Power, Policy and Politics In Health Care Provision 2012 - Term Paper Example

wеr, роliсy & роlitiсs in неаlth саrе рrоvisiоn 2012 Name Institution Course Date Sociological theories attempt to form propositions about the society. It refers to a set of interlinked ideas that allows us to understand how the society operates. Most of the things that we know about the society and societal behavior come from sociological theories. Most of these ideas are systematically built over a long period, with each socialist trying to expand on the ideas of a former socialist. A social policy, on the other hand, refers to a set of activities and ideas that are aimed at reducing social inequities and inequalities through redistribution and reallocation of available resources across all occupations. Social policies deal with the allocation of resources amongst competing demands. Governments across the globe are responsible for determining and deciding on the health needs of the populations they serve. For the Australian government, health remains a critical part of its social policy. The health sector needs careful management over the course of the next decade. A sound health policy is a prerequisite for any government that boosts of minding of the welfare of its citizens (Module 1). Governments have a moral and legal obligation to ensure that its social policy favors all its citizens without discrimination. They therefore have to consider many factors before coming up with their social policies. Resources are at the center of any social policy. Equitable distribution of the resources and wealth of a nation is compulsory for any society. Every member of that society should share in the fruits of the society. As such, availability of resources is one of the factors that determine the social policy of a nation (Module 1). Competing values within a society also influence the kind of social policy that such a society adopts. For example, a nation that has a high rate of paternal and childhood mortalities would focus on its health policy, and less on its education or housing policy. Nations with deplorable living conditions and slums that spread for miles would be obliged to invest more in its housing policy. However, a nation can have all these social problems including low education levels. Such a nation must balance its social policy between all these competing values. The society has to determine its priorities if it is ever going to have a sound social policy. The health policy of a nation determines the life expectancy of that nation or society. There are several social determinants of health for any society. This refers to a collective set of conditions under which people are born, grow, live and work. The social determinants of health are education, housing, the health system and the built environment. A set of social economic forces and politics then shapes these conditions. The above social determinants of health are responsible for high levels of inequalities in the health sector. Some of these inequalities are controllable while others are not (Wilkinson 2008). Health inequalities refer to the difference in the distribution of the determinants of social health, or the differences in health status between different society groups. The differences are only termed as inequitable if they are determined to be avoidable and unfair. For example, babies of educated and financially stable parents are likely to live without disease and deformities in comparison to other babies. If not checked, poverty in Australia is likely to through the health policy into shambles. A great social divide exists between various societal groups in Australia that is mostly determined by a person’s education level. The country needs to prioritize and focus on these two factors if its health policy is going to be strong for the next decade. The strength of Australia’s health policy will largely depend on how the nation handles its poverty levels and its social divide. Poverty and Health Poverty and health are vital measures of wellbeing of a person and they are heavily interlinked. The understanding of their measurement and determination is critical to any policy decision. There also exists a close relationship between health and the economic wellbeing of a person. The social economic status of an individual is usually gauged based on the person’s income and health. This is across all populations and within different measures of health. For a long time, researchers have found a close relationship between poverty and health in Australia. In the seventies, the Poverty Commission of Australia cited poor health as one of the indicators of increasing poverty levels. According to the Australian Council of Social Service, poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health levels (Mitchell 2009). Australians under or on the poverty levels are likely to experience emotional and financial stress than well of Australians. Causes of disease and bad health are diverse and complex. Some people have poor health because of factors that go beyond their control such as age and genetics. There is however a common trend among those living in poverty. Diseases are common among people of low social economic status. The most important commodity for any household is food; poor diet is without a doubt the leading cause of disease. Poor families spend most of their income on common foods than wealthier families. Low social economic status leads to low health due to malnutrition and limited access to health care. Research also shows that risky health behaviors such as alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking etc., are more prevalent in families with low income compared to high-income families. The opposite is also true; illness can also lead to poverty. This is because ill health reduces the capacity of an individual to work. Sickness can also deplete the savings and resources of a family completely. The cycle between poverty and ill health is a continuous cycle than can only be halted by having a sane social policy on health. With the increasing research on the relationship between health and poverty, there is a growing consensus that health disparities go beyond health care services and medical treatments. They also include social economic factors such as income distribution, income levels, the environment and employment status. Health has a direct effect on labor supply since people with a high health level offer a higher job participation level (2009 b). Social Class and Health Many factors determine the social class of a person. People are divided into social classes based on their education, housing, employment, and occupation. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported in a 1994 study that middle-aged males in the country living in the lowest levels of occupational prestige had a double death rate for certain diseases than those in high level occupations. However, class has no direct effect on health, but rather works in combination with other factors. Unemployment reduces a person’s ability to purchase basic products that have a direct influence on their health. Unemployment people also suffer from social isolation, loss of control and high stress levels. They also engage in risky behaviors such as theft and substance abuse. Casual workers are known to drink more than white-collar employees do. Some occupations carry with them high risks of illness and injury (Fuchs 2012). Manual workers are exposed to risky activities than non-manual workers. Certain jobs are associated with detrimental lifestyles such as clubbing and other funky lifestyles (Mathers 2010). In Australia, education is a strong indicator of morbidity. Highly educated individuals show few instances of recent and chronic illnesses and better mental health than poorly educated citizens do (National Health Strategy 2009). Education also determines the income levels, occupation and employment status of a person, all which are indicators of health. Inadequate housing may lead to poor health. In Australia, low quality housing leads to overcrowding that leads to faster reproduction of toxins and rapid spread of communicable diseases. Australia must therefore harmonize its social status by ensuring that individuals in low social classes have access to medical services. The government must also specify security levels for work places where the job is hazardous or risky. Firms that do not meet this criterion must face the set legal consequences. Compensation for this class of workers should also be set in advance and enforceable under the law. Education remains as the bedrock that determines who belongs to which social class. As such, if the government is to create a single social class across Australia, it should prioritize on education. It should ensure that all Australians access quality education. Secondly, in order to reduce maternal and child mortality rates, focus should be on prenatal care, ensuring that it is available to all expectant women. Australia should also focus on offering quality and affordable housing especially in its cities. This calls for a sound housing policy that favors all Australians. Secondly, the government should come up with mechanisms for decongesting Australian cities, which now, are over congested. For this to happen, the economy must move from the urban areas to rural areas. Thus, the government should lay down procedures for rural improvement. Unemployment remains a thorn for Australian people, currently standing at 9%. This, for an industrialized nation, should be much lower. Over the next ten years, the government should focus on job creation to ensure that all able bodied Australians are employed. The biggest success in ensuring high health levels in Australia will come if the poverty levels in the country go down. The National Council of Churches in Australia has called for the government to show a commitment to poverty reduction. Rising poverty levels are harmful to the Australian economy (Saunders 2007). There are two ways to tackle the poverty question: either make medical services affordable even to low income earners, or kill poverty in the society. The second option of killing poverty is better because it is long-term. Education and employment, which go hand in hand with poverty, must improve over the next ten years. References Fuchs, V.R. (2012) “Reflections on the Socio-economic Correlates of Health”, Journal of Health Economics, Vol. 23, p653-661 Mathers, C. (2010). Unemployment and Health: What do the Australian Population data tell us? Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, AGPS, Canberra. Mitchell, M. (2009) “Poverty Is a Health Hazard: Address to the Behavioral Medicine Conference”, ACOSS Paper No. 62 . Sydney: Australian Council of Social Service Introduction to the Modules of Health Policy. Module 1 (2009b) “The Relationship between Health and Labor Force Participation: Evidence from a Panel Data Simultaneous Equation Model”, Labor Economics. Wilkinson R. and Marmot M. (2008) Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts. Copenhagen: World Health Organization (www.who.dk/healthy-cities). Read More