Ethical and Human Issues in Health Care - Research Paper Example

 Ethical and Human Issues This work deals with analyzing the ethical issues in respect of global health care, In this regard, various health care journals were examined and academic sources were scrutinized. Inequality in maintenance of health care systems globally is the major problem raising ethical issues in this area. Migration of health professionals, lack of accountability in medical populace and domination by the market forces deciding the health care issues are some of the reasons identified for concerned ethical problems. These problems can be contained with proper development of policies and regulations by the domestic governments as well as international organizations. Cooperation among all the stakeholders in the field is inevitable for achieving the success of global health promotion. Health care professionals also should become more accountable to the health care systems of the country. Scientific knowledge and innovation should be useful to the poorer sections of the society. Ethical and Human Issues Disparities in health care among nations are the cause of degradation of global health. The following discussion proves this contention. Health inequities generate issues that deeply question our moral convictions. Any society should provide its members with the requisite conditions for attaining the best possible health, as this leads to a contented and useful life. Such is the demand of justice in health. This viewpoint renders a global community unjust if it permits the premature demise of individuals. It should, in fact, promote the economic and social conditions that are essential for preserving life (Ruger, 2006, p. 1002). A segregation of the members of society on the basis of deprivation is to be achieved. This in turn clearly identifies the individuals who are in urgent need of access to health care. It is important to realize that this intervention does not abandon the improvement of the average health (Ruger, 2006, p. 1002). Moreover, the provision of medical facilities to the groups occupying the center of the ill health spectrum is not discarded in this endeavor. Consequently, universal health coverage is promoted with regard to diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (Ruger, 2006, p. 1002). These diseases have been seen to be prevalent to a much greater extent among the disadvantaged sections of society. Moreover, there is a close correlation between global health and health and human rights. This relationship is founded on the inherent value of every individual and the rights of a person that derive from the local and international community. It is the objective of global health to ensure these rights and to usher in a world that is distinguished by a specific standard of healthcare and health (Pinto & Upshur, 2009, p. 3). Some of the more important issues that have emerged lately are the provision of access to individuals afflicted with HIV/AIDS, the right to healthcare to individuals in a world that increasingly effects the privatization of social services, and the imprisonment and torture of prisoners of war and refugees (Pinto & Upshur, 2009, p. 3). Despite the fact that health professionals are not directly responsible for the protection of economic, social and political human rights, it is essential to account for these issues in the context of global health (Pinto & Upshur, 2009, p. 4). This is of considerable significance to research as well as clinical work. Market forces have come to dictate the development of contemporary advances in health care. These developments have not provided any benefit to the majority of the world’s population. The situation is truly inequitable. For instance, in the 1990s around 90% of the global expenditure on health care was concentrated on just 16% of the world’s population. These individuals constitute a mere 7% of the diseased. The amount spent on health care shows tremendous variation. For instance, this amount is around $6,000 in the US, whereas it is only $10 in the poorest nations (Benatar, Gill, & Bakker, 2011, p. 646). As much as 50% of the world’s population resides in countries that cannot spend more than $15 per person towards health care, and there a very large number of people who do not have access to basic drugs. Approximately 60% of the world’s population is to be found below the ethical poverty line. These people have to eke out a living on $3 per person per day. Not surprisingly, the developments in science and medicine have little if any relevance to their condition. The troubles of these individuals have been worsened, due to large scale retrenchment in employment and unprecedented escalation the cost of basic food items (Benatar, Gill, & Bakker, 2011, p. 646). In addition, a significant number of health care professionals from the poorer countries migrate to the more developed countries. The inducements for such moves are the higher salaries, better working conditions and training opportunities, better stability in political conditions and better future prospects. The labor market has become increasingly global and escalating migration is its natural outcome (Dwyer, 2007, p. 38). Due to these migrations, the situation of health in the poorer countries has become much worse, as there will be a drastic reduction in the number of health care professionals to cope up with the ever increasing demand for medical attention. It has been suggested that this unfair and inequitable situation can be rectified by adopting the following measures. To this end it has to be clearly demonstrated that the extant situation is unjust, and the values on which any remedial action is to be based have to be defined unambiguously. In addition, there is an urgent need to develop the principles on which national and international initiatives to rectify this situation are to be based (Ruger, 2006, p. 1002). The necessity to improve the health of the poor has been recognized by international organizations and the various nations of the world. An important example of such recognition was the World Health Organization’s initiative to achieve health for all by the year 2000. In the year 1978, representatives from some 130 odd nations met in Kazakhstan and came to the agreement that it was unjust and unacceptable to continue with inequality in the health status of the people, especially between the developing and developed nations and within a country (Carr, 2004). More than three decades have elapsed after this declaration, but there has been little if any progress in achieving these objectives. In fact, the average longevity of those belonging to the poorest nations stands at 50 years. The situation in the African countries tends to be on the whole dismal, with diarrhea, malaria and measles constituting the principal causes of death. The disparities between and within nations, in the context of health, continue to be glaring (Carr, 2004). A truly disturbing observation is the escalation in the disparity between the rich and the poor in the same nation. On several occasions it has been noticed that factual scientific knowledge is influenced by values and prejudices. It is generally conceded that occupational safety and health are founded on factual scientific knowledge. In the words of some scholars, there can be no scientific theory that is entirely objective in nature. However, one theory could possibly be more objective than another theory (Schulte & Salamanca-Buentello, 2007, p. 5). For example, in the context of nanotechnology, the related ethical decisions were seen to be based on the manner in which this technology is described. The other influencing factors identified in this regard are the related dangers and latent benefits. Whenever, it becomes apparent that there is no clear perception regarding the risk posed by nanoparticles, the critical question that arises is regarding the balance to be achieved between the residual risk and the necessary level of protection at any given level of protection (Schulte & Salamanca-Buentello, 2007, p. 5). There have been several studies related to the occupational hazards inherent in working in environments containing mineral dust and fibers in the respirable range. The deleterious effect on health is directly related to the quantity of these substances inhaled. Some of the critical risk factors related to the health hazard caused by asbestos are fiber length. Particles in the nanometer range have been observed to enhance risk of lung cancer in animals (Schulte & Salamanca-Buentello, 2007, p. 6). As such, it can be surmised that inequalities among nations in respect of their health care systems are the main cause for global deterioration in health. Some of the other reasons identified in respect of this degradation of health are that the majority in poor countries lack access to health care systems, migration of health care professionals to a richer country, lack of accountability in health care people and domination of market forces in regulating the development of health care. This situation can be rectified by international health policy development and helping the poor in countering their health problems. Moreover market forces should also take measures to promote health care. List of References Benatar, S. R., Gill, S., & Bakker, I. (2011). Global Health and the Global Economic Crisis. American Journal of Public Health, 101(4), 646 – 653. Carr, D. (2004, February). Improving the Health of the World’s Poorest People. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from Population Reference Bureau: http://www.prb.org/pdf/ImprovingtheHealthWorld_Eng.pdf Dwyer, J. (2007). What's wrong with the global migration of health care professionals? Individual rights and international justice. Hastings Center Report, 37(5), 36 – 43. Pinto, A. D., & Upshur, R. E. (2009). Global Health Ethics for Students. Developing World Bioethics, 9(1), 1 – 10. Ruger, J. P. (2006). Ethics and governance of global health inequalities. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60(11), 998 – 1003. Schulte , P. A., & Salamanca-Buentello, F. E. (2007). Ethical and Scientific Issues of Nanotechnology in the Workplace. Health Perspectives, 115(1), 5 – 12. Read More