Democratization of health care in Mexico - Essay Example

? Research Proposal Introduction In Mexico, notable efforts have been made in increasing people’s access to good health care, one of the most commendable being a health reform that made health care a legal right, as par the amended Mexican Constitution in 1983. Through the new Seguro Popular, by 2010 high-quality health care had been extended to everyone in Mexico through democratization of health care. However, the health problems facing the country have not been fully controlled and there still exist a large gap in many sections of the population. Health challenges affect people of all groups although there are some significant differences in disease or risk factor rates among groups, which can be described as health disparities in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, survival and burden of health conditions that exist between specific population groups. These population groups are characterized by age, gender, ethnicity, income, social class, sexual orientation, disability and also geographical location. One of the most important influences on health status and risk is socioeconomic status (SES). This paper looks chronic illnesses on the high income and wealthy class of Mexicans, reviewing the current trends and outlining possible solutions. Background National health accounts developed in Mexico in the mid 1990’s showed that almost more than half of the health expenditure was out of what the citizens earned because approximately fifty percent of the population had no health insurance. Through applying these methods from the world health report 2000 to a series of national income and expenditure surveys, researchers showed that these high levels of spending from the savings were exposing Mexican to financially hard situations (Alcantara, April 2013). Approximately 4 million Mexican families in 2000 incurred impoverishing health expenditures. Mexico thus did not do well on the comparative analysis of fair financing internationally. These outcomes led policy-makers from the Department of Health to focus on health system financing and triggered analysis of the whole nation that indicated a high concentration of health expenditures in uninsured and poor households. However this did not fully solve the issues of health the country was yet to face. “According to 2010 census, Mexico’s population is now approximately 112, 336, 538, 000 inhabitants of which estimated 57, 500, 000 are women and 54,855,231 are men. Chronic illnesses are major causes of death in the overall population including heart disease, diabetes mellitus, malignant tumors, accidents, and renal failure. Some of the risk factors exposing citizens to these are smoking, sedentary lifestyle and obesity (Alcantara, 2013). In 2010, WHO indicates that high percentage of the population was overweight approximating to 68.3%.Among these obese cases, cholesterolemia, and high blood pressure were reported. In 2011, heart problems caused approximately 105 million deaths, ischemia caused 61.000 deaths followed by diabetes mellitus with 80,000 deaths, and 5,700 deaths were from suicide. In 2011, 12,960 smear tests were positive for TB. The report also indicates that there were 4,147 cases of AIDS in males and 1,116 in females in 2006. The prevalence of cancer in the population varies by gender. In men the most common types of cancer are trachea and lungs while the most common in women are breast cancer, cervical cancer and liver cancer. The most common predisposing factors are smoking, alcohol intake, environmental pollution and occupational exposure. In 2010, 15.6% of the population smoked including men and women” (Alcantara, April 2013). The state health report also point out that in 2010, 13.2% of kindergarten students and22.6% of third grade students in New Mexico were obese. In comparison, 18% of 6 to 11 year olds nationwide were obese. The average weight for kindergarten students in the obese category was about 20 pounds heavier than for those in the healthy weight category. The average weight for third grade students in the obese category was 98.9 pounds with some children weighing between 150 and 200pounds. Slightly More than 50% of kindergarten students and third grade students in New Mexico in 2011 were in the healthy weight category. The Mexico health report, 2013 reveals that Obesity in children has serious health consequences. The increase in childhood obesity has been seen as causing youth onset diabetes.60% of overweight children within 5 to10 years have at least one metabolic risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Obesity also leads to increases in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children that can lead to liver scarring and liver cirrhosis. The trend reveals the great problem citizens are facing from lifestyle illnesses due to sedentary lifestyles. Despite the fact that these diseases can be controlled or easier managed compared others they still remain leading killer in the country. This paper looks in to this problem and seeks to find out the predisposing behavior and possible solutions for the country. Aims Viewing the health status of the country, the diseases identified affect mainly the higher social class of the population. For example obesity, cancer, heart problems, AIDS, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and suicide are more of problem to the wealthy population compared to the poor people who hardly have anything to eat and cannot lead a sedentary lifestyle as is with the rich class mostly in urban areas. This paper aims at the delivery of more efficient and effective chronic disease prevention and management efforts that will benefit all Mexicans. As chronic disease prevention and management activities become more strongly coordinated in our state, it will be crucial to evaluate whether improvements in the health and quality of life of our residents are actually being realized as par the plan. This will be especially important to determine for those communities and individuals most heavily burdened by chronic disease risk factors, adverse social determinants of health, and multiple chronic conditions. The aim of this paper is therefore to point out the behavior and come up with a working solution that will see the country escape the great danger of those illnesses. The country health department should be able to control and manage them more effectively for the benefit of the population since the life of every citizen has economic impact to the country (Keyes, 2003). Methods The Mexico departments of health points out that older adult are more likely to have chronic diseases, such as arthritis and diabetes, as well as certain risk factors, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Older adults have also reported lower participation in leisure-time physical activity and exercise, and a high prevalence of obesity. Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for the leading causes of death and illness, including heart disease, stroke, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Younger adults have been found to be smokers than older Mexican adults. A healthy diet, one that contains less fat and fresher fruits and vegetables, is associated with a reduction in obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Older Mexicans are more likely than younger adults to eat five fruits and vegetables a day. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) In support of coordinated chronic disease efforts, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention already established in the country are encouraging state chronic disease programs to work collaboratively by sharing basic functions such as data management, communication, partnership development, and implementation of a statewide chronic disease plan. . CDC should further provide funding to many states, to maximize the reach of chronic disease programs by working with statewide partners across the following four key domains. Attaining policy and environmental changes that support healthy society. Attaining improvements to the way that health care systems detect manage and control chronic diseases and risk factors through early detection and clinical preventive services applying partnership with the victims. Facilitating and improving clinic-community linkages so that people at high risk can better take charge of their health through self-management programs and other community supports. Providing information and data for decision-making at the lower or state level via a well-built groundwork in epidemiology and surveillance. According to the State of health in Mexico report, the goal of using shared resources to address overlapping chronic conditions, risk factors, and social determinants of health is the delivery of more efficient and effective chronic disease prevention and management efforts that will benefit all Mexicans. Improved Funding Creating the CDCs alone cannot be trusted in eradicating these chronic diseases. The government has taken the initiative in funding to facilitate mechanisms in place. The involved parties should however go a step further to supplement the CDCs effort to make sure the situation is better managed and controlled. The government and the department of health should further work towards; Creating well manageable, practicable and sustainable funding mechanisms for chronic disease self-management programs, such as their incorporation into health plan networks including covered benefits. Assessing the potential public health benefits and dangers of all proposed policies and legislation to make decisions that best support the long term health of all Mexicans. Working on providing affordable and healthy foods in all parts of Mexico and across all social classes and safe places to be physically active in all areas. Expected outcome These suggested solutions are expected to enable to country health authority to better manage their health challenges in respect to the identified illnesses. The above models if successfully implemented are going to reduce the incidences of deaths arising from sedentary lifestyles. The population is expected to change from some behaviors and incorporate new behaviors that will see the country reduce its expenditure on their treatment as the people will be enabled and enlightened on their control and management. Effective management of patients in partnership with the patients themselves will reduce the number of deaths from such diseases and control weakening of citizens such that citizens will not be put to bed over such diseases. This will render them economically productive and their economic significance will remain. Conclusion As seen there is an increasing threat for some class of diseases to different social classes as countries continue to develop and their wealth. There is always the poor class who face a certain class of disease threats and the wealthy class living in urban areas leading sedentary lifestyles and consuming different foods from the poor. Some luxurious foods and those posh lifestyles expose people to health problems. It is therefore a challenge to the government and health departments to constantly seek to have on table the health profile of its nation and analyses the country health status. The health department should be apt to always come up with new innovative ways to anticipate problems as they come empower citizens with knowledge and act in time before the problem hits the people. This way the state will be safe from controllable though highly dangerous diseases. The nation will remain healthy and rich with the wealth that comes with nation healthy living. References Alcantara C., April (2013), Mexico Final Briefing paper, Texas A & M International University Keyes, H., L. (2003). Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-lived. Arlington: American Psychological Association publishers. Read More