International Health Care Policy

Task 1

A) Impact of socio-cultural issues on the attitude towards health care

Healthcare is a non profit organization that functions to provide services and products for the betterment of the society and its people. These corporation faces several issues in form of dealing with its patients. The reason behind it is that, there are wide range of service users that visit each day which comes from different nations, background, religions and society. Both the patients and care givers are in dilemma to deal with each other (Albert, 2016). The main cultural constraints that may be faced by the physicians and diligent includes the differences in beliefs, values, language and attitude of both the persons engaged hereunder:

There are wide range of languages being spoken in the United Kingdom. However, most of the citizens chooses to speak in English which is the native language of the Britishers. In contrast to the above, UK is a vast country and each person has a different ascent which differs from region to region. These further prevails in health care institutes and creates a problem in understanding the patients. Furthermore, it has been ascertained that almost more than half of the aged citizens of the said nation does not believe in God. Therefore, in order to provide quality and deliberate services at the health and social care centres of the United Kingdom, it is essential to understand the belief, values, attitudes, tradition, linguistic factors of the patients by the caregiver (Jones and Genao, 2003). For instance, a difference in the language of the two people may create communication barrier and hence impacting on the type of services at the healthcare. Likewise, usually the people of UK greet each other by shaking hands but if the diligent is an orthodox that is against such gestures, then the physician, doctor or nurse may avoid the same. In addition to the above, some longanimous does not like to greet the persons of opposite sex. Therefore, all such culture factors shall be avoided and taken care by the such institutes so as to avoid any of discrepancies at the hospital.

Society is also another influencer of service delivery in health and social care centres. There are large number of citizens residing in UK which have different income, class, education and other phenomenons which is likely to impact the delivery of services in healthcare (Blumenthal and DiClemente, 2013). However, keeping the current situation in mind, the government of the concerned nation has announced policies of free healthcare services across the country. This is done so as to promote a healthy and safe society. However, difference in society and class prevails in availing the services of the healthcare institutes. The rich and elite class people receives higher quality services from the hospital and special care as well as preferences by the physicians. This is so because they provide the institutes with extra money and other resources so as to treat them with utmost vigour (Hou and Ke, 2015). Nonetheless, the lower income group people or persons with less resources derive services not in the most significant manner. They need to wait in queues at the emergency gates to avail the services. Therefore, a wide range of difference as well as discrimination prevails between each citizens on the basis of economic resources of the each. In addition to the above, special preference is being provided to the elite and rich class people.

Furthermore, there exist several other issues which is likely to impact the operations of the health care organization. These include attitudes of the people towards the care centres or the hospital. Some of the young teens of the UK have the habit of destroying the properties of concern which will impact and affect its operations. Likewise, the attitudes care givers and takers also affect its operations (Henry and Stephens, 2013). There are certain nurses and physicians that are careless towards their work and does not provide efficient services to the patients. These are the major issues that require utmost consideration of the management of healthcare centres so as to manage a balance between the culture, society and attitudes towards the trust or hospitals of UK.

B) Evaluating and comparison between the healthcare policy of two nations and its impact on funding

Healthcare policy formation is an act of defining the goals and objectives of the nation and thereby setting priorities and targets that needs to be achieved in the respective period of time. This can be accomplished by the means of undertaking deliberate actions and policies which will further assist in attaining the mission and vision of the country.

Currently, the government of the United Kingdom has announced a healthcare policy wherein all the people or citizens of the country can avail the health care services at free of cost. There were only two services that will be rendered at no amount of money which includes infectious disease and use of emergency treatments. However, availing rest other services from the hospital will cost money to the purchaser (Viruell-Fuentes, Miranda and Abdulrahim, 2012). In addition to the above, there were two persons that were inhibited from using such services these includes the illegal immigrants and visitors that or the non resident of the country. The main purpose behind the launch of this policy is that to promote the a healthy and safe environment in the country as well as meet the current challenges or issues of high amount of accidents and infections that is spreading in the nation. Furthermore, to meet the requirements of the lower income group people, these policies were launch. These policies and laws are determined and formulated by the executives which includes the president of the country as well as the politician parties (Levesque, Harris and Russell, 2013). These are more often called as cabinet which decides the respective policies and plans after complete evaluation of the current needs and requirements of the citizens. The influence of their decision making of healthcare policy largely depends upon the current period, country and last but not the least the impact and nature of policy on the stake.

In regards to the funds that are required by the healthcare institutes in the UK, the government has subject to mainly two concepts wherein the funds can be easily catered for these services either through the public or private funds. First and the foremost, NHS the largest trust of the UK is getting funded through the tax payers including the government funds as well. Herein, the resource allocation was the major concern of the government rather than making facilities on the basis on income proportionment (Purnell, 2014). Another model was also launched by the government named as European model which was started under the presidency of Derek Wanless wherein the employers and employees need to contribute their funds for the healthcare development.

On the other hand, finance is also generated by the means of services or medicines that is being rendered to the patient and the amount that is paid for the services which is being offered. Along with that funds are also generated through the means of private insurance companies that is who are engaged in offering the amount of funds required to purchase a new machine or technology (Grol and et.al., 2013). Similarly, the health care firm also face issues regarding the the amount of beds and other equipments needed to meet the current demand of services. All these require funds by the concerned.

Unlike the above discussed policies in the United kingdom, each and every country has its own norms and regulations. Similarly, in India the regulation of health care policies and lies in the hands of the state government rather than the central or federal government as witnessed in the case of UK. This is done because the needs and requirements of each state differ from one another. In India, there is scarcity of resources, some of the regions are highly developed with new technologies and latest drugs while on the other hand certain regions are more prone to danger and disease oriented (Harker, 2012). Furthermore, it has been noted that in the said country there is high amount of or innumerable insurance plans so as to meet the needs and requirements of its citizens. This was done so as to reduce the gap between the people's affordability as well as the available healthcare services in the India.

C) Structure of care centres and translation of policies into practices

Structure is the part and parcel of every organization as it decides the amount of roles and responsibilities of each of the department or person engaged under it. Likewise, the healthcare services of every single country has its own structure. Some of the departments are concerned with determining the policies regarding the current issues while on the other hand other are involved in catering the respective amount of funds so as to implement the new policies without any hindrance (Di Marco, Lee and Darzi, 2013).

Likewise, it can be assessed that the NHS England which is the most prominent and renowned health care centre in the UK has it own structure wherein duties and responsibilities are assigned to different department and activities are managed in accordance to it. In UK the federal or the central government is involved in managing the healthcare policies of England. While on the other hand, governments of the Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland is responsible to determine the policies of these regions. The resource allocation and the amount of services being rendered differ from one another.

Further, these departments or authoritarians have their own set of personnels and professionals which is accountable to carry out their task and functions. In regards to the NHS trust of England, the structure of the corporation is quite complex (Buckell and et.al., 2016). It is divided into two broad sectors wherein one of them deals with management, policy and strategies while the other is responsible to deal with the clinical care and actual medical services. These further have their own sub sections such as the primary and secondary department. The erstwhile comprises of the pharmacists, General practitioners, community care, dentist and several others. Similarly, the latter encompasses of the hospital or care centre based personnels. Another section comprises of the tertiary sector wherein specialists are present.

However, the structure of an organization such as NHS has a consequent impact on the operations of the same as well as affects the implementation of the proposed policies. The care centre mainly emphasises on rendering the best services to its patients rather than merely focusing on implementing the proposed policies of the central government (Kirkpatrick, 2016). Therefore, it has been noted in an article wherein the government has proposed a new strategy in which the NHS will focus more on the creating a responsive as well as patient centred approach so as to attain the most possible results of the same. Therefore, to meet or translate the concerned policies the hospital so as to implement is for the best interest of the public. The concerned organization is providing its services almost all across the world which means it is also engaged in rendering international services to the people. In order to function in other nations or overseas market, the hospital needs to adjust itself according to the policies and norms of the respective country (Squires, 2012). The current policy of the NHS is to provide quality services to its patients. Therefore, to implement into the foreign country, the said hospital needs to comply by the laws and policies of the host nation and design its strategies accordingly.

Extending the above demonstrated topic, when NHS is functioning on an international basis, then its policies and structure should be in such a manner that renders utmost benefit to the host country. The drugs and services shall not be in accordance to the UK rather than be able to meet and satisfy the requirements of the nation for which it is functioning. Furthermore, the services or functions shall be in alignment with those of the policies ad plans of host country regarding the health issues. The NHS must also ensure that proper coordination between all its partner is made to conduct the activities without any hindrance (The Framework For NHS Involvement In International Development, 2010).

D) Barriers to Provision of Healthcare

United Kingdom is avast country which has wide range of health care centres located at different regions. But their are certain barriers that restricts the provision of the healthcare policy in the concerned nation. Many of the people faces issues in availing such services and some of the main barriers have been enumerated underneath:

For instance, while dealing with a Muslim patient, the care giver may face issues or dilemmas due to the difference in the values and belief of each of the person (Wilburn and Eijkemans, 2013). Like a Muslim have the habit of fasting for 30 days in Ramadan while on the other hand, the general practitioners cannot allow him to keep fast for the entire month as it may affect its health. This is a form of barrier to healthcare provisions.

Likewise, it has been ascertained that the travellers of UK and gypsies face several issues in availing the healthcare services as they have been racially abused by the ethnic group as well as media. Therefore, it is also a sort of barrier to healthcare provision which further affects the health of the patient and put their life at risk (Mills, 2014).

In addition to the above, there prevails several cultural barriers which is likely to hamper the policies of the Health care institutes. For instance, in accordance to the gypsy culture, people are not allowed to discuss their health concerns with any other individual of the opposite sex.

Therefore, the ladies faces issues regarding to disclose their personal issues as well as taking appointment with the general practitioners so as to get remedy for the disease.

There are other barriers in the health care institutes which includes the physicians refusing to treat a person that is brought from the lower background or is treated as an untouchable. However, such practices is more prevalent in the countries such as India but it is rather witnessed in almost all of the nation including the UK. This can be noted in the case of gypsies wherein they are deprived to avail such services from the NHS trust. Moreover, there are 62% of the illiterate gypsies being experienced in the UK which faces issues regarding the language that is used by the care practitioners and therefore the services are not provided to them (Mason, Leavitt and Chaffee, 2013). Furthermore, the new services that is being rendered by the NHS trust are advertised via the means of flyers and posters which are written and posted in the native language of UK. This becomes difficult by the travellers and gypsies to get understood. All these coincides and cause or deprive the concerned persons from availing the new provisions or services that is being rendered by them. These include the check-ups, diabetes test, screening, mental health services, peri-natal care and many more.
Another barriers that has been witnessed by the care centres include, the trends and family role of gypsies. They does not prefer to avail the services from the hospitals when of their family member gets sick (Kitson and et.al., 2013). Each and every member is so well responsible that they take care of the victim in the most appropriate manner. In addition to the above, all these are likely to hamper the services that is being rendered by the practitioners. This is so because such nature and culture of these families will affect the GP to offer most efficient services by visiting their homes.

All the above demonstrated issues are major barriers in the provision of healthcare services in United kingdom.

Task 2

A) Impact and demand of Campaigns healthcare centres of UK

Campaigns are the means of awaking people about the several concerns regarding the use or consumption of equipments or materials that are injurious to their health (Gulliford and Morgan, 2013). CDC has conducted many of such campaigns to publicize the services that it is rendering and also the methods or measures to stop the use of several materials that may affect the health of the individual. Therefore, the concerned organization has laid several measure in the similar context wherein the people or citizens of India, African-America, Hispanics, Alaska, and many other were aware about the Tobacco campaign (Eldh and Wallin, 2015). Herein, viewers were explained about the use of such materials and their consequent impact on the health of the persons engaged with it. They were also acknowledged about the several disease such as asthma, chronic pulmonary, smoking and diabetes were enumerated to them. A sincere effort was laid by the CDC to reduce or banned smoking and the use of Tobacco in each and every country was made. All such actions by the young teens and other persons have a negative impact on their life as well as health.

Furthermore, CDC also launched several other campaigns including the impact of HIV and Aids on the citizens of the Americans and other people. The risk that was associated with the same has been demonstrated in the said campaigns.

All these campaigns and promotional activities have a significant impact on creating the demand of the health care services. Hence, it can be stated that campaigns and promotional activities done by the healthcare institutes of the UK such as CDC and NHS has a significant impact on its operations (Ahmed and et.al., 2012). Larger and wider the share of people are aware about the health concerns more prominent and specific will they become towards these issues. The government of the UK also assist such campaigns to spread across worldwide and reduce the usage of unethical materials. However, this could be assessed from all the promotional campaigns being done by the care centres (Qaseem and et.al., 2012). Further, they cater or attract those customers which are suffering from such disease and needs to be get cured. Furthermore, the promotional activities conducted by the such institutes also presents the remedies to get over such malady. All these are the best means to create publicity of the concerned organization by adding their name in the respective advertisement. However, more and more number of people gets attracted towards the care centre to avail such services thereby creating the demand for the same.

However, there are several promotional activities that are undertaken on the national and international level which gets affected by the means of factors such as social and political. These can be further elaborated in the terms of the constraints that are introduced by the government of the parent or the host country for pursuing such activities. The health care require permissions of the government before getting into any such activities. Certain political parties may find their interest in it and they may approve such campaigns while on the other hand in other nations these might be against their legislation and may be banned (Powell, 2016). Similarly, some of the campaigns regarding the adolescent children or teens are banned in the countries like India while on the other hand it may be allowed in some other continent. Therefore, the society and the culture has a significant impact on the promotional and campaigning activities of the Health care in the UK as the activities that is allowed in the respective region may be inhibited in some another area.

B) Current national and international health issues and national policies for its remedies

Health concern have improved from the past years but several health care organizations are still facing challenges and troubles to resolve the same. These includes there are numerous number of citizens that does not have access to the health services in the country. There are wide range of death being experienced every year due to the non communicable disease which includes diabetes, cancer, chronic lung diseases and cardiovascular disease. An approximately 805 of the death has been witnessed in the low income nations due to the cardiovascular diseases prevailing over there. Apart from this, other issues that has been noticed includes death of children below the age of five years due to the amount of malnutrition and other diseases which cannot be cured and prevented. Recently, the World Health organization has also presented another figure in form of 6.7 million deaths caused due to man made catastrophes and got naturally killed in it (Albert, 2016). There has been 9.4 million cases been experienced every year regarding tuberculosis which in turn kills approximately 1.7 million person in a particular period which is a wide number. Malaria is also most prominent kind of disease being witnessed in every nation which causes the death of 780000 people. out of which 225 million cases have been ascertained each year. However, certain other disease such as measles are also most prominent amongst children which risk their life to death. All these are some of the common health issues being experienced at national as well as international level (Jones and Genao, 2003).

Disease does not stop from spreading on international boundaries rather infections are the most prominent or common to spread among other people when travellers are likely to visit another nation or continent. Antibiotics are at the urge to cause more number of diseases as every small amount of illness leads the people to consume such medicines. Furthermore, the natural or man made disasters are the major source of creating problems and health issues amongst the refugees. Along with that climactic changes are major source of influencer of health issues being prevailing in the international and national boundaries. Apart from this, the above discussed disease are the most commonly experienced in each nation and is the international problem.

In order to overcome all these issues, national policies play a very imperious role in removing the issues from the nation as well as at the international level. These comprises of the government policies and plans within health care centre. The number of diseases that has been experienced in the past period can be reduced by underlying significant efforts to minimise the same (Blumenthal and DiClemente, 2013). For instance, the discrimination from the culture and society that is prevailing in the UK shall be removed. Each and every people of the country shall have the right to avail the health services from the nearest hospitals. Likewise, proper distribution of resources shall be made so as to provide them the accessibility to visit the most renowned care centre. Similarly, maintaining cleanliness and hygiene is an imperative phenomenon which renders a healthy and safe society live and sustain in (Hou and Ke, 2015).

Conclusion

From the above report, it can be summarized that international and national health and policies play a very significant role in removing the amount of issues prevailing in a country. Several recommendations have been present in this section so as to remove the health issue from national and international level. These include, establishing national level policies in such a manner wherein victim can avail the services from nearest and most popular hospital without any sort of discrimination being made between the people on the basis of cultural and social factor. Furthermore, a clear overview of the health related campaigns and promotions have been present in this section.

References

• Ahmed, S. and et.al., 2012. The use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) within comparative effectiveness research: implications for clinical practice and health care policy. Medical care. 50(12). pp.1060-1070.
• Blumenthal, D. S. and DiClemente, R. J. eds., 2013. Community-based participatory health research: Issues, methods, and translation to practice. Springer Publishing Company.
• Buckell, J. and et.al., 2016. Cost Structure and Efficiency in Community Hospitals in the NHS in England (No. 1601).
• Di Marco, A. N., Lee, H. A. and Darzi, A. W., 2013. Foundation year one knowledge of NHS structure and finances: A questionnaire study.International Journal of Surgery. 11(8). pp.704.
• Eldh, A. C. and Wallin, L., 2015. How Single Is" Single"-Some Pragmatic Reflections on Single Versus Multifaceted Interventions to Facilitate Implementation: Comment on" Translating Evidence Into Healthcare Policy and Practice: Single Versus Multifaceted Implementation Strategies–Is There a Simple Answer to a Complex Question?". International journal of health policy and management. 4(10). pp.699.
• Grol, R. and et.al., 2013. Improving patient care: the implementation of change in health care. John Wiley & Sons.
• Gulliford, M. and Morgan, M. eds., 2013. Access to health care. Routledge.
• Harker, R., 2012. NHS funding and expenditure. Standard Note: SN/SG/724.
• Henry, J. P. and Stephens, P. M., 2013. Stress, health, and the social environment: A sociobiologic approach to medicine. Springer Science & Business Media.
• Hou, J. and Ke, Y., 2015. Addressing the Shortage of Health Professionals in Rural China: Issues and Progress: Comment on'Have Health Human Resources Become More Equal between Rural and Urban Areas after the New Reform?'. Int J Health Policy Manag. 4. pp.327-328.
• Kirkpatrick, I., 2016, July. Performance related pay and the changing status structure of professions: the case of clinical excellence awards in the English NHS. In Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016). Isaconf.
• Kitson, A. and et.al., 2013. What are the core elements of patientcentred care? A narrative review and synthesis of the literature from health policy, medicine and nursing. Journal of advanced nursing. 69(1). pp.4-15.
• Levesque, J. F., Harris, M. F. and Russell, G., 2013. Patient-centred access to health care: conceptualising access at the interface of health systems and populations. International journal for equity in health. 12(1). pp.1.
• Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K. and Chaffee, M. W., 2013. Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare-Revised Reprint. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• Mills, A., 2014. Health care systems in low-and middle-income countries.New England Journal of Medicine. 370(6). pp.552-557.
• Purnell, L. D., 2014. Guide to culturally competent health care. FA Davis.
• Qaseem, A. and et.al., 2012. Guidelines International Network: toward international standards for clinical practice guidelines. Annals of internal medicine. 156(7). pp.525-531.
• Squires, D. A., 2012. Explaining high health care spending in the United States: an international comparison of supply, utilization, prices, and quality.Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund). 10. pp.1-14.
• Viruell-Fuentes, E. A., Miranda, P. Y. and Abdulrahim, S., 2012. More than culture: structural racism, intersectionality theory, and immigrant health.Social science & medicine. 75(12). pp.2099-2106.
• Wilburn, S.Q. and Eijkemans, G., 2013. Preventing needlestick injuries among healthcare workers: a WHO-ICN collaboration. International journal of occupational and environmental health.

You may also like to read:

• Advocacy on any health issues in Australia Prevention of Dementia
• Research Health Project

UPTO50%

Avail The Benefit Today!

To View this & another 50000+ free

Enter Email

Submit