The Society and the Public Health Policies - Essay Example

? The society and the public health policies affiliation The society and the public health policies Since the existence of human nature, there has been the existence of medical assumptions and perceptions based on their beliefs. In this century most medical assumptions and perceptions are based on rumors and experiences of other patients (Jonathan, 1998). However, these perceptions vary with different classes in society. The society has large has perceptions which are general. For instance, there is always the belief of a person succumbing to death if infected with H.I.V. the perceptions shape the behavior of the society in different ways: either positively or negatively. For example, in the case of H.I.V, people tend to abstain or have safe sex for the fear of the disease. According to Michele (1998), patients diagnosed with the virus face very high levels of stigma in the society. Lifestyles in society also shape the perceptions of illnesses. There are some diseases associated with less fortunate individuals in society. For instance, cholera is assumed to be a disease caused by living conditions in less fortunate areas. On the other hand, obesity is perceived as a disease which only affect the rich and well off individuals in society. With different lifestyle in society, there is the different acquisition of medical care. Wealthy in people in society always seek the best treatment available mainly in private hospitals. Less fortunate individuals are only exposed to medical care which they can afford to fund. Mostly seek medical services from government hospitals. Government hospitals have always been perceived as not effective when it comes to the provision of medical services. Sighting the truth in the matter, the difference of death rates in private and government health institutions is very significant (Michael, 1997). In government medical institutions, there are reported cases of neglect or lack of proper expertise to save lives. This makes it clear that lifestyles in societies shape the mode and type of medical care provision. In this society, there is existence of some diseases which were not widespread in older generations. For instance, cancer has become the most rampant and deadly disease in this society. According to Ulrich (1995) in older centuries, cancer was not a developed and deadly perceived disease. The change in lifestyles causes the existence or the harshness of some illnesses. Additionally, they are the case of risks which the society is exposed to. Different people in society are exposed to different kinds of medical risks. In words of Margaret (2004) the exposure to risks depends on their lifestyles, their occupation and their perception of certain medical conditions. To generalize the perceptions and the medical assumptions of the society, there is the existence of the health policies. Health polices do little to change medical beliefs of the society but do not follow the perceptions especially if a person’s life is in danger. Health policies aim at sensitizing people on the importance of modern medical services and diverging people from traditional beliefs of illnesses. Michael (1997) says that to ensure the society is more vigilant to the health policies, the policies have legal frameworks. Society members face the risk of prosecution if they do not adhere to certain medical conditions. The health policies have seen the maturity of the society’s perceptions on illnesses. In the 21st century, all governments are held responsible of any health hazards in their countries. Due to this, governments have formulated medical plans to avoid any medical mishaps in their states (Margaret, 2004). Programs like immunizations have been made compulsory in some states. In the case of immunization, some society members perceive it as being forced to induce an illness in their body. In many instances, individuals have kept away from immunization programs since they do not trust in that mode of treatment. A century ago, polio was a very deadly disease which killed children under the age of 5 in Africa. This is because people were ignorant and valued their beliefs more than their lives. They did not understand the value of polio immunization. It was due to the rising number of deaths in children due to polio that the W.H.O recommended to African states to make polio immunization a compulsory health program. Almost all governments heeded to the call and polio immunization became compulsory to all infants. It became a continental war with campaigns from all African nations. In this scenario the health policies and governments played a crucial role in saving a threatened generation. In the modern day, the effects and fruits of the polio immunization is still significant (Jonathan, 1998). In Africa, polio has ceased to be a deadly disease and there are barely infants dying due to polio. In some instances the society needs the existence of policies and the involvement of the government in order to uphold some health suggestions. However, with an evolving society, people are becoming more sensitive in health issues and are shunning medical beliefs (Brian & Colin, 1995). As much as individuals’ lifestyles cannot be changed, people are advised on how to live a healthy life. For instance, the World Health Organization imposes and proposes global health strategies regardless of one’s lifestyle or country. According to Sarah (2006) there are no medical plans for the wealthy in society and the less fortunate in society. The W.H.O has the responsibility of addressing global health issues. It provides recommendation and does researches to find solutions to global health threats. However, the World Health Organization does not have the power to implement its findings and recommendation without the help of governments. Governments hold the position of the final player in the matter of implementing health change in societies. Governments have the advantage of legal power and may put any recommendation into law if it is a case of a national wide threat (Ulrich, 1992). For instance, in the case of H1N1 it was made compulsory for medical screening in all airports in the world. This was a recommendation of the W.H.O which governments had no alternatives but to follow the directive. H1N1 caused global scare which not only the government but also the society at large was not willing to face the risk of infection. Due to the sensitivity created on the flu, it was not long before it was completely vanished from the society. This is evidence that even in the modern society individuals still have beliefs in medical conditions. However, Sarah (2006) says that the modern day beliefs are usually based on facts and recommendations from health bodies and organizations. In recent events, a number of governments have sought to burn the advertisement of tobacco on public media and display. The decision was reached after a significant increase of underage smokers. With the society’s lifestyles changing, the need to protect the young and naive from health hazards has become rampant. For instance, 300,000 children below the age of 16 attempt to smoke on an annual basis (Anne, 2012). Additionally, 39 percent of smokers admit to have started smoking when below sixteen years of age. Another alarming fact is that 5 percent of children between the ages of 11 and d15 are regular smokers. Taking these facts into consideration, then considering the effects of tobacco in the human body then there is a need to worry. In some societies smoking is not viewed as negative health effect. Individuals tend to ignore the risks imposed by tobacco in their bodies. According to Anne (2012), tobacco is estimated to cause 80,000 deaths annually. With the majority of adults in England already indulged in the lifestyle of smoking, the trend needs to be stopped. The exposure of children to tobacco advertisements needs to be stopped. In England, all supermarkets have been forced to cover all tobacco displays. The covering of tobacco products displays eases the pressure and the naivety to smoke among the young people (Margaret, 2004). In this case the government plays its role in ensuring that there is healthy living among its citizens. Health beliefs are also a major issue as far as treatment and medication of certain illnesses are concerned. Some of the illnesses mostly affected by health beliefs are HIV/ Aids, tuberculosis and cancer. In the case of HIV/Aids, the society has very wrong perceptions of people affected with the disease. Most individuals affected by HIV are stigmatized by the society. According to Michele (1998) some people believe that a handshake or sharing dining utensils with a HIV patient can make one infected which is not true. Another perception of HIV infection is that it can only be contacted through indulgence of unsafe sex. Due to this, many patients regardless of their way of infection are termed as immoral. Most people do not understand that there are other ways of contracting HIV/Aids apart from unsafe sex. For instance, one can contract HIV from sharing of piercing objects, blood transfusion or also genetically from mother to infant (Michele, 1998). But due to changing lifestyle sin society, the sensitivity of the matter has been raised to better levels. Although there are still signs of stigmatization, many people have embraced the feeling of compassion towards HIV/Aids patients. Governments have also played major role in the fight against stigmatization by funding campaigns aimed at sensitizing the society on the matter. In the case of cancer, many people had perceived it as a feminine disease. With increased number of breast cancer cases in females, the men part of the society had assumed cancer to be only affecting women. In an argument by Ulrich (2002) breast cancer can also infect the masculine part of the society. Apart from the common case of breast cancer, several types of cancer have been detected which mostly affect men. For instance, there is prostate cancer which in modern society is widespread among men. It is due to the current occurrences that the perception has shifted from the female perspective to a more general perspective. However, people still believe that women stand a higher risk of infection to cancer than men. The cancer awareness campaign has also seen sensitivity level increase towards the disease (Jonathan, 1998). The world health organization and governments has been in the front line in the fight against cancer. This is another evidence of a biopolitical relationship between health policies and governments. In a good number countries there are policies which make it obligatory for the government to grant its citizens medical covers. In contemporary society, nearly all families have medical covers. In the medical covers the government provides most on the monetary share. This is one of the most important strategies in which health policies have made sure that the society contact with medical risks is reduced. According to Sarah (2006) this also bridges the gap between the wealthy and the less fortunate in society. For instance, in the United States, 80 percent of all families have medical covers (Ulrich, 2002). Additionally, the medical covers are made cheaper so that it is common in many people even the less privileged. This has also disputed beliefs that only the wealthy in society can afford medical covers. This is a government duty to ensure that the society gets proper medical attention regardless of their lifestyle or position in society. Over the years the society has evolved in perspectives and wants when it comes to provision of health care. Health care provision in society should be governed by policies to promote equality and sensitivity in health hazards and issues. With the biopolitical relationships playing a major role in transforming health care provision, the society is set to follow swiftly. According to (Margot & Lyon, 1998) the government is placed in the best of positions to impose directives to tackle health issues. Public health policies have also played major role in transforming beliefs and perception soft h society regarding health issues. Public health policies have also made it efficient for all people to get equal medical attention after the introduction of medical cover policies. Apart from individual responsiveness, medical institutions also act under directives of the public policy (Michael, 1997). This ensures that there are issue of stigmatization and racism in these institutions. The modern day contemporary society has a variety of lifestyles which expose them to more health risks. For instance, the tobacco menace has impacted negatively on the health of the society as far as England is concerned. However, with proper implementation of public health policies, the health risks that the society face could be reduced significantly. References Anne, M., 6th April, 2012. Tobacco displays in shops to end from today. http://www.dh.gov.uk/ Brian, S., & Colin, S., 1995. Medical power and social knowledge. London: Sage Publications. Jonathan, G. 1998. Medicine, Health and Risk. London: Routledge Margaret, S., 2004. 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