Not Only Do the Poor Get Sicker but the Sick Get Poorer - Essay Example

Not Only Do the Poor Get Sicker but the Sick Get Poorer Relating to the book Mama Might Be Better off Dead by Abraham, the book outlines the profound outlook on the human face of health care. The book focuses on the lives of poor African-American family affected by devastating diseases that are more common in the inner cities within America. Even though such families are surrounded by many medical facilities, they are medically underserved individuals in the country (Laurie 39). By visiting the emergency departments, dialysis units, and home care, Laurie (38) states that there is increase struggles for medical eligibility as a result of poor access to medical care. On page 39 of the book, Laurie (39) indicates that Not only do the poor get sicker but the sick get poorer. In such statement, Abraham’s statement explains that the lack of enough health care facilities is undermined by both indirect and direct effects of poverty. The statement reveals that when people get poor, they may fall sick quickly and their family members can become poorer quickly since many resources are used in search of quality care. The statement is embedded in the family history whereby inconsistencies and inequalities to access medical care are the major concerns that poor people face while seeking health care (Anne 70-80). Abraham skillfully weaves such statement in order to provide a convincing care for health care reforms in order to present health care complexities that may be considered to make improved reforms to assist the poor people. Interrelationship between Sickness and Socio-Economic Status The resources associated with where people stand in their lives shape different aspects of their lives in multiple ways that can cause an effect to their health and their well being (Anne 80). The relationship between socio economic status and sickness in the lives of people is substantial. Such effects are not limited to poverty but may also take place at different levels. Focusing on different class readings, the premature deaths are more common for the middle income African-Americans compared to the best off (Anne 60). The premature deaths are also common in people who live in or near the poverty level when compared to the most privileged families. Laurie (39) indicates that mounting evidences from different authors demonstrate that access to health care facilities is tied with socioeconomic resources. The potential power towards the socio-economic status paradigm is evident in the fact that differences in socioeconomic status in healthcare outcomes are widely documented with regards to family background (Laurie 46). Individuals who are poorer are most likely to be affected by diseases and may experience loss of functioning. They may also become physically and cognitively impaired and experience increased rates of mortality because of poor access to medical facilities. Health care problems are less likely to occur among the better off families in United States. The poor families are uninsured compared to the insured rich families; therefore, the poor face poor access to Medicaid and Medicare services (Laurie 58). In relation to the provision of such health care services, the poor have inadequate access to racial politics of organ transplants, childhood immunization programs, and personal responsibility. Addressing the issue of differences in social class, socio-economic status is important in the evaluation of racial health disparities. Stefan and Mara (582) argues that low socio-economic status is the most determinant of access to health care services. It is highly associated with poor access to health insurance since the low-income people have greater dissatisfaction with health care compared to the middle-income people. Socioeconomic status is intimately related to racism in health care services. It has restricted the socio-economic achievement among people from minority groups. Children who receive Medicaid and Medicare get easier access to health care services since the may be receiving public assistance (Laurie 39). Several authors have provided consistent results on the levels of heath care access and use among people from poor families. It is reported that low socio-economic status among the poor is more likely compared to the well off families who have a regular source of medical care (Laurie 43). Low socioeconomic status indicated by low income, is the predictor of health disparities among the poor. Relationship between Sickness and Poverty Poverty and sickness are inextricably related. The major causes of poor health are rooted in social, political and economic injustice. Poverty is the cause of poor health and a consequence of health problems. It increases the chances of poor health problems, which traps many communities in poverty. Infectious diseases weaken and at times kill poor people in America. Laurie (38-39) explains that the vulnerable and marginalized people are worst affected by diseases. They are also worst deprived to access to health care services that could have assisted them prevent and treat diseases. Besides, vulnerable and very poor people make harsh choices knowingly and they place their health at higher risk since they are unable to live with poverty. The social and cultural barriers encountered by marginalized and vulnerable people demonstrate that they use health services less, which can cause serious effects on their health (Stefan and Mara 583). This perpetuates the disproportionate levels of poverty among the marginalized groups. Besides, the cost of health care providers’ costs, cost of drugs and transport to get easier access to health services is devastating to the poor people. In worst cases, the burden of diseases may contribute to families selling all their properties in order to save lives of others. Poverty result in overcrowded and poor living conditions which can lead to the spread of infectious diseases (Stefan and Mara 584). Laurie (48-58) indicates that the relationship between poverty and sickness is evident form cursory practices. Individuals with higher income per capita enjoy their life expectancies compared to those with low income. Poverty is the highest risk factor for succumbing to and acquiring diseases. The link between poverty and sickness, which is readily observable to most heath care providers, is the increased vulnerability of poor people to communicable diseases and poor access to medical care once they are infected. Moreover, lack of food, hunger or malnutrition as a result of poverty is the major underlying cause of different diseases. Such factors contribute to weaknesses and exhaustion and can cause people to be more susceptible to various infections (Laurie 39). Poorest people depend upon what they find growing wild and in towns, hunger is less dramatic compared to people in rural areas, but the poor get prevalent to infectious diseases. Poverty prevented African Americans from accessing to healthy foods. This is one of the contributors to poor health, especially in low income communities. Majority of poor people patronize the mini-marts that sell different kinds of processed foods, which may contribute to diabetes, obesity, hypertension among others (Laurie 39). Besides, the poor people in America live in regions with poor air quality. The low-income and minority Americans live in such regions and they are close to sources of pollution. Certain low incomes populations suffer from medical problems, which can even make air pollution become worse to people’s health. Laurie (39) indicates that people living in poverty can smoke in order to relieve stress. The smokers in American tend to be the low income and those who grow in poverty are predisposed to pick up unhealthy habits. This is one of the consequences of economic stress, which inhibits the ability of African-Americans to self regulate their healthy behaviors. Laurie (39) argues that poverty in childhood also appears to hinder children development. It has lasting effects on health choices, which is related to cigarette smoking. The economic strains of the low income individuals shapes the capacity of African-Americans for self control; therefore, reducing the opportunities for self regulation and may affect brain structures. Economic insecurity as a result of poverty also has a devastating impact on mental and physical health. Economic inequality is the major indicators of poverty in America and it takes a massive toll on human health (Stefan and Mara 582-584). The mental stress of becoming poor is one of the major reasons that people living in poverty are most likely to have increased levels of blood pressure. They may also become obese, or diabetic since their long term stress may result in compromising the hormones in the immune system; thereby promoting weight gain. Poverty can as well contribute to different chronic health problems that are both physical and psychological (Stefan and Mara 582). It is the greatest cause of depression that appears disproportionately and can affect those living in poverty. How Socialization of Physicians May Create Recurring Dilemmas in Patient-Care Health care is a complex issue and language or cultural differences may complicate the situation. There is increased disparity on the biomedical categorization of human disruptions and patient’s social experience with health care providers (Peter and Valerie 157). Physician-patient communication involves socialization and as verbal interchange practice, communication between the physicians in health care setting is the contributing factor to information being shared (Scanol, Karsh and Densmore 1105). Cultural boundaries are the major causes of discrepant views of social reality. In patient care, socialization factors that affect the development of the shared information among the health care providers may alter the perceptions of clinical social reality. Scanol, Karsh and Densmore (1116) argue that many incidents of patient safety are related to lack of attention to effective communication during the designing and implementation of technologies, workflows, teams, as well as socio-technical systems. Socialization is the key discipline of reducing and mitigating medication errors (Peter and Valerie 300). It involves the interaction of between people and health systems with the concern of optimizing human well-being within hospital settings. Poor socialization among the physicians may result in recurring dilemma associated with poor teamwork, and poor attention to patient health, which can result in poor feedback on health status of the patient. Poor Teamwork Manser (144-146) explains that failures in clinical settings are the lauding causes of patient safety incidents. Communication, coordination, cooperation, and leadership are the essential components of teamwork. Communication failure is detrimental towards patient safety. It is evident that serious medical errors in many hospital settings worldwide are because of miscommunication among medical providers (Manser, 143-149). According to Manser (151), poor teamwork also contributes to surrogate behaviors, such as increased number of technical errors during operation, length of operation, and increased levels of stress among team members. All these factors demonstrate s significant increase in mortality and mobility rates among patients. In an effort to enhance teamwork in clinical settings, organizations have to adopt the principles of health care such training models that involve leadership, decision making, communication, as well as team training (Peter and Valerie 209). Manser (151) further explains that providing trainings in the ever-changing team structures will provide portable skills that can be applied in different health care settings including emergency departments, intensive care units, and operation rooms. Due to poor teamwork among physicians and other health care providers, teaching practical and technical skills before working with patients generates recurring dilemmas. Teamwork in health care setting is not used as a substitute for health professionals, but used in replicating clinical scenarios in a controlled and safe environment. Patient safety is a multidimensional concept, which is important to clinical education (Manser 150-151). Lack of teamwork in health care settings contribute to medication errors such as omission of drugs, wrong dose, overlooked allergies, incorrect administration site, and giving wrong drugs to the patient (Peter and Valerie 306). Peter and Valerie (307) asserts that medication errors occur during administration and prescribing stages and this is attributed to the lack of socialization among the physicians, especially to the newly employed nurses. Various principles of patient safety are incorporated into teaching nurses and nursing students on socialization and teamwork (Manser 148). Therefore, nursing schools have to focus on improving socialization in order to teach nurses and nursing students on the importance of working as a team within the healthcare facility. Implementing the simulation system can result in nursing implications. Manser (150) explains that socialization between nurses and between physicians and students will be able to manage and assess any side effects, and they may educate patients and family on the prescribed treatment regimen. Patient’s Views on Poor Teamwork in Health Care Service The patients can view poor socialization among the physicians as the major cause of poor redesigning and provisioning of health care services. Manser (148) argues that human factors that include effective communication are an important component of sustained improvement in health care setting for patient safety. Poor communication among health care providers is greatly linked with the human factor and patient safety, which can be improved by team training, designing of improved and safe devices, and accident investigation (Manser 149). Poor communication may also result in the lack of trust, respect, and collaboration among the patients. Therefore, with poor socialization in health care set up, the patients may raise the issue to health care organizations running hospitals worldwide and my result in the closing of the hospital due to maintenance and poor provision of services to patients. Manser (150) asserts that system redesigning in HFE does not lead directly to high and safe quality care of patients, but it affects such outcomes by enhancing quality care which is achieved through improved performance and hazard reduction. Poorly designed systems due to collaboration among the physicians act as hazards and they can contribute to poor performance; therefore, increasing the potential effects of errors, poor quality and injuries among patients (Peter and Valerie 307). Peter and Valerie (305) argue that poor designing as result of lack of effective communication and teamwork among healthcare professionals also result in poor contrast between the background information of the patient and medication at the point of care. When using the scanning device and the provided is unaware of how to use the system, other physicians will not be able to provide assistance; thus, the display information and readability of display information may become difficult to the provider. As such, decision making and visual perception can be affected, thus patient safety, employee safety, as well as quality output goals can also be affected (Peter and Valerie 303). Nursing intervention to improve the human factor through socialization among the physicians can assist in maintaining up-to-date patient safety protocols and safety by providing training programs for socialization within health care settings (Manser 146). Healthcare professionals should be taught on how to prevent adverse effects of injuries and medication errors through socialization and teamwork. How to Solve the Recurring Dilemma of Poor Socialization in Health Care Setting Team collaboration is one of the effective means of solving the recurring dilemma of poor socialization in any health care settings. Effective clinical practice among the physicians involves difference instances where important information is accurately communicated (Manser 147). Team collaboration is effective and when health care professionals are not effectively communicating, they can cause higher risk on patient safety for a number of reasons. It is due to lack of important information, unclear orders over telephones, and misinterpretation of information. Lack of socialization or communication may create situations whereby medication errors occur (Anne 40). As such, medical educations are emphasizing the importance of error-free clinical practice. Effective collaboration in health care among the health care professionals is a complementary role, which should be implemented. The physicians should practice team collaboration and share responsibilities for problem solving and making decisions (Peter and Valerie 304). This will assist in formulating and carrying out plans related to patient care. Improving socialization through team collaboration between the physicians and other health care professionals increases the awareness of knowledge and skills of team members that contribute to improved decision making concerning patient health and safety. Effective socialization among the health care providers will improve patients’ trust, respect and collaboration (Manser 145). Team collaboration is endemic to health care system whereby the health care professionals work for good goals and work together to achieve the aim of improving patient health. When considering socialization in health care, the interdisciplinary approach is applied by the health care professionals. Manser (148) indicates that the team members or physicians can take their responsibilities related to patient care; thus, it coalesce the joint efforts on behalf of the patients. The pooling effect of specialized socialization my lead to integrated interventions in health care set up. The plan of physicians’ care considers the multiple assessment and treatment regimens in relation to patient health problems (Peter and Valerie 304). This enables the health care services to develop individualized care, which best addresses the needs of all patients. With such assumptions, the patients find that effective socialization through teamwork is effective and it is a compilation of important components necessary to maintaining the safety and quality of care for patients. Fostering team collaboration and effective communication may result in reducing lack of confidence and trust among the patients. The patients gain awareness of knowledge and skills essential to maintain improved health. Works Cited Abraham, Laurie Kaye. “Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: the Failure of Health Care in Urban America”. Journal of General Internal Medicine: Official Journal of the Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine. 10.1 (1993):30- 58. Conrad, Peter, and Valerie Leiter. “From Health Behaviors to Health Practices: Critical Perspectives”. Sociology of Health and Illness, 36.2 (2009), 157–317 Fadiman, Anne. Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. United States: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2002. Print. Tanja, Manser. “Teamwork and Patient Safety in Dynamic Domains of Healthcare. A Review Of The Literature”. Anesthesiology 53, (2009), 143-151. Timmermans, Stefan, and Mara Buchbinder. Saving Babies? The Consequences of Newborn Genetic Screening. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2013. Print. Read More