3. Describe the traditional definitions of health and illness of the White populations - Essay Example

1. List and describe three common problems in health care delivery. Various developed as well as developing countries often face several problems setbacks with regard to its health care delivery. These include: the cost and quality of health care services provided; effective delivery of health care; feasibility and validity of health care policies etc. Some such problems, which are faced by most countries across the globe, are discussed below:- Locating affordable health care delivery centers:Access to quality and cost-effective health care is often a tedious task.

This is mainly because, more often than not, the health care centers are highly expensive and time consuming. This often tends to put the patients in need of immediate medical assistance, at a higher health risk. Furthermore, even though affordable health care providers are indeed located and identified, seeking self-referral for acute illnesses is another major problem. Most of the practitioners do not attend to patients on a self-referral in terms of securing an appointment with them, but instead are required to get one from ones family physician or alternatively seek initial assistance from some other general practitioner till a referral is received.

This leads to wastage of time as well as money, which is both highly unacceptable setbacks in case of emergency medical care. The above mentioned hassles may not be bothersome to the economically well off individuals, however in case of an average citizen or a commoner, such setbacks play a huge role in influencing their decision and restricting their access to cheaper, better and effective health care. Understanding / Comprehending the actions of physicians It has been observed on various occasions that assessing the exact type of illness suffered can be tricky.

The situation is much worse in case of an ordinary citizen who has very little or absolutely no knowledge regarding medicine or health care. In such a situation, comprehending the actions of the physicians or nurses, or the tests carried out on them, especially during complex physical examinations becomes all the more difficult. Most of the time the patients have no knowledge or information regarding the tests carried out on them, their significance, or outcome, and even if they ask for a detailed explanation, they are often provided with an answer which includes complex medical jargon, which is practically incomprehensible to the ordinary individual.

This may put the patients under tremendous pressure, and lead to awkwardness and unease among them. The health care practitioners must be trained to deal with such situations and communicate with them in a better and comprehensible manner, in order to save them from the discomfort. Providing accurate information to the patientsRecently the bill of rights has granted the patients the right to seek information regarding their health status from their practitioners, thus entrusting the medical examiners with the responsibility to disclose vital health related information to the patients as and when it is sought.

Studies and statistics have revealed that the patients, more often than not, denied of this right. The health care providers often avoid disclosing health related information mostly due to the increasing complications, which might lead the patients to believe that the health care providers concerned are trying to deliberately withhold crucial information. This further causes a rift between the patients and the health care providers culminating into an unpleasant situation.Issues related to Racism and Chauvinism within a health care settingAccording to research and available statistics, a significant proportion of African Americans are reported to have suffered discrimination on all counts, i.e. personal, multi-item, as well as general, as compared to their white counterparts.

Such discrimination based on ones race within the health care settings have a major impact on the quality of health care received by the patients and in shaping their perceptions towards health care services offered to them. Not only does such discrimination tends to add to health care disparities but also leads to a negative impact on the overall health care delivery system as a whole (Shavers & Shavers, 2006). 2. Discuss the current health care problems and barriers of the Hispanic populationAccording to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, every racial or ethnic group is faced with specific health concerns which are unique to their race or ethnicity.

These differences are mainly on account of factors such as genetics, their environment, access to health care as well as cultural factors (NIH, 2011). The Hispanic population is marked by significant heterogeneity especially owing to their unique sociopolitical and historical background. These subgroups have hence, highly varied patterns of health. According to Center for Disease Control (CDC) the mortality among Hispanic Americans is as follows: Deaths per 100,000 population - 297.8, the leading causes of death among this population include: heart disease, cancer and accidents (unintentional injuries); the infant deaths per 1,000 of live births - 5.51 (CDC.gov, 2011).

The current health problems faced by them are described in the following tables: Table 1: Leading causes of death among Hispanic or Latino Americans:Source: National Center for Health Statistics (2007). Health, United States, 2007Barriers faced by Hispanics:One of the major barriers faced by the Hispanic population while accessing health care services is – language. Although the Hispanic groups account to a significant percentage among the minorities, the number of health care givers speaking Spanish is relatively low.

This leads to a severe lack of effective health care services among people of belonging to this ethnicity. Poverty is another significant barrier experienced by this group while accessing health care. Problems in communicating the actual distress suffered by them due to lack of Spanish speaking health care professionals further add to their woes.References:Shavers, V. L., Shavers, B. S., (2006). Racism and health inequity among Americans, Journal of National Medical Association; March 2006, 98 (3), Pp.

386-396Spector, R. E., (2004). Cultural diversity in health & illness, Prentice Hall Health Publication, Pp. 63-89NIH.gov (2011). Hispanic-American Health [Online] Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hispanicamericanhealth.html [Accessed: September 21, 2011]Question 2:CDC.gov (2011). Health of Hispanic or Latino Population [Online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hispanic_health.htm [Accessed: September 20, 2011]