The aim of the current project is to present the nation of Ghana during the timeframe of 1900-1950. The project depicts demographical data of the Ghana. The chosen period represents the age of the highest peak of the British colonialism. The capital of the colony is London.
The population of the capital of the coastal colony and that is of Ghana differs drastically. Ghana, being the small country in the coastal region of the West Africa has the population of no more than five thousand people at the beginning of 1900. However, the population of the colonized nation increases during the following fifty years of the British rule.
This change is predetermined by the stable influx of the representatives of the British nation and natural increase. Thus, the population of the nation almost doubles. The population of London, the capital city, comprises approximately three million people. London is one of the largest cities that is full of representatives of various classes.
The nation comprises of a variety of ethnic groups that are divided according to their belonging to the particular tribe. The number of representatives in ethnic groups is not large. First, it is necessary to mention the dominant race. Most residents of the nation belong to the African Negroid race. They comprise almost ninety percent of the overall population.
The second race is Caucasian. Representatives of this race form the minority of ten percent. The major ethnic group is tribal inhabitants, and it comprises almost fifty percent of the population. The British form one more ethnic group (no more than ten percent of the population). Tribal inhabitants represent the last ethnic group. Tribal ethnic groups make approximately forty percent of the populace). Muslims represent one more ethnic group.
The majority of the nation is not urbanized. Agriculture and hunting are essential ways of survival for most people. The rural way of life is still predominant although urbanization rates increase due to the development of the industry by the Empire. The literacy rate of the population is below average. Primarily, only colonialist and migrants are literate. Literacy is not developing as far as the nation lacks an adequate system of education.
The nation has several religions. Thus, some tribes still exercise totemism — the form of belief that presupposes that existence of the connection between human spirituality and physical objects. Some groups do not have religion at all, but they believe in magic.
A religious cosmology is widespread in the nation too. A few ethnic groups profess such types of religion that do not have names. Thus, these religions are based on worshiping of various idols. Christianity is becoming more and more important due to its spreading by colonialists. The official religion is Christianity.
The official language is English. No more than twenty percent of the population speak the English Language. Akana, being the major ethnic group, has a developed system of language. Almost seventy percent of the population speak the Akana language.
There is the variation of the Akana language known as the Bazil dialect. Several tribes from the east part of the country speak this dialect. It comprises five percent of the general percentage. Islam exists in the coastal colony too. However, it is not popular among residents and comprises less than five percent. The Portuguese language has the same percentage of spreading. This language exists in the nation due to the trade relations. Slavery is not legal in the state.
For English colonists coming to the Southern lands of North America, the issue of labor was burning. To enrich themselves easily and quickly analogically to their Spanish “predecessors”, they needed a cheap labor force having no rights (O’Brien). Thus, colonists’ first steps were the attempts to the exploitation of the native population. However, these attempts were not successful, as the indigenous population was not willing to work and resisted exploitation; colonists had to look for other ways to get a “convenient” labor force.
Gradually, another kind of labor took shape in the South: the institute of indentured servitude became the source of the labor force for colonists and the way to survive for numerous poor immigrants (ibid.). Indentured servants were young unskilled laborers coming to America who was not paid salaries; employers paid for their transportation, food, clothing, housing et al (ibid.). Unlike slaves, indentured servants worked under a 3-7 years contract, and an employer had a right only for their labor. Besides, when the term of a contract finished, an employer had to pay “freedom dues” to servants who became free members of the society (PBS).
Gradually, indentured servitude became a source of problems and threats for the property-owning elite: firstly, servants were becoming healthier, and the mortality rates decreased, which meant that employers had to pay “freedom dues” in more cases (O’Brien); secondly, English servants claimed to have rights equal to English citizens (ibid.); besides, free former servants became competitors to the colonist elite (PBS).
Moreover, as the demand for labor grew in England, labor cost increased, which was not beneficial for employers. Finally, the efficiency of the work of black slaves increased, as new generations knew English and had adjusted to the environment (Economic History Association). Thus, colonists needed a more “obedient”, “unproblematic” labor force, which caused a switch to the institution of slavery.
Portrayal of Southern Society
The watercolor painting dated c.1800 in (Freeman et al, p.93) is an example of valuable authentic fragments of the historical legacy that allow us to learn more about the events of the past centuries. The painting displays the ceremony (probably, the wedding) held by black slaves and demonstrates the way African and American cultures fused during the period of slavery. Despite colonists resisted to the advancement of African culture and suppressed it (ibid.), it did not disappear but evolved being enriched by American culture.
We see the outfit that looks not like African traditional costumes, but rather like slaves’ clothes; the characters depicted by a painter play traditional American musical instruments. We cannot state with confidence, but the movements of the characters also do not look like those present in African traditional dance. The picture illustrates that though a community may lose its rights, economic independence, and prosperity, it does not lose its aspiration for expressing its ideas, beliefs, and spirit through culture, which may evolve but lives until its carriers are alive.
Northern vs. Southern demography
One of the factors that influenced the difference in demography between the New England and the Southern Colonies was climate: in the North, it was not so hot, and low temperatures in winter killed disease-breaking insects; thus, the birth rate in the New England was about 3 times higher than the mortality rate (Citizendium). Another factor was the reason for settlers’ coming: while the New England colonists came with their families to settle there, the Southern colonists came alone to earn the fortune, and young male servants also came alone (Carr and Walsh, p.542); thus, a small number of women, together with severe diseases caused by the Southern climate, caused low birth rate and high mortality rate.
The number, as well as the percentage of slaves, was much higher in the South: of about 640,000 people, 40 percent were slaves (Economic History Association). In New England, the percentage of slaves was about 5 percent. Besides, the majority of the largest slaveholders lived in the South. considering that slaves were very poor, this means that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest strata of the community was much bigger in the South than in the East.
In 1790, in New England, the percentage of the black population was about 5-7 percent, while in the South, this number was about 55 percent (ibid.).
The purpose of this study is to examine the kind of demographic logistics that are essential when opening a medical facility in a given location. The paper will focus on highlighting whether demography has a significant relationship to health care. The paper will be of invaluable relevance to investors in the medical field as it will reveal the different types of demographic and market challenges they are likely to encounter when they are laying down their investment plans and eventually when they begin their work.
Demography is defined as the study of quantitative as well as qualitative characteristics that affect human beings. Quantitative factors comprise of density, growth, size, distribution structure and composition. Qualitative aspects also known as sociological factors include quality of education, diet, nutrition, race and wealth. All the mentioned qualitative and quantitative aspects as they relate to demography form the conceptual basis for my initiative which is to start a medical facility in my community.
Target group
The target groups of my project are the city dwellers, both male and female, children and adults and the poor and rich who are all residents of the city. Within the city, there has been a need for a larger, flexible and fulfilling medical facility to complement the existing ones.
Demographic population
The city has population that comprises of both the old and youthful generation with the females surpassing the males with a 25 % majority. Most of the population is located along roads and shopping centers. Considering wealth and race, the project will offer its services irrespective of social standing and ethnicity of people since the city harbors people of mixed origins and diverse economic and socio-cultural standing.
Impact of demographic change on the market
Quantitatively, an increase in density, growth, size and distribution of the population will inhibit the clinic’s potential and growth prospects. Qualitatively, factors like fires, accidents and outbreaks of chronic diseases will expand the clinic’s operation networks. Accidents and criminal activities create casualties hence raising the need for urgent medical attention for the victims.
The clinic will be accessible to all members of the community and it will not only attend to their medical needs but will also create a disease free and reliable resort for the city dwellers. Increase in population or change in structure crates a gap for medical aid. This challenge can only be addressed through creation of potential resources which can only be met by a facility like this one.
Heath and related challenges
Major challenges that are likely to affect the health provisions with regard to the city population include cost and accessibility options. Considering the different social classes and economic classes of people, not all can afford the cost of medical care especially when it comes to chronic illnesses like asthma, allergy, breast cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and obesity.
Accessibility is bound to be a challenge especially to those who cannot meet the facility’s transportation cost, drug cost and those who reside in the outskirts of the town. Many cases require emergency treatment, efficient communication and adequate financial resources will guarantee its accessibility by the target group.
Relationship between chronic disease wellness program and demographic costs
Programs created to harness awareness of chronic diseases like asthma and breast cancer will attract the attention of the city people including those from the country side. On the other hand, this kind of program may impact fear in people if not properly launched and executed given that people may have reservations especially when exposing their health statuses to doctors in the medical facility (Anna, 2011).
Not all people will be ready to accept the reality of having long term illnesses due to societal stigma and fear that terminal diseases are not curable and therefore end in the death of victims. Certain others will not be ready to adopt curative options provided by the medical facility due to cultural reasons and personal beliefs. On a positive note, educational programs will create acceptance and deal with the challenge of stigma developed by victims of various ailments especially the terminal ones.
Marketing strategy
The project will consider its target group based on the financial power of the various individuals in the community on provision of health services. Satisfaction will be ensured through accessibility in terms of cost and quality (Michael, 1992).
The clinic fraternity will form a constitution that will consider the situation of the market, identification of the major problems affecting the community, allocation of the clinic’s resources, training of medical personnel, communication and follow up activities. This initiative will ensure highest quality production, cost benefit analyses; efficient service delivery of provisions, convenient, faster and effective services.
Approaches to address the challenge
The society has a role to play in addressing challenges related to the installation and implementation of the medical facility. It is the duty of the society to create awareness on chronic and acute illness through religious and political networks. The society’s participation in creating consciousness will enhance confidence in the members of the community and help in management of most of the issues e.g. diabetes, obesity, breast cancer and asthma.
A supportive community demands that all its members are supportive of all noble initiatives in the community. Resource allocations from the community in terms of monetary aid, security, emotional support, sanitation, communication and prevention of accidents will boost the operations of the medical facility. Market development will be based on two scales.
First, it will be based on the local scale targeting subjects in and outside the city. Secondly, the global scale will be considered and prioritized (Alfred, 1976). Global challenges will be considered with part of them being cultural differences, poor negotiation skills, managerial habits and poor business protocol among others.
Emergency procedures, accidents’ prevention, proper and prior immunization, sanitation systems, facility inspection, security training and access control are part of the procedures that will guarantee effective running of the facility and performance of the facility. Health is fundamental for economic, social and political growth of any community. For a successful and thriving economy, the stake holders should consider the health practice and in this case, measures that will be taken into account to enhance economic, political and social growth.
The project will ensure that procedures that assure safety and sanity of the community are adhered to by availing all materials and resources necessary to meet the standards of health and sanitization as per the stipulations of the law. The interest of the members of the community must always come first. For the medical project to fulfill the legal requirements and obligations required by the law, a committee will be established to take care of relevant legislation.
Matters pertaining to registration and acquisition of valid certification will be handled by the committee. The committee will be constituted of members of the ministry of health, representatives of the clinics’ management and community leaders of the community. Networking of the various stakeholders will be coordinated by a select committee consisting of members chosen from the various stakeholders.
A lot of consideration will be accorded to the creation of an efficient communication network that will link all the various stakeholders. Casualties will be handled under a special unit and major medical cases will be referred to consolidated centers within the network. Even though the clinic will be dealing with minor cases, open networks will ensure that the extreme cases are promptly attended to. Other complicated medical cases will be referred to more elaborate medical and referral hospitals.
References
Alfred, W. (1976). Experimenting with Organizational Life: The Action Research Approach. New York, USA: Plenum Press Books.
Anna, A. (2011). Centre for Managing Chronic Diseases. Michigan, USA: University of Michigan Press.
Michael, J. (1992). Marketing strategy and System (2nd ed). London, United Kingdom: Mc Milan Press Limited.
Genes and the environment are powerful forces in building the brain during the development of a child. They help in ensuring normal brain functioning. These powerful forces can also be the root causes of psychological problems.
The way in which brain architecture is built before birth and in childhood determines how susceptible we are to such diseases as depression, anxiety or attention disorders, which can severely disturb brain functioning. For these reasons, brain controls such aspects as weight gain in a psychological perspective (Pat & Keel 2006). A preoccupation with ones’ weight is as a result of eating disorders.
There are a number of eating disorders that can jeopardize the health of an individual. Several cultural aspects that view weight loss as an advantage to attractiveness are also some of the factors that bring about such eating disorders.
This paper discusses some of the eating disorders in both infants, early childhood stage and in adults. It also discusses such factors as demographic aspects and gender in determining particular kinds of disorders.
Defining and classifying eating disorders
There are those essential features of rumination disorders that are defined in the DSN-IV-TR category. They entail the rechewing and regurgitation of food repeatedly flowing a period of feeding. A child or infant often develops this habit following a normal functioning period.
The child or infant may not even show signs of gastroingenital disorder before regurgitation the partially digested food (Dziegielewski 2010).
Bulimia nervosa is also another eating disorder in which the symptoms include bouts of overeating and subsequent troublesome methods of controlling weight. It is important to note that such eating disorders are mostly prevalent in females of the ages between 14 to 26 years.
Culture and increased personal pressure may also have some effects that induce this kind of behavior. For this reason, men may find themselves getting depressed especially when the effects of these disorders encourage them to engage in such exercises as excessive weight lifting.
This eating disorder also occurs much frequently in women, and in particular, Caucasian women. In the situation involving African American women, body image is much more of several factors that include how others react to them, comparisons of their bodies with those of the others in the same environment, and comparison of social and cultural ideas.
In Caucasian women, some of these factors are overlooked. These women view body image as a major component of attractiveness (Dziegielewski 2010).
Anorexia nervosa is also another kind of disorder whereby the essential feature is refusal to maintain a minimum body weight. This can lead to death due to starvation. Thus, it is not uncommon to find out that the most common psychiatric disorder that causes mortality is anorexia nervosa. Another characteristic trait of anorexia nervosa is the sense of denial.
This situation leaves many individuals refusing to acknowledge or simply becoming unaware that they have a disorder. This is one of the reason why treating the disease is quite problematic.
Anorexia nervosa is often associated with particular culture, age and gender. The symptoms of this disorder actually begin in late childhood or early adolescence after the start of body image concerns. Many cases of this particular disorder are reported amongst women. This is not meant to suggest that men do not experience such kinds of disorders.
They do experience but the prevalence is less frequent in males than in the female population. Research shows that more than 90 percent of all the cases of these disorders reported are accounted for among the female population (Dziegielewski 2010).
Another factor that affects the occurrence of this disorder is the factor of industrialization. It has been reported that anorexia nervosa appears more frequently in industrialized countries. One of the reasons is because there is plenty of food in these countries and the cultural norms of such societies dictate the fact that appearing thin is more attractive.
Most individuals who have this disorder are actually at the mean age of 17 years. The peaks in this disorder usually appear between 14 and 18 years of age. Therefore, middle to late adolescence is most likely the period of greatest vulnerability for the onset of eating disorders.
The results of these disorders come in various forms. Some individuals experience only one episode while some may experience a chronically deteriorating course over many years. People having these disorders are advised to be hospitalized sometimes in order to maintain weight and restore the functioning of the body.
One of the biggest factors to consider when dealing with this situation in a person is that individuals do not seek medical attention on their own. Instead, most of these individuals are usually brought to health facilities by their own relatives.
One of the reasons for this is because individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa actually think that seeking help on their own will lead to weight gain. Also, the individuals usually lack insight into their problem and the overriding characteristic is denial (Pat & Keel 2006).
Diagnostic assessments are therefore important to such individuals and they should aim at getting accurate information regarding symptoms and duration. Such information should be collected from family members or other outside reliable sources in addition to what has been stated by the client.
The diagnostic criteria may take on several formulas that act as guidelines to effective treatment. Some of the criteria include, persistent eating of non nutritive substances for a period of at least one month. Action has to be taken when the eating of non nutritive substance is inappropriate to the development level.
This situation is also applicable when the eating behavior occurs exclusively during the course of another mental disorder. It is vital to offer independent clinical attention to people who have the above behaviors in the society.
Eating disorders and body image
Physical appearance is very vital to any individual in the contemporary society. This is the reason why the media has been engaged so much in creating awareness so that people may know how to take care of themselves. There have also been cultural messages about how people should take care of themselves in order to have a good body image.
In spite of these efforts by the media, it is still common to find people developing eating disorders or having serious body image problems, or even both (Dziegielewski 2010). This suggests that the media has a stake as a causative agent of body image problems and eating disorders. This is because the media always portrays thin images as the ideal body shape.
That is why people end up emulating such shapes by engaging in activities that control their dietary intakes. This problem mainly affects ladies due to a couple of reasons that will not be discussed in this paper.
Negative and/or traumatic experiences that are associated with appearance can be internalized by a person and hence trigger some aspects of negative assumptions that will later affect a person’s individual body image. It is important to note that these assumptions can lead to a low self esteem, affect the personality of a person in one way or the other, and other behavioral norms of the individual (Pat & Keel 2006).
Conclusion
Genes and the environment are powerful forces in building the brain during the development stages of our growth. They help in ensuring normal brain functioning. These powerful forces can also be the root causes of psychological problems. There are those essential features of rumination disorders that are defined in the DSN-IV-TR category.
They include repeated regurgitation and rechewing of food occurring after feeding. People having these disorders are advised to be hospitalized sometimes in order to maintain weight and restore the functioning of the body. Physical appearance is very vital to any individual in the contemporary society.
This is the reason why the media has been engaged so much in creating awareness so that people may know how to take care of themselves.
Negative and/or traumatic experiences that are associated with appearance can be internalized by a person and hence trigger some aspects of negative assumptions that will later affect a person’s individual body image. It is important to note that these assumptions can lead to a low self esteem, affect the personality of a person in one way or the other, and other behavioral norms of the individual.
Reference List
Dziegielewski, S. (2010). DSM-IV-TR in Action. London: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pat, L. & Keel, P. (2006). Eating Disorders. New York: InfoBase Publishing,
China is one of the most populated countries whereby demographics shown that there were about 1.351 billion people in 2012. It was also estimated that Chinese’s people have a life expectancy of approximately 79 years and a population growth rate of 0.5 percent per annum (Hannum & Park, 2010).
The massive population, controlled growth rate, and high life expectancy evoke a lot of curiosity as to how the country manages its healthcare system. It also raises concerns relating to health status of the country’s large population which could be one of the major challenges when it comes to maintaining good health. This paper will thus analyze the healthcare of China in terms of the general system as well as public health.
Summary of the Healthcare
Health Indicators
According to a research conducted in 2005, it was estimated that the population has a fertility rate of 1.8 children per woman (Hannum & Park, 2010). It was also discovered that 25.3 newborns die during birth for every 1000 infants. At this point, the government committed about 37.2 percent of public funds and expenditure to health care.
From an analytical perspective, it is evident that the government has been capable of maintaining high health standards in the country. This is based on the premises that such scores are attained in a country with a massive population as compared to countries like India.
Healthcare System
The availability, accessibility, and capabilities of healthcare professionals determine the efficiency of a health system. As of 2005, the country had 1.9 million physicians so that the overall rate was 1.5 professionals per 1000 patients. In 2012, OECD noted that this rate had been rising continuously leading to a current rate of 1.9.
The number of hospital beds per 1000 people has experienced a peculiar trend. The rate was estimated at 3.6 in 2010 and increased to 3.8 in 2011 because of timely adjustment to the rising population by the government. This shows how responsiveness of the authorities towards healthcare facilities in accordance to the country’s population.
The government has also invested heavily on the construction of hospital in rural and urban residences. It has emphasized on devolving the health care facilities to the marginalized areas so that most people have access to medical services. In fact, it was the government discovered that about a 100 million people who resided in rural areas did not have access to healthcare services.
This led to the conception of a program known as Healthcare System Reform that aimed to make the health services more affordable to them. The healthcare system is also characterized by the combination of traditional and western medicine used for treatment.
Strengths
Professional Intellect
China has been at the forefront of training highly qualified professionals, including nurses, doctors, and clinicians worldwide. In fact, students from European, African and Asian countries have been seeking to complete their medicinal courses in China. The proficiency of Chinese’s training system has not only become popular in the media commentaries, but has also proven its competence through practice where patients often travel for surgeries and other medical services.
During training, students undergo a vigorous program that incorporates satisfactory theoretical understanding, practical work and research (Sorajjakool & Carr, 2010). This implies that students have the capability of diagnosing complicated diseases and discovering new medicines and approaches to treatment.
Therefore, the country uses locally available human resources to maintain high standards in their healthcare systems contrary to many countries that seek foreign professionals. In essence, using professionals from the country become less expensive, and enable the government to divert the additional funds, which could be needed for wages, to acquire other medical facilities.
Use of Local Medicine
Chinese has been producing traditional medicine for almost all illnesses and diagnoses required by patients. This implies that most of the medicines that are used in the country are produced locally while a little part of it is imported from European countries such as USA (Yuan & Bieber, 2011).
The local production of medicine supports availability of medicine to the growing population. Otherwise, if the country was relying on imported medicine only, it could experience a fatal deficit and economic depression when trying to satisfy the population’s medical needs.
Besides the aspect of sufficiency, the traditional Chinese medicines have the capacity and quality to contain many diseases that pose a threat to human life. In fact, this could be the resultant of the low mortality rate, high life expectancy, and reduced maternal mortality among other indicators of health.
Availability of Funds
China has been rising economically to become the second-largest economy in the modern world. A research that was conducted by Gong (2012) showed that the country experienced 7.7 percent economic growth rate and attained a GDP of $9.8 trillion. These statistics show empirically that the economy is capable of providing fund for development of a highly efficient healthcare system.
Weaknesses
The greatest weakness that has challenged the Chinese healthcare is imbalance of health facilities between the villages and cities. It was noted that the Chinese government put a lot of emphasis on improving healthcare in developed urban areas and neglected the marginalized ones.
The health care facilities were concentrated within the cities while people living in the countryside were segregated. The healthcare reform, which was started in 2005, and named as New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System set out to transform this condition so that those people could be considered.
Although the transformation has taken root in terms of facilities, the rural people have exhibited conservative behaviors regarding sex education, smoking and contraception (Chan, 2009). This conservativeness has led to increasing cases of abortion because of resistance against sex education. In addition, a lot of men have conserved the smoking tradition leading to increased cases of throat cancer and deaths.
Solutions to Weaknesses
It is evident that the Chinese government has played its role holistically in regard to ensuring sufficient availability of medicine, accessibility of healthcare services, and qualified medical professionals. Additionally, it has paid attention to the healthcare imbalance between rural and urban areas by conceiving the NRCMCS program that seeks to decentralize facilities in marginalized areas (Saich & Hu, 2012).
However, the conservativeness of the public is the most challenging problem as far as healthcare is concerned. This implies that the government, medical practitioners, and scholars should concentrate on civic education to create awareness on issues of smoking and contraception. This could eliminate the danger of creating a healthcare system that is developed in terms of facilities while leaving the public behind.
Conclusion
It is evident that the Chinese healthcare has developed profoundly when it comes to facilities, professionals and intellect. However, the public has been conserved most of the traditional ideologies and behaviors that impede good health (Chan, 2009). As a result, the interested personnel and entities should pay attention to civic education to raise awareness about those issues.
References
Chan, Z. (2009). Health Issues in Chinese Contexts. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers.
Gong, G. (2012). Contemporary Chinese Economy. London: Routledge.
Hannum, E., & Park, H. (2010). Globalization, Changing Demographics, and Educational Challenges in East Asia. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Saich, T., & Hu, B. (2012). Chinese Village, Global Market: New Collectives and Rural Development. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sorajjakool, S., & Carr, M. (2010). World Religions for Healthcare Professionals. New York: Routledge.
Yuan, C., & Bieber, E. (2011). Traditional Chinese Medicine. Sin: Informal Healthcare.
The presented case describes the rapid changes experienced in Hanston Township. The population has become diverse due to the increasing level of immigrants to the community. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the case study. It also examines the weaknesses and strengths of every committee member and presents appropriate criteria for recruiting new individuals.
Case Summary
Hanston Township is currently facing a crisis attributable to the changing demographics. The town has seen numerous changes such as new apartments, increasing population, and emerging social needs. The mayor has realized that Hanston requires expanded services such as health care and education (The Hanston Township crisis, n.d.). This rapid change has compelled the mayor to appoint a committee of experts.
Background and Experience of Each Member
The established committee has five individuals who are tasked with identifying specific areas that require immediate attention. Dr. Richard George has a medical background. He is white and politically conservative. He has witnessed every change in Hanston. Allyson Shel has a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and the Arts. She understands women’s needs. She is white and religious. Tommy Grange is a High School graduate who is against the decision to have a residence for mentally retarded persons (The Hanston Township crisis, n.d.). Langston Krup has a doctorate and used to be Hanston Middle School’s principal. He is religious, divorced, and liberal. Risa Lowry is white and politically moderate. She operates a local restaurant and raises funds to help the needy.
Strengths
George is religious and understands the issues affecting Hanston. He is aware of the dental health needs of the people. Shel is informed about women’s needs. She is also the President of the Women’s Society. Grange has adequate skills in automobile repair. He is also aware of the issues affecting the people of Hanston (The Hanston Township crisis, n.d.). Krup is educated, politically liberal, and religious. He understands the needs of different learners. Lowry knows how to support the demands of the needy.
Weaknesses
George does not comprehend the desires of Hanston’s diverse population. He is also politically conservative. Shel is unable to address men’s demands. Her conservativeness is a weakness that should be analyzed carefully. Grange is against the welfare of mentally retarded people. He does not have adequate education (The Hanston Township crisis, n.d.). Krup is unaware of different families’ needs since he is divorced. Lowry’s education level can affect her effectiveness.
Criteria for New Committee Member Consideration
Various attributes should be considered to establish a team that shares ideas and focuses on every existing problem (Nancarrow et al. 2016). A powerful approach is, therefore, needed to recruit knowledgeable persons to address the issues facing Hanston. This is the case because the current committee does not reflect the changes experienced in the community. To begin with, members should be sourced from different cultural backgrounds. This strategy will ensure the individuals address the demands of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos.
The second aspect to consider is the expertise of these persons (Salas, Shuffler, Thayer, Bedwell, & Lazzara, 2014). Individuals who are proficient in medical care, education, city services, cultural issues, and transportation must be considered. The selection process should focus on the members’ past achievements. The inclusion of persons representing various religious groups in the community is another critical consideration. Politically conservative and liberal individuals should also be identified.
Conclusion
The increasing population in this rural community calls for expanded medical services, schools, city services, and educational opportunities. The existing committee might not meet the town’s current expectations. The proposed criteria will ensure the new committee understands the community’s challenges.
References
Nancarrow, S. A., Booth, A., Ariss, S., Smith, T., Enderby, P., & Roots, A. (2013). Ten principles of good interdisciplinary team work. Human Resources for Health, 11(19), 1-11. Web.
Salas, E., Shuffler, M. L., Thayer, A. L., Bedwell, W. L., & Lazzara, E. H. (2014). Understanding and improving teamwork in organizations: A scientifically based practical guide. Human Resource Management, 54(4), 599-622. Web.
Demographic changes, which are defined by internal migration, immigration, and changing age structure, affect rural communities. In this paper, demographic changes in rural locations with a focus on older adults will be discussed. This theme is topical nowadays, as there are a lot of rural communities in the USA, which experience population aging (Thiede, Brown, Sanders, Glasgow, & Kulcsar, 2017). The writing is based on the information from the website www.ruralhealthinfo.org, located in the source named “Rural Health Information Hub.”
The module Demographic changes and aging population on the mentioned website contain information on the number of older adults living in the USA. It also includes estimates of their number in 10 and 30 years in the state. It is pointed out that the problem of aging is especially significant in rural areas because the majority of the elderly live in the countryside. The issue further deteriorates as the aging population causes an increased need for healthcare, which is more difficult to deliver in rural places than in the cities (“Demographic changes and aging population,” n.d.). Therefore, the presented information includes some useful data about the aging process in rural areas. It observes the problems that are caused by this process. It turns out that the most significant issue for the elderly in rural areas is the lack of accommodation, such as retirement communities. In addition, they experience a lack of assistants in living facilities. I think that youth should be aware of these facts as they may affect their personal or work-related experience with older adults. I, personally, will try to help the elderly from rural areas through donations and volunteering in the hospitals and retirement communities. Social workers can also contribute to the decision of these problems through application to higher authorities with new projects on building more accommodations for the elderly in the countryside.
However, even though the resource pays readers’ attention to the issues of older adults, it has no information on what should be done to improve the situation. The prerequisites and reasons that caused the aging process in the USA are not included either. Also, some of the problems caused by the aging process are not mentioned. For instance, the issue of overwhelming society’s ability to provide services to other people while addressing the issues of the elderly (Hash, Jurkowski, & Krout, 2015). Therefore, even though the resource raises important questions, there is still room for its improvement.
Krout, J., & Hash, K. (2015). What is rural? Introduction to Aging in rural places. In K.M. Hash, E. T. Jurkowski, & J. A. Krout (Eds.), Aging in rural places: Programs, policies, and professional practice. (pp.3-22). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
Thiede, B., Brown, D., Sanders, S., Glasgow, N., & Kulcsar, L. (2017). A demographic deficit? Local population aging and access to services in Rural America, 1990-2010. Rural Sociology, 82(1), 44-74.
Racial health disparities exist in wider US society, as it has already been proved by the numerous studies of COVID-19 treatment demography. Other disparities the Latino population usually faces include language-related inequality and discrepancies in providing healthcare for Latino youth with problem behavior. Providing equal healthcare for all US citizens is essential since it goes along with American democratic principles and values. This paper aims to create an annotated bibliography of scientific articles presenting the lack of healthcare resources among Latino communities.
Annotated Bibliography
Ruiz, John M., Belinda Campos, and James J. Garcia. “Special issue on Latino physical health: Disparities, paradoxes, and future directions.” Journal of Latina/o Psychology 4.2 (2016): 61.
The authors present the main subjects covered in the whole journal: Latino healthcare disparities, higher longevity levels, and lower cardiovascular and cancer disease cases. The latter phenomenon is known as the Latino health paradox and leaves scientists with a whole research field. Scholars emphasize that this phenomenon exists despite health disparities and does not justify them. The authors emphasize that in further research, the tradition of considering the Latin American population as a separate group should be abandoned. On the contrary, sufficient attention should be paid to Latin American groups and communities, which differ significantly in socio-cultural indicators such as immigration status, income level, age, and geographic location.
Kia-Keating, Maryam, et al. “Using community-based participatory research and human-centered design to address violence-related health disparities among Latino/a youth.” Family & Community Health 40.2 (2017): 160.
The authors of this study highlight inequality in health care services among a group of young Hispanics who are prone to problem behavior. According to scholars, there is a request to develop ways of working with this group and involve communities in dialogue and joint action. The authors believe that the combined efforts of parents, adolescents, and researchers will help develop effective practices to promote this group’s health. The study aims to gain the attention of Latino communities and medical practitioners who work with them to create well-thought-out practical approaches. This article satisfies the previous request that the Hispanic population should be treated in terms of separate groups.
Harkness, Audrey, et al. “Latinx health disparities research during COVID-19: Challenges and innovations.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 54.8 (2020): 544-547.
This study explores the topic of continuing research into the underserved population of Hispanics with behavioral problems such as substance use, violence, and HIV/AIDS. The authors note that, despite the threats of COVID-19, there is an opportunity to proceed with research. Moreover, investigations related to COVID-19 expand opportunities for study. Therefore, this article is another contribution to developing health care strategies for young Hispanic populations with problematic behavior.
Avilés-Santa, M. Larissa, et al. “Personalized medicine and Hispanic health: Improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities – a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop report.” BMC Proceedings. 11.11 (2017): 1-12.
This article is a report from a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop, which collaborated with the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and conducted a personalized treatment workshop. According to scientists, personalization considers individual variability in genetics, environment, lifestyle, and socio-economic determinants of health. This approach is potentially successful in understanding the underlying factors contributing to health disparities among Hispanics and other groups in the United States. Although the authors represent Hispanics as one group, their idea of an individualized approach will improve patients’ health.
Showstack, Rachel E., et al. “Improving Latino health equity through Spanish language interpreter advocacy in Kansas.” Hispanic Health Care International 17.1 (2019): 18-22.
The authors of this article reveal the language barrier faced by groups of the Hispanic population. In particular, in Kansas, there is a lack of signs in hospital buildings in Spanish. Although non-English speakers are guaranteed by law in most states to obtain a medical interpreter when receiving medical care, this practice is not always implemented. Lack of adequate translation leads to many medical errors and reduces patient satisfaction and health outcomes. The authors reach out to peers across states and suggest changes to improve access and reduce health disparities.
Policymakers heavily rely on vital statistical information when laying out down strategies or processes aimed at effectively managing certain diseases. The incorporation of vital statistical data in informing policy has gained precedence in the last few decades thus occasioning the utilization of sophisticated technology and methodology in measuring the incidence and mortality levels.
Although HIV is not common in the United States, its high occurrence in minority groups has aroused interest from population scientists and epidemiologists. This essay will discuss the incidence rates and the occurrence of HIV/AIDS in the US based on certain demographic factors, especially race and gender.
Annual incidence levels in the US
It is estimated that slightly above 56000 cases of HIV occurred in the united states in 2006 representing a significant increase from the earlier estimates. The incidence levels were estimated at 22 for every 100, 000 Americans with the blacks contributing to more than half of the new infections. Slightly above 80 black Americans were infected with HIV in 2006 compared to a partly 30 and 12 persons in Hispanics and whites respectively.
In 2007, partly 21.1 new cases of HIV were reported in the whole population although similar trends based on race were observed. Similarly, 11.9 new cases of AIDS were recorded for every 100000 Americans with the highest incidence occurring in African Americans and the least in the Asian populations. An estimated 47.3 and 15.2 new cases occurred in the African and Hispanic populations in 2007. A slight increase to 12.2 cases for every 100000 Americans was noted in 2008 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010, p. 43).
Annual incidence rates of AIDS in Hispanics
A decreasing trend in the incidence rates has occurred in the Hispanics/ Latinos in the last few years with rates of 16.0, 15.4, and 15.0 for 2006, 2007, and 2008 respectively. On average, about 7000 Hispanics are diagnosed with AIDS each year with slight fluctuations occurring in the past years.
The prevalence rate of AIDs among the U.S. population
Statistical data depicted a prevalence of 185.1 persons for every 100000 Americans. Stark variations in the prevalence rates were evident across the various states and residential areas. For instance, the District of Columbia had 1750.6 cases per 100000 while compared to slightly above 2.2 per 100000 persons in far-flung areas such as American Samoa.
The prevalence rate of AIDs among the Hispanics/Latinos
The prevalence has increased steadily since reliable statistical evidence was developed in 2003. More than 455000 persons were estimated to suffer from AIDS in 2007. 19 % of affected individuals were of Hispanic origin while about 80% of the cases were reported in the white and the black population. The Hispanics returned a prevalence rate of 192 per 100000 as observed in data released in 2008 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009).
Comparisons
The general population recorded a slightly higher incidence when put into comparison with the Hispanics. A downward momentum of incidences has been observed in the Hispanics unlike in the general population where a substantial increase has remained the norm since 2003.
Although the occurrence of new cases is minimal, Hispanics have a slightly higher prevalence when compared to the US population. Cultural factors coupled with increased sex between males could explain the higher prevalence. In addition, the constant prevalence rate over the years could be a result of poor health-seeking behaviors that result in speedy progression to AIDS status in the Hispanic population (Hall et al, 2008, p. 526).
Interpretation of graph
The graph depicts an increased awareness and interventions that may explain the inverse relationship between the numbers of new infections when compared to the ever-increasing prevalence. Despite the high prevalence, incidences are tending towards zero unlike during the early years of the HIV epidemic where incidence is directly proportional to prevalence.
Differences in disease burden
The whites have continually exhibited a relatively higher burden to certain illnesses particularly heart disorders and neoplasm, which is mainly due to racial variations. The Alaska natives suffer more from accidental injuries and homicides than any other race probably due to the nature of the occupation. In addition, failure for certain diseases to feature in the leading causes is partly due to genetics and susceptibility of specific populations (Heron, 2010, p. 15).
Mortality rates
Age-adjusted mortality plays a major role when the diseases have a lengthy prognosis thereby occasioning the need to understand its occurrence and subsequent initiation of tailored made interventions for specific groups.
Comparison of neonatal mortality
Blacks have a relatively high neonatal coupled with post-neo-natal mortality owing to the exposure to the majority of the risk factors during pregnancy. On the other hand, the Asian population recorded the lowest number in both categories. Exposures to certain risk factors such as smoking coupled with early pregnancy and drug abuse may result in high rates. More importantly, poor health-seeking behaviors together with inadequate preventive measures explain the high rates in the blacks (Mathews, Menacker & MacDorman, 2004, p. 26).
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2007. Vol. 19. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
Hall, H., Song, R., Rhodes, P., Prejean, J., An, Q. et al. (2008). Estimation of HIV incidence in the United States. Journal of American Medical Association, 300, 520 – 529.
Heron, M. (2010). Deaths: Leading Causes for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 58(14), 1-100.
Lieb, S., Thompson, D., White, S., Grigg, B. Liberti, T. et al. (2010). Estimated HIV Incidence, Prevalence, and Mortality Rates among Racial/Ethnic Populations of Men Who Have Sex with Men, Florida. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, 00(0), 716–723.
Mathews, T.J., Menacker, F. & MacDorman, M. (2004). Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2002 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, 53(10), 1-29.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Evidence of Trends, Risk Factors, and Intervention Strategies. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Parkinson’ disease (PD) is a common chronic medical condition among the elderly population and it affects the nervous system. It is therefore a neurodegenerative disorder that begins to show symptoms in early 60s though some cases the symptoms can start as early as age 40. The disease is characterized by unilateral onset of clinical bradykinesia, postural rigidity and rigidity as well as resting tremors. This simply means that this chronic and progressive condition affects body movement. L-DOPA therapy is often given in addition to diagnosis criteria. PD is regarded as the second-most commonly diagnosed disease of the nervous system among the elderly population after Alzheimer’s disease.
Population Demographics General Impact on Health Market
The prevalence of PD is estimated to be 0.5 to 1% among men and women aged between ages 65 and 69 while for those aged above 80 years, the prevalence is 1 to 3%. In general, the disease affects 1 to 2% of the people above 60 years tough the disease has been diagnosed among younger people below 60 year as well (Willis et al, 2010, p. 143). The symptoms can begin to appear before a patient reaches 40 in 5-10% of patients.
Recent studies have indicated that the disease had inn incident rate of 16-19 per 100,000 people. According to the statistics provided by the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, at least one million people in the US are affected by the disease and there are over four million cases worldwide (Willis et al, 2010, p. 143). Sex statistics indicate that men are more vulnerable to this medical condition compared to men across the races with a 3-2 ratio between ages 60 and 69. Nonetheless, at the ages over 75 years the ratio of the disease occurrence is the same for both sexes.
Willis et al, 2010, p. 143 studies on the racial incidence statistics show that Caucasians are more prone to the disease than the African Americans (lowest prevalence), Hispanics and Asians with a prevalence of 66-187 cases per 100,000 people per year. Whereas the Caucasians are most vulnerable, African American living in the same location will have same prevalence to suffer PD as the Caucasians. While PD is a disease common in the aging population, at least 40% of the patients could be under-diagnosed; therefore, as statistics indicate that about 1 million people in the US are having the disease, the number could be much greater (Willis et al, 2010, p. 145). This because the disease presents varying symptoms which are in most cases misdiagnosed.
PD has become an expanding medical problem in the current or modern society as the incident rate keep on increasing despite improving medical care. As the world continues to face burgeoning elderly population, it is pertinent for the community health nurses to be in a good position to care and manage these patients (Huse, 2005, p. 1451). The impact of these increasing numbers has been seen in the increased numbers of new researches in this field even though the cause of idiopathic PD remains much of a mystery.
There has been increased participation of local and nations agencies that seek to offer the patients and their caregivers a proper education, support and referrals. This is because the impact of the disease on the patient and family and friends are intense. With such big older population in the US, many families are currently affected hence putting pressure on the healthcare system (Fischer, 1999, p. 193). There is increased need for registered nurses to work as care givers, there need for doctors, monetary resources, healthcare facilities, and more social workers.
The implications are diverse and nurses are always seeking to stay abreast with the growing challenges and developments in Medicare and managed care systems to make sure that patients receiving home care also access these required services (Fischer, 1999, p. 194). Being able to have more community health nurses will provide a very crucial connection in the healthcare system for the Parkinson’s disease patients.
Major Challenges
The two main and related challenges facing the PD patients are the cost of medical treatment and the access to home care. The cost of treating PD include the direct and indirect expenses where the direct costs entails the expenses on medical and non-medical services that are required because of the disease condition (Huse, 2005, p. 1451). These expenses include the inpatient hospital costs, emergency room care expenses, cost on pharmaceuticals and physician care expenses. There are nonmedical expenses like transport and equipments purchases as well the indirect cost include reduced work productivity and ability as well as absent days due to medication (Fischer, 1999, p. 196).
PD being a progressive disease, it becomes severer as it progresses and also requires more medical attention and support (Huse, 2005, p. 1451). The patients require help of a friend of family member or a nurse in case the first two are not available or cannot offer the type of support required. The disease is physically and emotionally challenging with help need for domestic chores, nursing assistance, finance, hospital daycare or even professional care (Huse, 2005, p. 1451).
The main financial burden lied on the shoulders of the patient and their families. The Parkinson’s Action Network research revealed that the common pharmacotherapeutic drugs for the management of PD cost up to $6,000 annually to treat one patient. Furthermore, other medical care expenses like treating co-morbid diseases of PD, paying for physician visits and physical therapies are approximated to be between $2,000 and $7,000. This is in fact only for the disease cases that are diagnosed early enough, as the cost increases drastically as progresses pathologically to the advanced stages (Willis et al, 2010, p. 146).
PD’s surgical treatment cost over $25,000 and when the disease is in its advanced stages, there is need for an institutional care at an assisted-living facility where the cost is estimated to exceed $100,000. With such figures and bearing in mind that there are over 1 million US patients suffering from PD, it’s clear that the medical condition is an enormous economic burden to the nation (Willis et al, 2010, p. 147). With over 40% of the patients under 60 year, the workforce is tremendously affected. According to expert opinion, about one third of employees may lose their job due to PD. This is a blow to productivity of a country because of the disease (Huse, 2005, p. 1454).
Homecare is a major challenge for the PD patients (Fischer, 1999, p. 197). In most cases older people stay alone because various reasons including spreading of family, working needs, death of a spouse among others. This raises a great issue of support since the PD patients face challenges of mobility, whether it is a spouse, a family member of a nurse. These individual have to be knowledgeable about the disease. Sometimes there is lack of qualified caregivers even though this does not necessarily call for professional unless in the advanced cases (Huse, 2005, p. 1456). Caregivers often get worried about the future, economic loss, increasing dependence of the patient on their support, and risk of permanent disability. This can as well cause anxiety and depression on the caregivers.
In most cases, it’s the family members who offer primary care to their loved one with some assistance from home healthcare nurse, specialist therapists and visiting doctor as the disease advances (Fischer, 1999, p. 193). The homecare attributed cost from the largest percentage of direct costs at 19.9 percent.
Wellness Plan and PD Service Needs
The key to effective management of PD is usually early diagnosis and early treatment. However, diagnosis has been as challenge since the practitioners rely on the clinical finding and there is lack of specific process of diagnosis the diseases like use of biomarkers (Marek et al, 2008, p. 113). The clinical diagnosis demands that three be at least 2 out of the four cardinal signs;
Rigidity which is the decreased independent movement in terms of direction and speed (Marek et al, 2008, p. 113)
Postural instability which is difficulties of balancing the body well
Bradykinesia which is the slowed movement, decreased movement range and hardship of performing repetitive movements (Marek et al, 2008, p. 113)
Rest tremor which is the shaking of the body parts with disappearance of tremor with movement in the facial muscles, limbs and the jaw.
As already indicated, a very big percentage of patent are probably undiagnosed, therapy is therefore affected greatly since the disease progresses to advanced stages before it is discovered. The management of PD requires a standard protocol to diagnose this problem (Marek et al, 2008, p. 115). Several efforts have been made to devise such process and few suggestions have been proposed. The commonly used is the UK Brain Bank criteria which comprise consideration of the presence Bradykinesia as vital sign plus another symptom like rest tremor, rigidity and postural instability for a positive diagnosis to be made.
This process faces a great challenges considering that most of the symptoms are individually determined, for instance about 30% of PD patients do not present resting tremor (Marek et al, 2008, p. 116). There needs to be a strategy if diagnosing the disease by analyzing neurodegenerative activity. Furthermore, in case the physician suspects presence of PD, he/she should recommend that the patient sees a neurologist to begin management of the reducing levels of dopamine in the brain, alleviating the PD symptoms and decreasing the side effects.
Besides diagnosis, there is not approved treatment for the condition to stop or slow the disease progress. There needs to be more studies on the disease so that practitioners can find the best methods of diagnosing the problem and treating it as well (Schapira & Obeso, 2006, p. 560). However, currently, the main goal of treating PD patients is just to help patient attain independence.
How Individuals and Community Address PD Challenges
PD is a very costly neurodegenerative disorder and this damning fact has to be address both by individual patients and the entire community so that there is enough funding for proper and innovative medication (Schapira & Obeso, 2006, p. 560). The indirect costs are much greater that direct expenses since over 50% of them are still accounted for by the prescription drugs. The current epidemiological information on the disease specific statistics could be insufficient for use in the precise health economic assessment (Schapira & Obeso, 2006, p. 561). Without this information it would be very difficult to determine the best areas to invest in order to manage this neurological disorder.
The communities should be ready to participate in the epidemiological studies to offer more disease specific data collected through the proper healthcare process with more involvement of neurologists. Communities can also offer support I community healthcare centers where people can volunteer their services to take care of patients (Schapira & Obeso, 2006, p. 561). Individuals can always the risk factors and seek medical checkup which can result in early diagnosis hence proper treatment.
Reference List
Fischer, P.P. (1999). Parkinson’s Disease And The U.S. Health Care System. Journal Of Community Health Nursing, 16(3), 191-204.
Huse, D. M. (2005). Burden of Illness in Parkinson’s Disease. Mov Diord, 20(11),1449-1454.
Marek, K., Jennings, D., Tamagnan, G., & Seibyl, J. (2008). Biomarkers For Parkinson’s Disease: Tools To Assess Parkinson’s Disease Onset And Progression. Ann Neurol, 64 (2),111- 121.
Schapira, A. H, & Obeso, J. (2006). Timing Of Treatment Initiation In Parkinson’s Disease: A Need For Reappraisal. Ann Neurol, 59(3), 559-562.
Willis, A.W., et al. (2010). Geographic And Ethnic Variation In Parkinson Disease: A Population-Based Study Of US Medicare Beneficiaries. Neuroepidemiology, 34, (3), 143-151.