Comparing Health Care between Australia and Saudi Arabia - Case Study Example

Health Care between Australia and Saudi Arabia Name Institution Comparison of Health care between Australia and Saudi Arabia Introduction The healthcare sector is one of the most significant sectors for any government for the role they play in labour provision. In fact most governments’ success is judged by quality and accessibility of healthcare. Abdallah (2014, p. 170) claimed that in the 21st century, healthcare sector has gone through several changes attributed to research and development, and advancement of technology. As a result, governments have been scrambling to use such opportunities to improve the state of healthcare systems in terms of access to healthcare, quality of care and even training of healthcare practitioners. Australia and Saudi Arabia are some of the countries which have tried to make use these developments to improve the state of healthcare and even the systems (Ono, Lafortune & Schoenstein 2013). However, this is not to say that these two countries are now at par based on healthcare levels due to the fact that every of them have its challenges. Therefore, this report will compare Health care between Australia and Saudi Arabia. The comparison of these countries will be based on population profile, healthcare needs and demographics. Population Profile Australia In comparing countries healthcare system, it is critical to study population profiles. Almasabi (2013, p. 70) argued that this greatly needed to get a precise understanding about how the government can distribute resources to fulfill the public needs. The significant factors to consider in this perspective include population itself, age, distribution, median incomes, gender distribution and main industry. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2012) showed that population of Australia has significantly increased in the past half of the century due to higher fertility rates and long life expectancy. For instance, in 2000 Australia had a population of 19.16 million people. The population has since grown and the country today has 24.16 million people, making it 52nd most population nation across the globe (OECD, 2015). The research has established that population is high distributed across various age sets. For instance, 14 percent of the total population comprises of people between ages of zero to fourteen. Similarly, people who are between 15 to 24 years of age make 13.3 percent of the total population. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2016) posited that 25 to 54 years of age makes 41.8 percent, 55 to 64 makes 11.8 percent while people from the age of 65 makes up to 15.1 percent. It means more healthcare attention should be given to people at the age of 25 to 54 years. The research also shows that Australia comprise of a young people with an average age of 36.9 years (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). However, despite the situation Australia has one of the highest of life expectancy of 82.1 year. High life expectancy is attributed to access to quality healthcare and high income, and even disposable income (Deloitte 2015). For instance, today’s Australian average income is $107,276. On sex distribution perspective, Australia Bureau of Statistics (2016) shows that male and female is fairly distributed at 1.06 male per female. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has also faced high population growth in the recent years, hence great need for healthcare. According Central Department of Statistics and Information (2016), Saudi’s population now stands at 31 million people. Most of Saudi population is dominated by youth and middle aged people. The age structure shows that 32.4 percent of the population belongs to 0-14 year’s age bracket while 64.8 percent belong to 15-64 age brackets (Böhm et al., 2013, p. 259). However, the research shows Saudi has the lowest number of older people as only 2.8 percent of the population are in the age above 65 years. Researches point out that older people have high demand for healthcare compared to other ages. The studies have established that most Saudi nationals cannot afford quality healthcare due to their slightly lower average income which stand at $41961 (Central Department of Statistics and Information, 2016). The difference in figures between Australia and Saudi Arabia show that more Australians can afford private healthcare than Saudi even if the government does not cater for such services. Another important data which the government can use to plan for resource distribution in the healthcare sector is the sex distribution. The sex distribution of Saudi Arabia shows that there are more male than female in terms of population. On the other hand, Central Department of Statistics and Information (2016) pointed out that Saudi Arabia has a sex ratio of 1.23 male per every female. When the sex ratio is used for resource allocation, men are likely to get the largest share. However, there are other factors such as maternal mortality which majorly affect women, and must be analyzed for resource allocation. Healthcare needs As shown in the population profile Australia old people in the age above 65 years makes a significant percentage, hence high need for healthcare for this group. People in the age group in Australia make up to 15.1 percent total population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). The ageing population faces a number of healthcare challenges which leads to demand for healthcare, changing healthcare profiles and increasing costs of health. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) argued that the challenges can be classified into two. One is that the number of people at the age of 85 and above is growing, and this group faces a number of healthcare problems such as dementia, cancer and arthritis. Secondly, is that people getting into the age of 65 years have major challenges of dealing with lifestyle based diseases like type 2 diabetes as compared to the past generations. Studies show points out that dementia has become a critical health challenge among the older people in Australia and it is approximated that in 2014; more than 332000 old people had dementia in 2014 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2014). The same research claimed if not controlled, the number if likely to increase to 910,000 by 2050 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2014). The Survey also showed that 49 percent of people aged 65 and above in Australia are suffering from arthritis, 35 percent suffer hearing loss while 38 percent suffer hypertensive disease as shown in figure 1 below. These types of disorders high require aged care services and physiotherapy services among others. Though some of the services have been adopted few old people receive due to a limited number of facilities. Rothgang et al., (2010, p.76) contended that creating more adult daycare centers will enhance provision specific care for the dementia such as reminiscence therapy, cognitive reframing, validation therapy, physiological therapy and mental exercise among others. Saudi Arabia on the other hand, has more young people between the age of zero and 14. It means healthcare needs are high among the young cohorts as compared to older people. Aljefree and Ahme (2015) opined that 42 percent of young people in Saudi Arabia suffer the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease and obesity among others. Saudi Government there needs to concentrate resources on exercise and obesity awareness, control of cholesterol and care for stroke (Aljefree & Ahme, 2015). Figure 1: number of the older people in Australia Profile comparison A comparison of the population profile of the two countries shows major differences and slight similarities in some cases. Generally Saudi Arabia has a high population of 31 million compared to that of Australia with 24.16 million people. It means that Australia has high need for healthcare for older people compared to Saudi Arabia. While Australia has to focus its healthcare and resources in aging population, Albejaidi (2010, p. 798) argued that Saudi Arabia needs to concentrate its resource for healthcare on the cohort youths who are the majority in terms of population. A comparison of sex ratio shows that Saudi Arabia has more men compared to women, hence the need to increase resource allocation for healthcare for men. Large population of men in Saudi Arabia is attributed to the high number of men who seek to work and become citizen of that country over the years (Albejaidi, 2010, p. 801). However, when other factors like maternal mortality then women needs larger share of healthcare resource. On the other, Australia’s sex ration show a fair distribution between male and female in the context of 1 male per female. On the context of income, the studies show that Australia has a higher average income than Saudi Arabia. It means that even without government health insurance (Medicare) more Australia can afford better healthcare at private hospitals. High average income in Australia is attributed to multiple source of income (Abdallah, 2014, p. 170) such as agriculture, tourism, mining, manufacturing, healthcare, education, media and finance. Saudi Arabia economy majorly depends on oil. Generally, Australia has a better healthcare due to th fact that the country has qualified and more healthcare practitioners than Saudi Arabia. Saudi’s education has not focused on sciences, technology and healthcare as that of Australia. World Bank (2016) claimed that Saudi Arabia has 2.5 doctors for every 1000 patient, which is lower compared to Australia which has 3.3 doctors per 1000 patients. Significance to discipline practice Population in various perspectives is an activity which government, institutions and independent researchers have continued to give high regards over the years (Almasabi, 2013, p.70). The practice shows its importance regards to various disciplines. Population statistic for a country is very important for dentistry in many ways. Population statistics are significant for dentists as it helps them plan for resources such as drugs, facilities, machines drugs and number of dentist to prove service to a particular number of patients. The ministry of health can use statistics to formulate budget needs annually (Banerjee & Chaudhury 2010, p.62). Similarly, with population statistics, dentist can understand prevalence diseases so that they can plan on how to treat it. Population statistics have also been important to dentist in terms of competition because the number can be used to determine whether the government is providing quality, accessible and affordable healthcare (Banerjee & Chaudhury, 2010, p.60). Conclusion The comparison between Australia and Saudi Arabia shows the progress these countries have made towards making healthcare accessible, affordable and of high quality. However, Australia which has been better offer between the two due to high number of doctors, better average income and high budget allocation to the ministry of healthcare. The research has also shown that Australia face a considerable challenge in terms of high healthcare demands from the older population. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia still struggles with the large population of the youth who are facing risk of cardiovascular diseases. Even these two countries have done better in budget allocation for healthcare purposes, the few challenges of identified must be addressed to compete with countries with better healthcare like the US, the UK, France and Germany. References Abdallah, A. (2014). Implementing quality initiatives in healthcare organizations: drivers and challenges. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol.27, No.3, pp.166–181 Almasabi, M.H. (2013).An Overview of Health System in Saudi Arabia. Research Journal of Medical Sciences 7(3), 70-74 Albejaidi, F.M. (2010). Healthcare System in Saudi Arabia: An Analysis of Structure, Total Quality Management and Future Challenges. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences 2(2), 794-818 Aljefree, A., & Ahmed, F. (2015). Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease and Associated Risk Factors among Adult Population in the Gulf Region: A Systematic Review. Advances in Public Health Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Ageing and the health system: challenges, opportunities and adaptations. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129547764 Australia Bureau of Statistics. (2015). 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Ageing and the health system: challenges, opportunities and adaptations. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129547764 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2012). Australia’s Health 2012, Australia’s Health Series No. 13, Cat. No. AUS 156. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Ageing and the health system: challenges, opportunities and adaptations. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129547764 Australia Bureau of Statistics. (2015). 3101.0 - Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 Banerjee, A., & Chaudhury, S. (2010). Statistics without tears: Populations and samples. Ind Psychiatry J. 19(1), 60–65. Böhm, K., Schmid, A., Götze, R., Landwehr, C., & Rothgang, H. (2013). Five types of OECD healthcare systems: empirical results of a deductive classification. Health Policy 113(3), 258–69. Central Department of Statistics and Information. (2016). Saudi and Non-Saudi Population. Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://www.data.gov.sa/dataset/saudi-non-saudi-population Deloitte. (2015). 2015 health care outlook Australia. Retrieved 21 August 2016 from http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Life-Sciences-Health-Care/gx-lshc-2015-health-care-outlook-australai.pdf OECD 2015, Health at a Glance 2015: How does Australia compare? Retrieved 21 August 2016 from https://www.oecd.org/australia/Health-at-a-Glance-2015-Key-Findings-AUSTRALIA.pdf Ono, T, Lafortune, G & Schoenstein, M. (2013). Health Workforce Planning in OECD Rothgang, H., Cacace, M., Frisina, L., Grimmeisen, S, Schmid, A., & Wendt, C. (2010). The state and healthcare: Comparing OECD countries, Palgrave Macmillan, BasingstokeCountries: Review of 26 Projection Models from 18 Countries, OECD Health Working Papers, No. 62. OECD Publishing WorldBank. (2016). Physicians (per 1,000 people). Retrieved 21 August 2016, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS Read More