week 10 2.0

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wWeek 10: Health

Disclaimer: this may seem like a

disillusioned onslaught of my personal thoughts on health-related issues. It

isn’t. I am just so invigorated about this topic after leading class discussion

on the topic of health this week. I may not cover everything we discussed in

class; however, I will dabble in issues currently un-discussed in class.

Firstly,

the discussion of health centers on the term health. The medical model

definition defines health is narrow terms of as the “absence of

disease”(Connor, 413). The World Health Organization offers a more holistic and

complex definition, “ a state of complete physical, mental, and social

well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”(ibid, 413). The

significance to draw from the WHO’s definition is that health is an intrinsic part of development because it deals so

closely with the basics of human life, “these broad global and community

definitions confirm health as an integral aspect of development, and

demonstrate the significance of development as a major public health issue”(ibid,

414).

Likewise,

dissent over the term health inequalities

causes a similar conceptual framework divergence. Several definitions can

be considered in our understandings of health inequalities:

·

"variations in health status

across individuals in a population"( E.E. Gakidou)

·

"where the chances of good

or bad health are not evenly distributed among groups of people (defined b the

area in which they live or work, or so other common characteristic), we say

that there is health inequality " (M. Shaw)

·

"inequalities refer to

relative health status- between rich and poor, men and women, ethnic groups,

regions, or simply between the most healthy and least healthy"( R.G.A.

Feacham)

What all these definitions have in common is

that all the above definitions recognize that health varies between countries

and amongst different groups of people within countries (cross country

comparisons), allows for determining what is causing health inequality

(Barrett, 424).

To

shift into a discussion on our conceptualizations in relation to the right to health (as related to week 6,

discussions on human rights and indigenous rights), an assertion Connor makes

in “Managing Health and Disease in Developing Countries”, he said “each

individual has a basic responsibility to value their own health”(414). This

seems understandable if one is in the frame of mind that with rights come

responsibilities. Therefore the right to

health should incite a responsibility to

value ones own health. However, how does this play into issues of infectious

disease, it would seem that if one takes on the responsibility to value and

maintain their health then there should be a considerable reduction in

transmitted disease. One we highlighted in our presentation was HIV/AIDS that

is “transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids, including semen, vaginal

secretions, blood and breast milk”(Miller and Sabin, 407). A disease that

causes considerable harm not only to the individual, but further extends to all

of their society, which further gives obligations of that individual’s responsibility to maintain their health:

·

“family members absorb the

greatest burden of HIV/AIDS, caring for children, earning an income, and

holding the family together”(Miller and Sabin, 410)

·

“orphaned children”(ibid, 410)

·

“assessing development impacts

may be impossible because individuals [with HIV/AIDS], households and firms,

especially in hard-hit communities, can virtually disappear, leaving little

evidence of impacts, despite profound societal changes”(ibid, 409)

Obviously all of the above speaks to the

pervasive nature of poor health within communities, these negative effects are

heightened especially because of the nature of HIV/AIDS as an autoimmune

disease, which when contracted increases the infected individuals likelihood of

catching other deadly disease such as tuberculosis, malaria and hepatitis. This

sparks a discussion on the appeal of national health care so that more can

achieve better ‘health’ standards and thus decrease the spread of such

infectious and easily transmitted diseases. Canada currently has national

health care controlled by each province, and recently South Africa has taken

steps towards instituting a national health care program. Started in 2012, and

to be phased in over the course of fourteen years, currently quality health

care could only be found in the private sector, however access to which was

unattainable for most of the population, often those most in need of services

and treatment because ill health is so closely tied to poverty, “poverty and

social conditions play an important role in the distribution and persistence of

disease”(Connor, 414). By having a national health care scheme it makes the

health care of someone else every citizens responsibility. The Health Minister

of South Africa, Aaron Motsoaledi said in a BBC news report, “if you earn above

a certain income you will be required by law to make contributions to the

National Health Insurance (NHI) Fund. It will not be possible to get out of

this responsibility”(South Africa Unveils

Universal Health Care Scheme). However, this then of course comes back to

the issue of a person having the basic responsibility to value their own

health, if their community is working to support an individual’s health but

they do not value their own health, should the community still be affording

them assistance in maintain good health if they do not take steps to maintain

their own health?

Should the NHI pay for the treatment of a man

who has contracted HIV/AIDS because he knowingly bought sex from a prostitute

who had HIV/AIDS and choose to have unprotected sex?

Should NHI pay for the treatment of a woman

who drove recklessly and crashed her car while driving under the influence of

alcohol?

Should the NHI pay for the treatment of youth

who overdose on illegal drugs and drink alcohol while under the legal drinking

age?

Should the NHI pay for treatments of

fat-reduction for those who have obesity because they did not maintain a

healthy lifestyle with exercise and now are obese because of overeating and

unhealthy eating practices?

Should the NHI pay for the treatment of

smokers who have developed lung cancer due to smoking, even though they

knowingly knew (warnings on packaging) the incredibly increased risks of

developing the disease due to smoking?

Have these citizens neglected their health responsibility and therefore should

forfeit their health rights?

Works Cited:

Barrett, Hazel R. “Health Inequalities”. The

Companion to Development Studies. Ed. Vandana Desai and Robert B. Potter. 2

ed. London: Hodder Arnold Group, 2008.

423427. Print.

Connor, S. "Managing health and disease

in developing countries," in Desai, V. and Potter, R.B. (eds.) The

Companion to Development Studies. London: Hodder Arnold Group. 2002

Feachman, R.G.A. “Poverty and Inequality: a

proper focus for the new country”. Buletin

of the World Health Organization (2000): 1-2. Print.

Gakidou, E.E. “Defining and measuring health

inequality: differences across urban and rural areas”. International Journal for Equality in Health (2000): 42-54. Print.

Sabin, L. and Miller, C. "The

development impacts of HIV/AIDS," in Desai, V. and Potter, R.B. (eds.) The

Companion to Development Studies. London: Hodder Arnold Group. 2002.

Shaw, M. Health,

Place and Society. London: Pearson Education. 2002. Print.

“South Africa Unveils Universal Health Care

Scheme” BBC 12 August 2011: Print.