Health Disparity

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Strategy

Many of the initiatives to look at addressing the impacts of health determinants are to utilize spatial and analytical software called geospatial analyzation, as well as a needs assessment directed at each community (2015). Geospatial work has been date all the way back to the mid 1800’s when John Snow utilized the geographic information to help understand the outbreak of cholera in London (2015). As we see today the relationships with health and neighborhoods continues to be identified as each individual’s zip code can positively or negatively affect their health and genetics (2015). Again, public health officials continue to address the negative impacts from poor neighborhoods and the barriers of the environment, economy, and social aspects of that area (2015).

An example of the placed-based strategy looks at the high users of local hospitals (2015). The high poverty areas that have substandard access to healthcare will have a higher percentage of the community utilizing emergency rooms rather than being treated by a primary care doctor (2015). Basically this was showing that individuals were having a difficult time obtaining time with their physicians (2015). Therefore, a community response would be to create a citywide management system for care to alleviate these issues and assist individuals by connecting them with their providers so they would not continue utilizing the emergency rooms causing rising healthcare costs (2015). These management teams would include social workers and healthcare providers to help assist individuals actually address what their health and social needs are so they can be met efficiently and accurately (2015). The results would hopefully show that the high usage of emergency rooms would decrease and create an environment of proactive care to improve the management of the community’s health (2015). This strategy could also be utilized to connect discharged patients with a care physician to further their recovery (2015).

Health in All Policies (HAP)

Beginning in the early 2000s a public health strategy called Health in All Policies (HAP) has been an increasing movement (2015). Essentially this approach looks to improve health of a population by ensuring that all decision-makers across all sectors are informed about health policy and equity (2015). This is to sustain the population health strategies among non-healthcare areas (2015). The evaluation among the non-traditional health and public health sectors allows assessments to be made regarding the health impact of the policies (2015). State, local, and federal governments and communities have begun to adopt, promote, and implement the Health in All Policies approach to continue the cohesive and efficient healthcare approach (2015).

Policies

Many policies and strategies have an impact on the health equity of a population in areas such as education, economic development, community development, food policy, agriculture, and transportation (2015). Childhood programs for education will provide lower income and minority populations to improve the health and reduce gaps in achievement (2015). Available usage and accessibility to transportation allows communities the chance to purchase affordable and healthier foods, access to proper healthcare, and employment that all are extremely important to the health and wellbeing of every individual (2015). Food policies would allow promotion of healthy stores in low income areas that could turn into farm-to-school gardens and programs (2015). This would consequently have a broad effect on the consumption and purchase of health products (2015).

Conclusion

The ACA was established to create opportunity to decrease health disparity and bridge health care gaps in the country and to make healthcare less expensive and available to each person (2015). Today there are millions of people in the United States that can now have healthcare coverage due to the ACA, and many are exactly the individuals coming from lower socioeconomic communities that suffer from lower incomes and minorities that historically have not been able to receive proper healthcare (2015). Researchers believe that receiving healthcare coverage alone does not improve health equity of a community or individual (2015). Public health officials believe that a cross-coordination of services, providers, and settings within healthcare, as well as a large integration or social support and social services that speak to the environmental, economic, and social factors that affect community and population health (2015).

References

Beyond health care: The role of social determinants in promoting health and health

equity (2015) Available at: http://kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/ (Accessed: 1 December 2016).