In week six, the focus was about population health concerns and disparities that exist in healthcare which hinder accessibility by different individuals and health populations. What I have discovered through the practicum and discussion with my preceptor is that different population health concerns still persist in provision of health like accessibility, cost, and affordability. Despite the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and other reforms in healthcare sector, certain populations still lack better health, especially primary health. Health disparities emanating from social determinants of health (SDOH) also hinder accessibility to health care services for different populations, especially the racial minority and immigrants (Crear-Perry et al., 2021). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023) as well as the Healthy People 2030 (2023) are categorical that existing health disparities are preventable differences that can help reduce disease burden, injuries and violence while offering opportunities for individuals to attain optimal health, especially among the socially disadvantaged groups and populations.
During the week, I also discovered certain strengths and weak areas that I need to improve, particularly in relation to the topic. The strengths include analytical skills to evaluate research on disparities, transformative approach to issues in health, and working through teams to deliver better outcomes. Conversely, the weak areas include developing an inclusive approach to health population concerns, and inability to engage all stakeholders on the issues affecting care delivery to reduce existing disparities.
Additional resources to influence accessibility to health include hiring more healthcare providers, especially those with different specialties to tackle population health concerns affecting different populations and individuals (Gravlee, 2020). Again, a collaborative approach to the issue will lead to more resource deployment by different governments at state and federal levels to address the disparities and health concerns.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2023 May 26). Health Disparities.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm
Crear-Perry, J., Correa-de-Araujo, R., Lewis Johnson, T., McLemore, M. R., Neilson, E., &
Wallace, M. (2021). Social and structural determinants of health inequities in maternal health. Journal of women’s health, 30(2), 230-235. DOI: 10.1089/jwh.2020.8882.
Gravlee, C. C. (2020). Systemic racism, chronic health inequities, and COVID‐19: A syndemic
in the making? American Journal of Human Biology, 32(5): e23482.
DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23482
Healthy People 2030 (2023). Social Determinants of Health.
https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health
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