Vulnerable Population and Healthcare - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: Vulnerable Population & Healthcare Vulnerable Population & Healthcare [Institute’s Vulnerable Population & Healthcare Vulnerability is a global phenomenon of susceptibility whereby individuals or communities are at greater risk of poor physical and social health than the average of the rest of the community. Vulnerability, as statistics reveal, can hit anyone at any point in his or her lives making them weak and in need for help. However, the recent development in social entrepreneurship and private sector has led to an expansion in the aid made accessible to all vulnerable groups in most countries of the world. Health care is therefore one of the most growing industries now. Institutes in the field have realized that the only way they can deliver effective services to those in needs is through first singling out the needy from the general sample and then personally taking the aid to them. This paper examines drug addicts as a vulnerable group and sees how the personal biases and attitudes of the healthcare professionals affect the delivery of the services. Drug addicts are one of the most vulnerable groups of individuals in dire need of help in all stages of their susceptibility (Chesnay, 2006). Many people view drug addiction as a lowly, self-harming habit with no hopes of recovery. However, nothing can be further from truth. Drug- addiction is more of an ailment, a chronic disease in which a patient keeps relapsing into the pursuit and in-take of harmful drugs that, to him, soothe his nerves and calm his body. It is true that the first doze is more of an outside-in process and depends on the will of the person completely, the subsequent changes in the physiology of brain makes it very difficult for the addict to quit and urges him to impulsively continue with the menace. However, treatments are now available to help these addicts recover from their addiction gradually and more successfully. As modern researches reveal, a good combination of medicinal and behavioral therapy can lead to a much better and quicker treatment of the problem. In addition, personalized treatments, which are, customized to the needs and attitudes of individual patients, make the recovery process quicker and less painful than it normally is. The demographics of drug addicts is rather interesting and at some instances, surprising. For instance, “in 2003, the rate of dependence on substance for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 years was 8.9% and that between the people of ages between 18 and 25 is 21% “(Wolf, 1998). In particular, “58.1% of the young drug addicts depend on illicit drugs while the ratio in adults is 37.2%. In 2003 only, males were twice as prone to substance-dependency as women” (Wheeler, 2006). However, in youths below 18 years of age, the substance abuse in both the genders was almost the same. Ethnically speaking, the dependency on substance is highest amongst “Native Americans and the Natives of Alaska, i.e. around 17.2%” (Wheeler, 2006). Second to this are “Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders with 12.9%. Asian Americans come last with 6.3%” (Wheeler, 2006). Contrary to popular belief, blacks have lower substance dependency rates than “Hispanics and whites, 8.1 percent as compared to 9.8 and 9.2 percent, respectively”. The dependency on drugs also differs in various age brackets. In 2003 only, there were “3.8% drug addicts in the range of 12-13 years, 10.9% drug addicts in the range of 14 to 15 years and 19.2% drug addicts” (Wheeler, 2006) in the range of 16 to 17 years of age. The illicit drug use also follow the same graph with ascending slope in the teens, peak at 20 years of age and then a gradual decline after that. Personally speaking, this research opened up some new dimensions of thinking. Earlier, drug addicts came around just as another marginalized group of people whom one should never be friends with. They usually confront stereotypes of being dangerous and unfriendly or homeless. Drug addiction is also paired with assault, weapons, and crime. For instance, if there are two convicts for a murder, the one with drug addiction or any history of substance dependency will be more susceptible to be sentenced than the other one. This is primarily because of the side effects that drug addiction produces e.g. low will power, aggression, and incapability to fight the urges. However, to mistake correlation with causation is the worst mistake of all. To assume that the individual with history of substance dependency would surely have committed the crime is not only absurd but also unjustified and empirically unproven. Although the correlation between addiction and crime is above normalcy, stereotyping the whole group with unhealthy activities is anything but scientific. This research helped overcome such judgmental stereotypes. Knowing that how people fall into the trap of addiction and the abundance of them found in so many ethnicities makes one realize the absurdity of categorizing just a couple of races as dangerous or sub-human. Even the most civilized and composed societies have significant number of drug addicts and individuals with substance-dependency. The Whites, who considered themselves the superior kind and treated African Americans like trash for years have more drug addicts than their African American counterparts. The question arises, what makes someone superior than others? The answer is nothing. All humans, whether they use drugs or do not, are equal and deserve equal treatments. Discriminatory attitudes are not the solution to any problems. This basic notion of equality in humans serves as a prime notion in provision of healthcare. The healthcare professionals need to understand the underlying principle of self-awareness in order to deliver maximally efficient services to their people (Young, 2007). By self-awareness, it means that one should be aware of the biases and beliefs underpinning one’s attitudes. Take an example of healthcare personnel goes to a flood-stricken region in order to conduct a medical camp facility for the natives. The conventional unaware soul that he is, his bias towards those dependent on drugs holds him from being friendly to addicts. The individuals with addiction issues realize this immediately and therefore become reluctant to visit him for availing medical facilities. In this scenario, the bias of the healthcare professional towards drug addicts made him unsuccessful in his mission of delivery of services to all those in need. A better option would be to send someone who is not biased towards drug addicts and therefore is able to deliver the required resources efficiently. In addition, the healthcare industry should also take measures in training their employees to eliminate their bias and false beliefs towards those who have undesirable habits or illnesses and treat them with compassion and kindness, which helps them in their difficult and painful journey towards a healthier lifestyle. References Chesnay, M. D. (2007). Caring for the Vulnerable: Perspectives in Nursing. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Wheeler, M. (2006). Medical Management of Vulnerable & Underserved Patients: Principles, Practice, Population. McGraw-Hill Professional. Wolf, L. F. (1998). Mental Health Services and Vulnerable Populations. DIANE Publishing. Young, S. A. (2007). Avoiding the waterfall: Health care advocacy for vulnerable populations in an urban community. The University of Wisconsin Press. Read More