Access Assignment Last Name:

Answer the following questions.

Define vulnerability with regard to health. Why are certain groups considered more vulnerable than others? (5 points)

In the health sector, vulnerability refers to the relevantly higher susceptibility to diseases and illnesses as a result of the lack of or poor integration into the nation’s system of healthcare due to factors like ethnicity, culture, economy, or health bias. The seclusion increases the level of risk to this group of people since they lack access to medical care. The most common groups to be referred to as vulnerable are the racial and ethnic minority, both the rural and urban poor, immigrants that lack proper documentation and disabled people. When we look at the racial and ethnic group, the vulnerability comes along in the sense that the patterns of residential segregation cut them off from the supply of providers, they are faced by a language barrier that hinders communication between them and the doctors and also because they have different employment patterns resulting to low levels of employer-based insurance coverage. The poor fall under this category since they lack the monetary resources required to get access to health care. If they get medical attention, they cannot afford the drugs required for consequent treatment. Immigrants that lack proper documentation are restricted from health care since they are scared of being brought to authorities and they do not want to risk deportation back to their countries. The disabled face the challenge of having small employers dismissing them on the grounds that they have a high chance of having expensive medical needs; something they cannot afford.

Identify the 4 major racial/ethnic minority categories in the United States (1 pt. each, 4 total)

Hispanic and Latino Americans make up the largest minority

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American” o “African American” African Americans are the largest racial minority, amounting to nearly 13% of the population

Asian American or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian (Other Pacific Islander)

What are the 4 major health concerns of children? (1 pt. each, 4 total)

Immunization

HYPERLINK “http://www.news-medical.net/health/Asthma.aspx” Asthma and allergies

Childhood injury

Child abuse, neglect and domestic violence 

Identify the 6 major government funded measures for Rural Health and briefly define each. (2 points each, 12 points total)

Improved Management of Health Programs in Rural Areas

This involves the consolidation, by local bodies in conjunction with the government, of existing funding for specified rural health service delivery programs in agreed rural and remote communities. The local bodies will have the ability to purchase the most relevant health services to the local community.

Health Service Delivery in Rural Areas

These will involve the re-engineering of the administrative arrangements currently under use for rural health programs including the development of new agreements for funding that involve funds for multiple programs.

Reviewing the Royal Flying Doctor Service

A national review of the Royal Flying Doctor Service was conducted to examine the funding, operational activities and governance arrangements. Recommendations were made on how to improve the service and make it accessible to the people in rural areas.

Increasing the access rate to primary health care

The access to primary and allied health services will be maintained through the government facilities with particular focus on the remote and rural areas. National rural primary health projects will be initiated and the government will continue funding projects in rural areas.

The Rural Private Access (RPA) Program

This program was included in the budget and was meant to increase access to private health services in rural areas. It sought to the realize the diversity of the services and make private insurable health services available in rural areas.

Initiative to Support Calamity stricken people who suffered mentally

This program is aimed at providing funds to building of the capacity of rural areas to respond to calamities like drought and the psychological effects it comes with.

Briefly define a MUA. (4 pts.)

MUA is the acronym denoting Medically Underserved Areas which are areas or places that having declared to have very few primary care providers hence high rates of infant mortality. These areas are characterized by high poverty levels and are dominated by old people.

Briefly define a HPSA. (4 pts.)

HPSA is an acronym meaning Health Professional Shortage Areas. These are areas designated as having inadequate level of primary medical care, dental or mental health practitioners and are categorized into geographic areas like a county, a demographic area like a low income population or institutional area like a comprehensive health center

Who are the 2 groups most affected by AIDS? (2 pts.)

The gay people since they know they will get a HIV infection so they just want to get over with it; they will use medication to live longer. They also get tired of condom use since they believe they can tell an infected man from a “clean” one.

Bisexuals due to viral ‘bridging’ that occur when a bisexual man contracts HIV from another man and then transmits it to a female partner.  They are also seen to have very low levels of condom use.

References

Institute of Medicine (U.S.). (2011). The health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people: Building a foundation for better understanding. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Ricketts, T. C. (2007). Rural health in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Points Possible: 35