Needs Analysis: Economic Health Issues

Needs Analysis: Economic Health Issues

Miatta Teasley

Capella University

NHS-FPX6008

Economics and Decision Making in Health Care

Professor Georgena Wiley

February 23, 2023

Social Determinants of Health

The economic issue this assignment is exploring is poverty. Poverty significantly affects healthcare outcomes globally. According to one of the data released recently, it was shown that close to 9% of the world’s population lives in poverty (Development Initiatives, 2021). The number of poor people is unequally distributed, with some continents having more poor residents than others. In the United States, the number of African Americans and White Hispanics living in poverty is higher than non-Hispanic Whites living in poverty. The global poverty prevalence is attributable to myriad factors, including political instability, marginalization, unequal representation of subordinate groups and poor leadership.

Poverty significantly impacts workplaces and communities. I have had first-hand experience with low-income families in my organization. Most low-income families cannot access quality treatment and will always rush for the cheapest care. In some instances, organizations may prioritize people who can pay hefty money in exchange for services for poor people in a quagmire. Moreover, data from the organization show that people with low incomes have higher mental illness rates than the general population. With these issues at hand, organizations should develop ways of accommodating people with poor income sources. For instance, such organizations can work with charity goods to offer medical assistance to impoverished communities instead of only focusing on patients who can afford care.

I selected to focus on poverty because of my first-hand experience of how low-income families struggle to access health and live quality life within the US and globally. I have heard the privilege of travelling to different places and interacting with diverse communities, and all I can say is that poverty has significantly contributed to poor health outcomes for many people. Not only does poverty affects access to healthcare, but it also triggers mental illnesses such as depression and stress. Secondly, I choose poverty because I grew up in one of the poorest communities and experienced the struggles of poor people as they sought to live a quality life. Part of my motivation for this profession was informed by the struggles I witnessed, and I would want a society anchored on economic equality. Lastly, solving the issue of poverty can also address other social health determinants, such as poor housing and low literacy levels.

There are disparities in how poverty affects different groups. Data from a survey conducted between 1996- 2017 showed that the rate of deep and extreme poverty in the United States had increased significantly. One factor that influences health patterns is family, with childless couples at a higher risk of poverty than couples with children (Brady & Parolin, 2020). Researchers noted that childless families were not entitled to benefits given to families with children. Ethnic group and race are other significant factors influencing disparities related to poverty. More African Americans live in poverty than White Americans in the United States. This disparity can be linked to years of racial discrimination resulting in systemic disadvantages.

Scholarly evidence shows that poverty has detrimental effects; thus, the issue needs to be resolved by all stakeholders. One of the downsides of deprivation is that it results in poor child development (Chaudry & Wimer, 2016). Poor childhood development outcomes are primarily cognitive and educational and emerge from the struggles children experience daily. Other sources of poor development outcomes are parental stress, financial constraints and the environment they get exposed to during their upbringing (Chaudry & Wimer, 2016). Therefore, solving poverty in communities can support children’s development.

Another outcome associated with poverty and which highlights the urgency needed to solve the economic issue, is life expectancy. High poverty levels result in lower expectancy rates. In the United States, African Americans have the highest poverty levels and lowest life expectancy rates (Singh et al., 2018). Further, the life expectancy rate is low in rural areas where poverty rates are high. While the infant mortality rate in the United States has significantly reduced over the years, it has widened among various racial groups, with African Americans at the receiving end (Singh, PhD et al., 2018). Due to high poverty prevalence among blacks, infant mortality rates stand at 11.4 children per 1000 live births and 4.9 children per 1000 live births among non-Hispanic Whites. Lastly, poverty affects health status and access to quality care among populations. With employment concentrated among the dominant races, those at the periphery continuously suffer; thus, solutions must be developed.

Several initiatives have been implemented to solve the issue of poverty with varying degrees of success. My potential change proposal is establishing a unique Fund that lends money to impoverished people. Before lending the money, the beneficiaries should receive entrepreneurship skills so that once they get the money from the Fund; they can start economic activities that will alleviate them from poverty. The money should be refundable after a reasonable period, and no interest should be charged. One of the outcomes is that low-income families will have more access to health once they are empowered economically through the Fund. Other outcomes will be improved mental health, reduced infant mortality rates, better housing conditions and high illiteracy levels.

References

Brady, D., & Parolin, Z. (2020). The levels and trends in deep and extreme poverty in the United States, 1993–2016. Demography, 57(6), 2337–2360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00924-1

Chaudry, A., & Wimer, C. (2016). Poverty is not just an indicator: The relationship between income, poverty, and child well-being. Academic Pediatrics, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.12.010

Poverty trends: Global, regional and national. Development Initiatives. (2021, November 10). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://devinit.org/resources/poverty-trends-global-regional-and-national/#:~:text=In%202021%20an%20estimated%20698,live%20below%20%245.50%20a%20day

Singh, PhD, G. K., Daus, MA, G. P., Allender, MS, BSN, RN, M., Ramey, MBA, BSN, RN, C. T., Martin, Jr., MPH, E. K., Perry, MPH, C., De Los Reyes, A., & Vedamuthu, MPH, I. P. (2018). Social Determinants of Health in the United States: Addressing major health inequality trends for the nation, 1935-2016. International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS (IJMA), 6(2), 139–164. https://doi.org/10.21106/ijma.236