore governments and authorities have an obligation to make this conditions be reversed because failure to so may lead to further complications. Social and Cultural Dimensions The geographical area where certain social aspects are observed automatically makes the people residing in such areas have the same practices in their lifestyle. This is because of the fact that the patterns of ethics, belief systems and practices are communal. There are people who have different ways of perception the medicine and health and what type of treatment they believe in. Due to social aspects such as religion, culture and belief system, different people from the developing world observe different aspects of treatment. It has also been reported that some religions or faiths forbid their members from seeking the medical attention from hospitals because of the trust in the higher force. Such people who come from absolute religious background have been found to be nursing lifelong ailments without proper care. In the same breath, the aspect of diet has also been a topic of great concern because of the perception that the people in similar conditions have had over a long time (Dummer, 2008). This includes people like the aborigines of Australia and tribes living along the Amazon basin. Governments have taken this to educate the people that are affected by these in their countries to minimize casualties. This is very serious because of the fact that such practices are communal and conducting such programs is challenging. The urban culture also has its effect on the health and disease spread on individuals. Poor diet and a likelihood of a polluted environment is one aspect that is likely to increase the prevalence rate. In Canada, statistics show that more people consume alcohol than in the rural places according to Jerret et al. (2003). This means that contacting of perennial diseases is higher and may cause more health complications (Borugian, Mezei, Wilkins, Abanto and McBride, 2005). In addition, the contact with processed foods and other additives plays a major role in decreasing the health of the people that are residing in these areas. Ethnicity and Migration A study was carries out which was looking to establish the perceptions of Ghanaians who were residing in the rural Canada and the Chinese people that were staying in United states America on medicine. It was found that despite the fact that modern laboratory medicine was available, there was the aspect of pluralism that is the combination of the modern and alternative. This is an indicator that the geographical origin of people affects the perception they have especially on the medicine and health treatment. People who migrate to far countries or continents still manage to mix the native medicines or health practices. The Chinese rarely seek the western medical treatment ad they mostly rely on the medicines that are imported from their mother countries. The migrants have also been able to convert people in their destinations to observe this form of medical care because they believe that it works. Some parts of the North American continents have seen entrepreneurs import such medicines and repackage them for sale (Anderson, et al., 1992). However, the quality of the ‘herbal’ medicines is wanting because many of the drugs have been found to not only be fake but extremely dangerous to consumers. Migration can also be a negative aspect in spreading of various diseases and other health conditions. This is because of the fact that people meet and interact hence a transfer of some of these diseases as MacLeod et al. (1999) agree. Sexually transmitted diseases top the list of s disease that is spread in such a manner. This is why some countries restrict the frequent traveling to some destination and ensure proper screening of individuals from those countries that are marked. In another aspect, ethnicity is an important aspect when analyzing the aspect of medicines. This is because of the perceptions and stereotypes that people have on particular races and individuals from parts of the world. People of all races have their widely practiced practices which to some are backward or not modern. For instance, there are those whose medical beliefs include the use of witchcraft and voodoo or the belief in supernatural. It has been found that people living in such areas where widespread practices of alternative medicines are unlikely to fully embrace the medicinal aspect than those who live in areas that are not. The Economical Aspect and Disease Canada and America together with other countries in the European Union have seen a reduction of infectious diseases in the rural areas that result from lifestyle such as aids and cancer reduce significantly in the last decade (Borugian et al., 2005).This is the opposite in countries in the sub-Saharan African and southern Asia such as India and Pakistan. This is because of the intense campaigns that the rich nations have put in place in terms of research and development of the health sector. Through this, better decisions are made to handle the diseases that have affected the people. Countries which are located in economically stable continents of the world have been found to be less likely to record newly infectious diseases. This is because of the fact that various programs and funding are put forward to address the preventive rather than the treatment of diseases. This is unlike the developing world which has barely enough to buy medicines for treatment. Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases which affect tourist attractions destinations of Africa, South America and Asia are on the increase. The main reason is because of the poor funding that comes from these nations because of the limited resources and knowledge. The United States for instance pledged to give one percent (3%) of its national budget to countries which have the highest infection rate in the world. This is in addition to the ARVs which help in the prolonging of lives among the individuals (Jin et al., 2003). Summary Tens of research activities have been conducted to investigate various dynamics that surround how disease is related to geography. This is because of the obvious fact that disease patterns are directly related to the locality of a place as Dummer (2008) also observes. This particular study is going to focus on the relationship of the disease patterns and the areas where the occurrence of such diseases is high. Its main case has been in Canada which is a country whose urban and rural settings provide an excellent platform of study. The exercise has focused on namely the relationship of density of population with disease, the social and cultural dynamics, ethnicity and migration, and lastly the economics and disease relationship four sections. The study has looked at a closer perspective of how disease and geography are related. There has been a candid look at geographical dynamics and how people who live in locations with high density, lower economical areas and strict belief systems and vice versa are affected by disease. The factors in these geographical settings determine the health levels hat people living here have. In addition to that, the study has embarked on an analysis of how the issue of migration affects the medicine world and the spread of diseases. Conclusion The location or geographical setting of a place determines the quality life of its individuals. This is because of day to day aspects such as the weather patterns, the food and diet. In addition to that, the economical aspect of a certain area as wells the social norms and culture greatly dictate the quality of health that the people of that place enjoy. Ultimately, the health of individual can directly be related to the geography that they live in because of the inevitable aspect of lifestyle. References Borugian, M., Mezei, G., Wilkins, R., Abanto, Z, McBride, M. (2005). Childhood Leukemia and Socioeconomic Status in Canada Epidemiology, 16 (4), 526-531. Jerret, M., Eyles, J., Dufournaud, E., and Birch, S. (2003). Environmental influences on healthcare expenditures: An exploratory analysis from Ontario, Canada. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 57(5), 334-338. Jin, Y., Marrie, T., Carriere, K., Predy, G., & Houston, C. (2002). Variation In Management Of Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Admission To Alberta, Canada Hospitals Epidemiology and Infection, 130 (1), 41-51 Anderson, R., May, M., & Anderson, M. (1992). Infectious Diseases of Humans: Dynamics and Control. London: Oxford University Press. MacLeod, M., Finlayson, A., Pell, P., Findlay, I. (1999). Geographic, Demographic, And Socioeconomic Variations In The Investigation And Management Of Coronary Heart Disease In Scotland The Health Journal. 81(3). Pp. 196. Dummer, T. (2008). Health Geography: Supporting Public Health Policy and Planning Canadian Medical Association Journal, 178(9). Pp. 12 Read More