Key Health Determinants
Oh, what a beautiful world this would be if we could eliminate the world disparities in access to healthcare, enlist positive choices about lifestyles and have enough money to provide a comfortable standard of living. It would be wonderful if we could all live in a region, free of raging floods, deadly cold or sweltering heat. The definitive purpose of population health policies is to advance the health of individuals and population through policies and interventions (Kindig, Asada, & Booske, 2008). Would it not be amazing to eliminate all the inequality of life, including why some people die young, while others live to over 100-years old.
Unfortunately access to health care, behaviors, genetics, social and physical …show more content…
Physicians are seeing a cut in fees paid for Medicare patients and the results of these cuts would present negative long-term effects of patient outcomes (Wu & Shen, 2014). Access and quality of care could shrink if payments to physicians continue to decrease. Out-of-pocket expenses for medical coverage, prescriptions and equipment costs can cause the quality of life to suffer for the elderly on fixed incomes. Acute diseases become chronic diseases with higher costs and frequent visits to physicians. I did a small survey of physicians in my area, asking if they are accepting Medicare patients and to my surprise, the results were very negative. Eight of my ten calls resulted in a negative answer for accepting a new patient on …show more content…
Social alienation becomes a problem as people age. Family may have died and family assistance no longer becomes a solution. Being able to drive is being taken away and finding assisted living communities is a difficult process do to overcrowding of existing facilities. Health care has provided the ability to keep people alive longer but our ability to provide human, physiological and social needs are being ignored. Some aged people suffer from are actually touch starved due to the lack of human contact, touch and empathy (Dixon, 2012).
Physical Environment
The aging population often lives in the family home until the need for assisted care presents itself. Many older homes continue to have lead paints, asbestos insulation and poor access. Stairs can present an issue for someone having a mobility issue. Older people may not live within walking distance of public transportation and some areas may be unsafe.
Genetics
Naumova, Ivanova and Pawelec characterized aging as “a progressive loss of function, decreased fertility plus increased mortality” (2011, Summary). All the population health determinates listed above can affect the genetics of again. Twenty five percent of the human lifespan is based on genetics. It is important to note that genetic do not determine when a person will
Oh, what a beautiful world this would be if we could eliminate the world disparities in access to healthcare, enlist positive choices about lifestyles and have enough money to provide a comfortable standard of living. It would be wonderful if we could all live in a region, free of raging floods, deadly cold or sweltering heat. The definitive purpose of population health policies is to advance the health of individuals and population through policies and interventions (Kindig, Asada, & Booske, 2008). Would it not be amazing to eliminate all the inequality of life, including why some people die young, while others live to over 100-years old.
Unfortunately access to health care, behaviors, genetics, social and physical …show more content…
Physicians are seeing a cut in fees paid for Medicare patients and the results of these cuts would present negative long-term effects of patient outcomes (Wu & Shen, 2014). Access and quality of care could shrink if payments to physicians continue to decrease. Out-of-pocket expenses for medical coverage, prescriptions and equipment costs can cause the quality of life to suffer for the elderly on fixed incomes. Acute diseases become chronic diseases with higher costs and frequent visits to physicians. I did a small survey of physicians in my area, asking if they are accepting Medicare patients and to my surprise, the results were very negative. Eight of my ten calls resulted in a negative answer for accepting a new patient on …show more content…
Social alienation becomes a problem as people age. Family may have died and family assistance no longer becomes a solution. Being able to drive is being taken away and finding assisted living communities is a difficult process do to overcrowding of existing facilities. Health care has provided the ability to keep people alive longer but our ability to provide human, physiological and social needs are being ignored. Some aged people suffer from are actually touch starved due to the lack of human contact, touch and empathy (Dixon, 2012).
Physical Environment
The aging population often lives in the family home until the need for assisted care presents itself. Many older homes continue to have lead paints, asbestos insulation and poor access. Stairs can present an issue for someone having a mobility issue. Older people may not live within walking distance of public transportation and some areas may be unsafe.
Genetics
Naumova, Ivanova and Pawelec characterized aging as “a progressive loss of function, decreased fertility plus increased mortality” (2011, Summary). All the population health determinates listed above can affect the genetics of again. Twenty five percent of the human lifespan is based on genetics. It is important to note that genetic do not determine when a person will