2 answers
Sapna
Student
San Marcos, California
1
Question
Asked
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In what ways can healthcare best solve the problem of inaccessibility of medical resources in underdeveloped countries?
My grandmother passed away from breast cancer due to the lack of options in the healthcare field for her when she lived in India.
#healthcare #inaccessable #medicine #doctorsacrossborders
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2 answers
Marina López-Aragó
Médico General/ Doctor
4
Answers
Updated
Marina’s Answer
Dear Sapna, I hope you're ok. I'm sorry to hear about the lack of oportunities in India.
Problem of accessibility is almost intrinsic to the state of the country; health itself is a much broader concept. Being strict health should be based on the following four bioethical principles, although not all governments have the ability or the will to ensure that all of these are met:
1)Respect for autonomy, that is, the freedom of choice and will
2) Non-maleficence, ie: do not intentionally do harm
3) Beneficence: Obligation to act for the benefit of the sick
4) Justice: Equitable distribution of resources among all members of society. This last point is the one that is most affected in the underdeveloped countries. Not everyone lives in the city, not everyone can have access to health care, or not everyone can afford it (in my country there is one of the best public health systems in the world). These populations will depend on the humanitarian aid they receive and that they are the ones who receive it and not the neighboring people, of course.
However answering your question accurately, humanitarian health in underdeveloped countries is based on prevention:
- Health education
- Ways for prevention of diseases: vaccines, lifestyle changes, educational campaigns in schools, water sanitation, sex education.
- Extra, attention in disasters: epidemic outbreaks, catastrophes that produce overcrowding, etc. As happened recently in Africa with the Ebola virus (hemorrhagic fever) in that case some of my colleagues were brave enough to go to areas of the outbreak to assist the population, with the risk of becoming ill themselves.
To resume: is not government or health who can help but it's each of us. I'm sure that, as Andrea said, if we work all together we can improve life by acting in specific areas, with specific people with one common purpose.
Hope it helped. You can change what you think you want to.
Problem of accessibility is almost intrinsic to the state of the country; health itself is a much broader concept. Being strict health should be based on the following four bioethical principles, although not all governments have the ability or the will to ensure that all of these are met:
1)Respect for autonomy, that is, the freedom of choice and will
2) Non-maleficence, ie: do not intentionally do harm
3) Beneficence: Obligation to act for the benefit of the sick
4) Justice: Equitable distribution of resources among all members of society. This last point is the one that is most affected in the underdeveloped countries. Not everyone lives in the city, not everyone can have access to health care, or not everyone can afford it (in my country there is one of the best public health systems in the world). These populations will depend on the humanitarian aid they receive and that they are the ones who receive it and not the neighboring people, of course.
However answering your question accurately, humanitarian health in underdeveloped countries is based on prevention:
- Health education
- Ways for prevention of diseases: vaccines, lifestyle changes, educational campaigns in schools, water sanitation, sex education.
- Extra, attention in disasters: epidemic outbreaks, catastrophes that produce overcrowding, etc. As happened recently in Africa with the Ebola virus (hemorrhagic fever) in that case some of my colleagues were brave enough to go to areas of the outbreak to assist the population, with the risk of becoming ill themselves.
To resume: is not government or health who can help but it's each of us. I'm sure that, as Andrea said, if we work all together we can improve life by acting in specific areas, with specific people with one common purpose.
Hope it helped. You can change what you think you want to.
Andrea Caprio
Physician Assistant, Master of Business Administration (MBA)
11
Answers
Updated
Andrea’s Answer
I'm so sorry to hear about your grandma. That's very unfortunate. This is a very difficult question as there are many healthcare disparities within the same country, as well as across nations, including developing countries. However, I believe that global companies could have an impact. I can provide one example from where I work. I work for a global pharmaceutical company. They pioneered a program called Partnership for Prevention. The purpose of this program was to ensure the same access to healthcare for all employees, regardless of country of origin. So employees working in India for example, have the same access to care as their US colleagues. It's been a huge success, and I'm sure other companies will follow. Given the trend towards globalization, if companies start to adopt this philosophy, it will undoubtedly increase access for those who are working at least, which is only part of the population I realize; but it's a start.