Health Policy Proposal

Section 1. Proposal Overview

Protecting of the most vulnerable sectors of the society is the problem that demands preventive measures and new health policy that will be the basement for its solving. The government should guarantee the right for survival, rewarding living and necessary treatment. Maintaining the world population and preserving life are the key objectives of the government, dealing with the health policy. Neglecting the vulnerable people is the violation of the human rights. The decline in the population is the result of health policy inefficiency. Current health policy proposal intends to reveal the peculiarities of health policy concerning protection of the most vulnerable sectors of the society.

First of all, the government is responsible for the protection of vulnerable people who have racial, ethnic and gender differences, poor economic status and mental or physical disabilities. Creating new health policy one should take into consideration health theories. Easton’s model will be relevant here as it presupposes development of feedback mechanisms necessary for the detecting strengths and weaknesses. Easton theory includes resources, supports and demands (Davis, 2012).

Another theory that should be included in health policy proposal is the theory of health policy making that presupposes governmental decisions. Lack of health insurance coverage and inability to access healthcare services are the key problems faced by the vulnerable people. Social, economic and organizational factors are crucial to enhance healthcare laws and provide financial assistance. As a result, according to the theory of health policy making medical services should be available to all people. Women, children and the disabled should be protected as they always encounter challenges when they access healthcare (James, 2013).

Health policy proposal should rely on Alford’s theory that regards the healthcare system as a network with the different structural interests. Alford’s theory refers to repressed, challenging and dominant interests. Alford’s theory is realistic and comprehensive as it refers to the healthcare power of interest groups (Wachter, 2012). As the number of vulnerable people is increasing significantly, health policy proposal should include the following points:

1. Consulting in several healthcare organizations. Any person should have an opportunity to consult in few healthcare establishments that should provide diagnostics and full consultation for determining the disease and its treatment. Healthcare specialists should be tolerant to the demands of the vulnerable people (Woolf, 2004).
2. Providing an open communication. One should be especially tolerant to people of different ethnic, racial and gender groups, as well as to people with low economic status and mental or physical disabilities. They should obtain qualitative treatment with the minimal risk incidents. Communication is one of the ways of showing respect, tolerance and care to the vulnerable person.
3. The variety of healthcare programs and treatment courses. Vulnerable people should have a choice in the treatment courses and healthcare programs. Any kind of discrimination or unequal treatment should be severely punished by the government.
4. Development of ethical relationships. The government should regulate following of the Code of Ethics by the healthcare specialists to provide proper attitude towards the vulnerable groups.
5. Avoiding high-risk incidents. Healthcare programs and insurance should be available to any person despite his/her gender, race, ethnicity or social status. All decisions of the healthcare specialists should be conscious and checked. Mortality rate of the vulnerable groups of people is increasingly shocking, and it is related to the quality of life of children and youths, exposure to venereal diseases, lack of high quality food, illiteracy and poverty.
6. Financial availability of medical services. The government should provide the additional help to people who belong to the socially unprotected groups. Spending much money due to the necessity of medical aid is a usual phenomenon for the vulnerable population. Such people should have access to high quality healthcare facilities.

It is evident that health inequality is the main issue of the health policy that creates the vulnerable groups of population. Current health policy proposal explains how to avoid differentiation between people according to their economic status, gender, racial and ethnic differences and mental or physical disabilities. The government should be especially sensitive to the vulnerable people providing them with the proper treatment, equal conditions and possibility of receiving insurance. Medical reforms are necessary to incite the community to equality and implementation of health plans (Huxley & Thornicroft 2003).

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that public health promotion is the basement of physiological and psychological well-being of the community. Health education strategies protecting and promoting optimal physical and mental health are the complex of practices, laws, regulations and events for the organization of pro-health campaigns. Moreover, the monitoring, study, evaluation and analysis are the primary methods of epidemiological research and public health promotion. Public health problems include infections, HIV, food safety, bad habits and mental disorders. Public health interventions may be economic, social, political and environmental.

The method for the evaluation of current proposal is an epidemiological research that determines health-related events and states. Epidemiology is a way of controlling health problems and disease frequency. The monitoring, study, evaluation and analysis are the methods of epidemiological research and, as a result, they are the methods of public health promotion, as well. Moreover, one can include here data use, as operating of data is a way of defining the rate of diseases and mortality in the community. Epidemiological research should also involve American minority groups to give objective statistics concerning public health issues. Moreover, epidemiologists are interested in elucidating the causes of disease to define the preventive measures.

Section 2. Analysis and Evaluation

One should analyze issues and policies in healthcare management from the sociological model that proves that any healthcare system demands additional costs for the development, cardinal changes, innovation and rebuilding. Shortage of the professional staff, effective governance and financial resources cause such sociological issues like poverty, social inequality and emergence of the vulnerable population. Innovations in health policy are necessary to decrease high rate of mortality, malnutrition, lack of clean water and many diseases like polio, cholera, diarrhea, malaria and tuberculosis (in the developing countries).

Sociological determinants of health policy include the life rate, conditions of living and financial possibility to access healthcare facilities. The most vulnerable and socially unprotected population of America includes people belonging to different racial, ethnic and gender groups, having low economic status and suffering from mental or physical disabilities. Poverty and lack of social protection lead them to the deviant behavior like drug addiction, smoking and alcohol drinking. As a result, such people suffer from mental disorders, diabetes, cancer and the respiratory disorders. Low social level of living of African-American people makes them more vulnerable to diseases (39%) and unable to access healthcare facilities (Hawkins, Catalano & Arthur, 2002). On the contrary, the whites have higher social level. One can refer also 18% of Hispanics 46% of Asian-American suffering from mental disorders and vulnerable to diseases (Herrman & Jane-Lopis, 2005).

Another sociological determinant is ethnicity that defines the rate of public health. Besides, age is also crucial as 70 years old people are also socially unprotected. As a result, high rate of mortality is related to the problem of the nation’s aging. Consequently, the minority public health issues are more serious comparing to the ones faced by the white and black Americans. Most of all minority groups suffer from cancer, heart diseases, unintentional injuries, stroke, diabetes, influenza, pneumonia and mental disorders. The main problem is that the patients have no possibility to receive the necessary treatment. Consequently, the mortality rate is the highest among the minority groups (Woolf, 2004).

Socio-political models for the development and implementation of current health policy includes such stages:

• Health persuasion (the advertisement campaigns of medical programs and healthcare services). The government and non-government organization should incite people to take care of their health.
• Legislative actions (regulations, laws and resources policy that control medical sphere). The government should be flexible in reforming of the healthcare system.
• Personal counseling (personal objectives and plans, controls). The vulnerable population should be ready to be the participants of the medical programs.
• Community development (socializing and empowerment of the community skills). To protect the vulnerable population, the government should find the way of overcoming such social issues as unequal treatment and discrimination.

Without doubt, such model is not only of political and social character but also of economic and legal one. Evaluating the proposed policy, it can be admitted that it has certain disadvantages. However, it offers the basement for the development of the healthcare strategies and programs. Moreover, it can serve as a medical response to healthcare issues through taking into consideration economic, political and social determinants. Implementation of health programs necessary for bettering policy, promoting healthy lifestyle and decreasing the disease rate should become the part of health policy proposal. Evaluation of the health policy proposal should be done on the basis of observation of program results, assessing practical values, determining its strengths and weaknesses. 

During the policy development and implementation there can be possible ethical dilemmas referring to the improper determining of the vulnerable groups and treatment of the minorities. Another ethical dilemma can emerge if the program does not fulfill all vulnerable groups. There can be an unequal treatment and discrimination among people with differences, including racial, gender and ethnic, low economic status and mental or physical disabilities. As a result, one should make the proposed policy available to every person.

The benefit of the policy is that it addresses all vulnerable people. Another benefit refers to its social, economic and political character. Healthcare organizations cannot meet needs of the vulnerable people if they ignore socioeconomic factors of their lives. However, the proposed policy takes into consideration such factors as they are the main reasons of the imperfection of healthcare system. The proposed policy presupposes collaboration with many healthcare organizations, volunteers and other non-government organizations. Free consultations and examining are the ways of achieving understanding and trust with the vulnerable people expressing hostility. 

Section 3: Conclusion

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that the health policy proposal can be one of the steps to protect vulnerable population, providing qualitative healthcare services to them. The strength of current health policy is that it has political, social and ethical character in addition to medical one. The health policy proposal refers to people of different groups and economic status, as well as to people with physical or mental disabilities. The proposed policy is a good opportunity for avoiding unequal treatment and discrimination in the healthcare system. One can use the program with the benefits not only for the vulnerable population but for other people who access healthcare. 

Easton’s model, the theory of health policy making and Alford’s theory are the basements for health policy proposal. As a result, it is a complex program of the measures against inefficiency of the governmental health policy. The program also aims at exploring the ways of overcoming social problems preventing the vulnerable population from the healthcare access.

It is worth saying that effectiveness of present health policy proposal can be achieved through collaboration of the healthcare organizations, government with the socially unprotected groups of people. The aim of the healthcare organizations is to avoid discrimination issues and equally treat every patient. The healthcare specialists should be sensitive, respectful and tolerant to the vulnerable patients. The aim of the government is to control the implementation of the healthcare policies and strategies and healthcare program.

To make current program effective, one should reform healthcare system and follow the severe equality policy. Only the complex of such actions, strategies and practices will bring a positive result. The main reason of the program effectiveness is that it does not only promote protection of the vulnerable population but equal treatment, respect and tolerance to them, as well. Nevertheless, the proposal has its limitations: lack of money, improper collaboration between healthcare institutions and inefficient collaboration of the government with social organizations.