Professional Responsibility in Healthcare - Assignment Example

Download file to see previous pages The economic disparity between the richest and poorest 20% of the people in the world increased from a nine-fold difference at the beginning of the 20th century to about eighty-fold in 2000 (Benatar, Daar & Singer, 2005). This disparity is primarily due to the lack of access to basic healthcare services among the poor, who reside mostly in developing nations. These issues reveal the challenges of achieving improved health for the majority of the world’s population.

Internationally speaking, wide economic disparity, population explosion, the emergence of new infectious diseases, ecological degradation, wars, and natural disasters resulting in massive dislocations of people, as well as advancements in science and technology reveal that issues in one part of the world do affect the other regions; the world is interconnected (Benatar, Daar & Singer, 2005). President Clinton recognized this interconnectivity and the need for unity between domestic and foreign policy when he called the issue of HIV/AIDS a ‘global emergency’ and worked towards developing a global response to address this pandemic (Benatar, Daar & Singer, 2005).
These factors underscore the importance of connecting local action to new global health ethics of shared values to make the world a more stable and healthier place to live. This global interdependence is now a key factor in the fight against infectious diseases, chronic diseases, poverty, and lack of access to care. Since the United States of America is one of the leading developed countries in terms of healthcare and economy, it has a moral responsibility to play an important role in achieving this goal – which it has done to a certain extent.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently expanded its global fight against cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death worldwide, by opening a new branch in Dubai (American Heart Association, 2011). The main aim of professionals in this office is to train and educate people in the Middle East on first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. AHA has about 280,000 instructors and 3,500 affiliated training centers all around the world (American Heart Association, 2011).
The USA has immense resources in terms of medical development, research, and finances. Over the years the country has invested in several international initiatives and has generously provided financial assistance towards various global issues like medical care, access to healthcare, and reducing poverty. In fact, in 1998, polio was endemic in more than 125 countries and paralyzed nearly 350,000 children a year; today only four countries are endemic for polio (Benatar, Daar & Singer, 2005). The success in containing this disease can largely be attributed to the contribution made by the US in terms of funding 500 million doses of polio vaccine in endemic countries in addition to the efforts made by US healthcare professionals (Benatar, Daar & Singer, 2005). Tuberculosis is another disease to which the U.S. has contributed significantly in terms of improving the quality of services, upgrading laboratory infrastructure, and conducting surveillance in various parts of the world.
Ethically, each healthcare provider in the U.S. is required to practice autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence in treating their patients. These values should also be extended to the parts of the world without access to basic healthcare services. Such initiatives would help to ensure justice and access to care for the majority of the people in the world who are challenged by issues of poverty and economic disparity. Applying the deontological or duty-based ethical principle, America has a moral obligation to impart its knowledge and resources to address various global healthcare needs and related issues.

This moral obligation was also revealed in Barack Obama’s speech on World AIDS Day 2006 when he said that the AIDS crisis is “a test not only of our willingness to respond but of our ability to look past artificial divisions and debates that have often shaped that response” (The Body, 2008). In 2006, he traveled with his wife to Kenya and took the AIDS test to encourage African men and women to get tested for the disease (The Body, 2008). These actions reveal that America considers itself responsible and morally obligated to fight against infectious and chronic diseases – an example of deontological or duty-based ethics. ...Download file to see next pages Read More