Social Determinants of Health, the Role of Equity in Paramedic Profession - Essay Example

Social Determinants of Health, Equity and Equality are valuable in Paramedic profession Introduction According to World Health Organization (2013a), a health system is a composition of the undertakings whose main aim is to promote and restore or maintain the health of individuals who are at its need. An example of such a system is the Australian Health System which is complex and serves a range of individuals from all over the world. This paper seeks to explain the key components of the Australia Health System. It further elaborates the main social determinants of health and how they affect the health of individuals. It presents how social determinants of health relate to equity and equality and the value both play in paramedic profession. Australian Health Care System has been proved to be one of the best in the entire world. It is a complex system serving diverse people in terms of their health needs, age gender, ethnicity and religion. It is a highly networked and integrated systems funded by both governmental and Non-Governmental organizations. The Medicare has three main constituents which entail: pharmaceuticals, public hospitals and medical services (Abs.gov.au, 2016). The expenditure in the Health Care System has been increasing each year that passes. This is because of presence of a highly aging population which is coupled by complex aging diseases and conditions. In addition, there are many emerging lingering diseases and conditions which call for purchase of expensive equipment and paying specialists. The services are provided by both public and private health centers. These services are not only used by Australian citizens but also asylums seekers and visitors from abroad. There are various types of Health care offered in the Australian Health System which include: Primary health Care which is the basic level of health provision. The patients are served by general health providers. It can be provided in Community Health centers or in campaign for preventive measures. The second type is Secondary Health which is mainly performed by specialists (Abs.gov.au, 2016). The patients are mainly referred from the Primary Health Care level. The final Service is provided in Hospitals both public and private. They mainly entail emergencies and other special cases. The Australian Health System is advancing technology wise and has adopted Electronic Health Service provision and telehealth. This has been useful in providing health services especially to people in far and remote regions which are not easily accessible. The systems caters for the needs of children, the aged and even the disabled members of the society. Paramedics are the most highly trained professionals in Emergency department who mainly provide services in emergency situations for example in an ambulance or in the community. In most instances, their schedules are unplanned and will be seen in disaster stricken areas, helicopters, trucks or even in accidents (Anon, 2016). They are different from Emergency Medical Technicians in that the latter are the basic level of Emergency Medical Service providers. Paramedics have a high knowledge and skills in handling complex patient situations such as cardiologic and anatomy. In Australia the professional body under which paramedics operate is referred to as Paramedics Australasia (PA). They are supposed to respect other health professionals and all other shareholders in the multidimensional Australia Health System. Social Determinants of Health are key factors in determining the value of health offered by different cadres in health practice to patients. They are responsible for the life expectancy of individuals: for example in Sweden is over eighty years, Australia is Eighty two point three while in most African countries it fifty years (WHO, 2013a). The social differences in many countries led to the conceptualization of Commission for Social Determinants of Health by World Health Organization in the year two thousand and five. This was mainly to help reduce the health inequalities experienced by most individuals world-wide. These factors affect the health of individuals not only from their prenatal and postnatal period but also throughout their entire live depending on where they reside, work and spend their aging moments and the undertakings they are involved in. They are highly determined the economic power of the families and the society under which the individuals live. According to Commission for Social Determinants of Health as cited by Chapman 2010, p. 22, the health of individuals is shaped by many social factors. These include access to quality education. As a matter of fact, illiteracy has been one of the contributing factors behind people not seeking medical attention. For example in most remote areas, pregnant women still seek traditional birth attendants’ help when they are due. Most develop health complications and are likely to give birth to children with delivery related health complications for example cerebral palsy which results from long labor period. The nature of jobs people engage in are a great influence to their health status (Chapman 2010, p.17-22). For example hard labor jobs without protective cloth materials predisposes individuals to harmful respiratory diseases and injuries. Health services accessibility is another social determinant factor. Some people reside in remote areas with limited quality health facilities. Poor terrains and infrastructure have been the main hindrance in accessing quality health care. This contributes to worsening of some conditions. Access to drinking water is a key factor in the health of individuals (WHO, 2013b). Availability of adequate and quality drinking water is essential in preventing water borne diseases. Water is a key commodity in life. Inadequate and poor quality water makes individuals to strain and predisposes them to Communicable water borne diseases. The poor access to health facilities render the individuals a tough time fighting and some succumb to their ailments. The income level of most families determines the quality of health services they will adopt (WHO, 2010). In addition it is a key indicator of their food security level. Most low social class individuals are not in a position to afford three balanced meals and snacking in between meals on a daily basis. They are thus rendered prone to malnutrition and their bodies are not likely to fight against infections in case of disease outbreaks or pandemics. According to World Health Organization (2010, p.33), Gender is a key social determinant of health. It is mainly the socially constructed roles and characteristics of men and women. In societies where traditional culture practices are still rooted women and girls are mainly oppressed. For example in times of disaster and war they suffer most since they are not empowered enough with knowledge and skills on how to handle emergency situations. They also suffer access to social amenities services such as education and credit facilities to empower themselves economically. Health inequalities include Female Genital Mutilation and female infanticide (Braveman et al., 2011 p. 393). Countries where culture has gradually eroded stand a better chance in treating all the genders fairly. Race and ethnicity sum up the social determinants of health (WHO, 2013b). This limits the access to health facilities in countries like the United States. Australia however, as an integrated country with a complex health care system provides health care for even persons from other countries and asylum seekers. Inequality is basically the promotion of fairness in access to resources and services such as health care. Equity is the ethical concept which seeks to give each and every individual social justice (Russell et al., 2013 p. 466). The two main aims of equity is to contribute to improvement of health services and do away with any inequalities in existence. There exists a linkage between social determinants of health and equity and equality. The access to health facilities for all members of the society are determined by their social class, occupation, gender, race, ethnic background, education level and access the nature of environment they live in (Sheridan et al., 2011 p. 1-14). Value of Social health determinants, equity and equality to Paramedics The Australian Health System is complex and interdisciplinary with many professionals and seeks to meet the needs of all individuals equally. Paramedics ought to respect the ethics set by the Australia heath care system. It is their responsibility to be aware of the communities they are dealing with. The individuals are different depending on their cultural background (Rodney & Hill, 2014 p. 72). They are expected to practice their duties without discrimination with regard to the race, gender affiliation of even social class of the affected individuals (Anon, 2016). They ought to be aware that most emergency health seeking individuals are rooted to certain beliefs and may discriminate against them. However, it is their role to create a way out and administer health services required regardless of the impending challenges. The concept of confidentiality in essential in gaining trust especially from individuals who may be reluctant to the paramedics. Conclusion It can be summed up that the Australian Health System is complex. It is comprised of medical services, public hospitals and pharmaceuticals. It is controlled by government and Non-Governmental sectors. It offers diverse health care in primary, secondary and Tertiary level. It has a paramedics department controlled by PA. They are unscheduled highly trained and skilled health practitioners in anatomy, cardiology and other complex health complications. They mainly attend to emergency patients in ambulances, accident scenes, fire outbreaks areas, helicopters and other emergency areas. The social determinants of health tackled in this paper entail social class, education level, race and ethnicity, gender and access to drinking water. All these factors have been proved to be essential in influencing the health status of individuals at all age levels from their conception. They are of great value to paramedics since they meet patients from different ethnic background, social class, occupation and cultural affiliation. Most have their own discrimination basis and thus the paramedics ought to create a rapport while upholding the ethics of the medical policy and those of the society. 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