Barriers to Health Maintenance and Disease Prevention

Barriers to Health Maintenance and Disease Prevention Redante Castro Introduction: There are many factors that interfere with health equity and the ability of the patients to get their healthcare needs met. Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment. There are challenges that a patient and healthcare providers encounters in securing and providing health services. These social determinants of health, such as income, education, transportation, housing, and race or ethnicity, have powerful influence on a patient’s life long before they arrive at a hospital or clinic. According to literature, persistent social exclusion and inequities in wealth distribution and in access and use of services are reflected in health outcomes. Social exclusions and inequity are obstacles to human development. It poses barriers to poverty reduction strategies. It hinders social unity and improved health conditions of the populations. Social exclusion and inequity are further compounded by racial and gende r discrimination. There are health disadvantages due to differences between segments of populations or between societies. There are health gaps arising from the differences between the worse-off and everyone else. Lastly, there are health gradients relating to differences across spectrum of the population. Studies have shown that the poorest of the poor have the worst health. This is also a global phenomenon, seen in low, middle, and high income countries. Within countries, studies showed that a person with low socioeconomic position has worse health- this is the social gradient of health. The poorest have the highest mortality rates. Improvements in income and education has a positive effect on health. One’s occupation is also relevant to health in terms of workplace risks exposure and its role in positioning the person along a society’s hierarchy. There is also demographic transition to consider that affects health, i.e., increasing life expectancy, increasing number of youths, growing number of elderly persons in the population, increased migration, and rapid urban growth. Population distribution and population age structure are crucial determinants of social, economic, and health-related services. For example, people in poverty are likely to be exposed to higher level of stress, economic uncertainty, and unhealthy conditions than their wealthier countrymen. It was recognized by some policymakers and stakeholders that the population’s health cannot be sustained by focusing solely on the financing and distribution of medical services. A more comprehensive and integrated strategies are necessary to foster health in all policies. An approach that integrate considerations of health, well-being, and equity in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and services. Determinants of health are being acknowledged and incorporated into health reform processes and policy changes are made. Examples of these policy changes are: reg ulation of alcohol and tobacco products, the expansion of healthier transportation systems (bicycle paths, pedestrian-friendly roads, and pathways), improvement in air and water quality, expansion of primary health care services, and improvements in nutrition programs. This new focus has helped divert the emphasis away from individual lifestyles and from a focus on disease towards broader determinants and actions that created a big impact on population health. However, it is probably fair to say that all community issues are political to some degree. For example, if a factory is poisoning town water system with its effluent and poisonous waste, local officials are faced with the choice of not dealing with the actual cause of the problem, i.e., the dumping of waste and endangering citizen’s health, or addressing the dumping and endangering citizen’s job. Differences of political opinion can have enormous consequences in the health of the community.

Research paper for Final exam Organ transplantation in Canada

For Final exam Organ transplantation in Canada - Research Paper Example In as much as most of the patients are normally expected to wait for a substantial period before undergoing the medical procedures, the world has extensive research and technological advancements in the field of medicine to thank. This is because both have worked towards minimizing organ rejection and at the same time increasing the set of organs that can be transplanted. The World Health Organization has often reaffirmed its position on organ transplant, which demands that organ trade should not be practiced, and that a clear guideline should be followed in case it has to be executed. Whereas nations such as Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have been at the forefront of ensuring flawless parameters are followed while carrying out organ transplants, states such as Iran have repeatedly violated such provisions (Sanavi et al 184-187). This essay aims to provide more insight on organ transplant, taking particular interest in how the procedure is carried out in Canada and Iran. Health Canada is the organization tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the process of blood and organ transplantation in Canada. The establishment, with the input of other stakeholders in the health sector normally prepares a waiting list, which contains the names of patients in need of organ replacement. Once a suitable donor is found, Health Canada, through its branches informs the patient on the waiting list, before carrying out the procedure within a stipulated duration. According to data from Health Canada, well over 2124 organs were transplanted in Canada in the year 2012, a figure that has stayed practically the same from the year 2006, while currently about 4500 individuals are waiting for organ replacements in Canada (Health Canada). On a rather sad note, the organization reports that about 256 patients died during the same year while waiting for ideal donors to be found. Unlike in nations like Iran where organ trade is rampant, Health

Fire Protection Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fire Protection Management - Essay Example The local fire department usually provides fire protection for the rest of the airport. Airport fire trucks are equipped with water and a substance called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). According to wikipedia "AFFF is a water based synthetic animal protein solution that is lighter than oil, alcohol, and petroleum products. When properly mixed and aerated into foam, it will create a floating film on flammable materials that prevents fumes from igniting or re-igniting after a fire. It has been in use by the military, airports, and fire departments for years and has always been an effective fire fighting agent. It is a biodegradable solution that leaves virtually no residue, and can safely be cleaned off with water." AFFF is used to combat aircraft fuel fires. The foam covers burning fuel more effectively than water alone and acts like a blanket to extinguish the fire. Foam is used to extinguish fires in combustible liquids, such as oil, petroleum, and tar, and for fighting fires at airports, refineries, and petroleum distribution facilities. According to a website "Understanding how foam works in extinguishing different types of fires, and the principles of making different foams correctly, are essential to successful foam fire fighting operations. All too often, foam fire streams fail to accomplish their objective due to a lack of understanding and training on the part of the operator. " It is proved that foam is an efficient firefighting tool that is gaining greater acceptance and use throughout the fire fighting community as of today. II. FIGHTING THE FIRE Most fire fighting consists of applying water to the burning material, cooling it to the point at which combustion is no longer self-sustaining. Fires involving flammable liquids, certain chemicals, and combustible metals often require special extinguishing agents and techniques. With some fuels the use of water may actually be dangerous. Foam extinguishers use an aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) agent that expels a layer of foam when it is discharged through a nozzle. It acts as a barrier to exclude oxygen from the fire. Foam extinguishers work well in fire fighting, proven not only on Class A fires which include those ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, and paper. But especially on fires involving flammable liquids, oils, and grease burning, generally known as class B fires. Each class of fire requires its own type of fire extinguisher. There are two kinds of foam extinguishers, so check which one best suits your needs. Aqueous film forming foam is now accepted to use as a fire fighting agent. III. HOW TO USE When applied directly to a burning liquid, the aqueous film forming foam has the capability to spread and form a thin, uniform duplex thin impervious film for about 10 to 30m thick that arrests flammable vapors and also keeps oxygen away. This film is tough and persistent and suppresses volatile vapors. In addition, it has reforming, and has self-sealing action which prevents the foam be disturbed. The water film forms under the foam bubbles which cool the liquid fuel which provides an effective fuel vapor barrier to the cooling and blanketing effect of the foam and thoroughly eliminate the formation of flammable vapors and provide a dramatic fire knockdown, an important factor in crash rescue fire fighting. Foam must be applied more gently so that it does not penetrate the liquid but, rather, spreads readily over it. According to a