Is the EU Closing the Gap on Health Inequities?
Order Instructions:
The World Health Organization and European Union (EU) DETERMINE Consortium has acknowledged gaps in health equities within and between member countries. A variety of efforts are underway to help close those gaps.
Discussion questions:
A brief comparison of the health status of the two EU countries you selected with that of the U.S. Then, describe two efforts in those EU countries to reduce health inequities. Explain what lessons can be learned from the EU efforts you selected that can be implemented in the U.S. nationally or by individual states. Explain how the community you live in might adapt these interventions. Expand on your insights utilizing the Learning Resources.
Articles:
• Gele, A. A., & Harsløf, I. (2010). Types of social capital resources and self-rated health among the Norwegian adult population. International Journal for Equity in Health, 9, 8–16.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
• Commission of the European Communities. (2007). Together for health: A strategic approach for the EU 2008-2013 [White paper]. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/doc/whitepaper_en.pdf
• Equity Channel. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.equitychannel.net/
• EuroHealthNet. (2013). Health policies in the EU. Retrieved from http://eurohealthnet.eu/policy/health-policies-eu/
• European Commission. (2006). Tackling health inequalities in the EU: The contributions of Various EU-level actors. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects/2003/action3/docs/2003_3_15_rep2_en.pdf Read pages 1–17.
• European Commission. (2014). European Commission: Public health. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/health/index_en.htm
• Stegeman, I., Costongs, C., Needle C., & DETERMINE Consortium. (2010). The story of DETERMINE: Mobilising action for health equity in the EU—Final report of the DETERMINE consortium. Brussels: Euro HealthNet. Retrieved from http: //eurohealthnet.eu/sites/eurohealthnet.eu/files/publications/DETERMINE-Final-Publication-Story.pdf
Wellesley Institute. (2011). The European portal for action on health equity. Retrieved from http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/news/the_european_portal_for_action_on_health_equity/
Please apply the Application Assignment Rubric when writing the Paper.
I. Paper should demonstrate an excellent understanding of all of the concepts and key points presented in the texts.
II. Paper provides significant detail including multiple relevant examples, evidence from the readings and other sources, and discerning ideas.
III. Paper should be well organized, uses scholarly tone, follows APA style, uses original writing and proper paraphrasing, contains very few or no writing and/or spelling errors, and is fully consistent with doctoral level writing style.
IV. Paper should be mostly consistent with doctoral level writing style.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Is the EU Closing the Gap on Health Inequities?
A comparison of the health status of Belgium and Germany – two EU member states – with that of the United States reveals that in Germany, the life expectancy for women is 83 years and ranks 15th worldwide, and that of men is 78 years and ranks 16th. Rate of infant mortality is 3.54 deaths for every 1,000 births and ranks 212 globally (NationMaster, 2014). In Belgium, the life expectancy at birth for women is 83 years and ranks 16th globally, and for men is 77 years, and ranks 25th worldwide. The rate of infant mortality is 4.33 deaths for every 1,000 live births (NationMaster, 2014). In USA, life expectancy for women is 81 years and ranks 33rd and for men is 76 years, ranking 30th worldwide. Infant mortality rate in America is 6.06 per 1,000 live births, ranks 179 globally (NationMaster, 2014). As illustrated in the health status statistics, Europeans in the selected EU countries have higher life expectancies than Americans and infant mortality is higher in the United States than in Belgium and Germany.
The two efforts in both Belgium and Germany to reduce health inequities are as follows: (i) the actions taken concerning healthcare access include the improvement of quality as well as accessibility of healthcare, and the focus is on affordability (Commission of the European Communities, 2007). Moreover, the governments of Germany and Belgium have taken actions to ensure emergency medical aid for everyone, and they provide increased reimbursement to vulnerable groups who include cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses. They also undertake initiatives that target the decrease in price of drugs; maximum bill for costs of healthcare; and improving proximity of healthcare services (Equity Action, 2013). Furthermore, there is cross-sector policy plan aimed at fighting poverty and guarantee the right to health. The plan encompasses 12 measures including measures to increase the use of the 3rd party payer system by the healthcare providers, and measures to increase hospital admission of poor people (Wevers et al., 2007).
(ii) Actions taken concerning prevention and health promotion include providing affordable, quality and durable housing for everyone, and stress management for persons living in poverty. They also include providing preventive health checks at school, and promotion of balanced and healthy nutrition in vulnerable groups and in the general population. There is also focus on occupational diseases and industrial accidents and in combating drug and alcohol use in working settings (Equity Action, 2013).
Lessons that Americans may learn from the EU efforts selected and that can be implemented in the United States by individual states or nationally are as follows: first, governments in the United States, be they state governments or the federal government, should establish a policy plan aimed at reducing poverty and guarantee every person’s right to health. This policy plan should include among others, measures to increase hospital admission for the poor Americans. Secondly, to reduce inequities in health, state governments in the U.S should provide increased reimbursement for groups that are vulnerable such as patients with chronic sicknesses. State governments should promote a balanced and healthy nutrition. Thirdly, stress management should be provided to poor people to reduce cases of suicide; preventive health checks be provided in American schools; and the federal government should ensure the availability of affordable, durable, and quality housing for all Americans. The federal government should also develop policies intended to reduce the price of medicines. The community that I live in might adapt these interventions by consuming more balanced and healthy nutrition; seeking durable and quality housing; and the poor in the community would get help to manage their stress. Community members would also be able to purchase medicines at affordable prices.
References
Commission of the European Communities. (2007). Together for health: A strategic approach for the EU 2008-2013 [White paper]. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/doc/whitepaper_en.pdf
Equity Action. (2013). What are Regions in the EU doing to Reduce Health Inequalities: Overview Report of Equity Action Regional Network Case Studies. Available at http://members.kwitelle.be/HEALTHEQUITY/_images/equityactionregionalcase_studyoverviewreport.pdf (Accessed October 9, 2014).
NationMaster. (2014). Health: Infant Mortality Rate – Countries Compared. Available at http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Health/Infant-mortality-rate/Total (Accessed October 9, 2014).
Wevers, S., Lehmann, F., Nurnberger, M., Reemann, H., Altgeld, T., Hommes, M., Luig, H., & Mielk, A. (2007). Strategies for Action to Tackle Health Inequalities in Germany. BGG, 50(4): 484-91
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