A Global Perspective and The Future Essay

A Global Perspective and The Future Essay

A Global Perspective and the Future Essay

Vulnerable populations are groups at a higher risk of poor health and social status (Bauman & Cabassa, 2020). These groups may include racial or ethnic minorities, people with mental illnesses, the uninsured or underinsured, children, the elderly, and social economically disadvantaged individuals. Compared to dominant populations, the groups are considered vulnerable due to disparities in social, economic and physical health status. Policies can be implemented or changed to address these populations’ vulnerabilities, thus reducing health disparities and enhancing health equity. This discussion presents my research with policies implemented to protect vulnerable populations such as people with mental illness, how the mental health parity Act of 2008 improves mental health services, and a description of ethics as it relates to vulnerable populations and me as a healthcare professional.

The protection of vulnerable populations is an ethical and humanity issue. Governments and communities are expected to protect vulnerable health populations to reduce disparities and enhance health equity. The policy is the most effective way to protect vulnerable health populations. Different policies have been developed to protect vulnerable populations, and others are still in progress. Research shows that even though governments have not been able to protect vulnerable populations fully, there is progress seen through policies developed to reduce vulnerability and protect these populations (Wardle et al., 2019).

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is one landmark policy developed to protect vulnerable populations. According to Ye and Rodriguez (2021), the ACA aimed to increase the accessibility of healthcare services by improving the affordability of insurance coverage for those who qualify. The policy aimed at reducing health disparities caused by the inability to access quality healthcare services. I believe this was the most remarkable step to increasing healthcare access across vulnerable health populations. However, it is worth noting that the act is not beneficial for individuals from vulnerable populations in states opposing Medicaid expansion, thus a disadvantage to them.

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Furthermore, the mental health parity act of 2008, also known as the mental health parity and addiction equity act, was developed to protect the vulnerable population with mental illness. It requires insurers to offer mental health coverage at the same level with which medical/surgical care is covered (Drake et al., 2019). The act has managed to improve mental health services. First, the act increased the accessibility of mental health and substance use disorder services, thus encouraging more people from the population to seek mental health and substance use disorder services. Drake et al. (2019) note that the parity law also helped mental health professionals and systems study help-seeking patterns, thus improving mental health services to promote more help-seeking among vulnerable populations.

Ethics, as it relates to vulnerable populations, means the values or principles governing how people behave or react when dealing with vulnerable populations. In addition, ethics to me as a healthcare professional means the moral values and principles that guide my actions and decisions in practice. Healthcare workers must uphold the five ethical principles in healthcare, regardless of the individuals or population there are dealing with.

Protecting vulnerable populations is an ethical issue related to respect for humans. It also shows respect for human dignity. Policies developed to protect vulnerable populations include the affordable care act and the mental health parity act of 2008. These policies have improved mental health services and increased their accessibility. It is essential to uphold ethical principles in practice.

References

Baumann, A. A., & Cabassa, L. J. (2020). Reframing implementation science to address inequities in healthcare delivery. BMC health services research, 20(1), 190. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4975-3

Drake, C., Busch, S. H., & Golberstein, E. (2019). The effects of federal parity on mental health services use and spending: evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Psychiatric services, 70(4), 287-293. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800313

Wardle, H., Reith, G., Langham, E., & Rogers, R. D. (2019). Gambling and public health: We need policy action to prevent harm. BMJ, 365. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l1807

Ye, W., & Rodriguez, J. M. (2021). Highly vulnerable communities and the Affordable Care Act: Health insurance Coverage effects, 2010–2018. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 113670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113670

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Assignment Description:

Global Health, Policy, and the Future

This assignment will be a 5 to 7-minute video presentation with slide presentation using a recording format of the student’s selection; a link, MP4, Screencast-0-Matic, Zoom, Webex, YouTube, PowerPoint (utilizing audio slide recording), etc. Answers must thoroughly address the questions in a clear, concise manner.

In the Learning Materials under Additional Resources Review:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017). Global health and the future role of the United States. -> Review TABLE S-1 Committee Recommendations and Corresponding Actions on page 3 (these come from the global health report and are global recommendations) and the four Priority Areas for Action starting on page 4 that further explain the 14 Recommendations in TABLE S-1.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

*Select and review ONE of the 14 Recommendations OR an SDG that align with your interests or one you feel passionate about that could significantly improve global health.

Consider what steps healthcare professionals can take to advocate for vulnerable people at a global level.

This assignment will require you to create a 5 to 7-minute video or audio recording in a PowerPoint presentation.

Reflect on global issues in healthcare and address the following in your presentation:

Briefly describe the selected global recommendation or SDG and the identified vulnerable population

Analyze current healthcare policies that impact your selected global recommendation or SDG

Explain the reason you selected the global recommendation or SDG and why it is relevant to the vulnerable population.

Discuss why the global recommendation you selected should be implemented or the SDG you selected should be achieved, including why there should be funding to implement the global recommendation or SDG.