5 Ways to Increase Health Equity and Access to Care

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, health equity is attained when each person has the chance to fulfil his or her full health ability. This is a situation where no one is deprived from achieving quality of healthcare because of social status or any other reasonl. General care physicians play an important role in carrying out interventions and supporting policies that dwindle socio-economic differences.

Health Equity and Health Inequality

Health equity is the process of giving rise to the end on the discrimination that allows for health inequality. In a health equity framework, health professionals and general care physicians evaluate the impact of social issues of health and strategies before dealing with them.

A primary doctor near me, who knows about restricted access may work to strategize ways to withstand this challenge. Therefore, decreasing the risk of health issues. Health equality concentrates on treating everyone the same way. It guarantees that they are permitted equal access to health care.

Why is Health Equity Relevant?

Health equity provides for us the opportunity to attain our human ability in all aspects of health and well being. It eliminates barriers like discrimination and lack of resources that lead to those inequalities. This goes a long way to create an avenue for proper health care.  

If you know you have equal access to healthcare like anyone else, you can walk into any hospital easily. Also, with health equity, I am certain to get the best healthcare services from the primary doctor near me. The primary care doctor will attend to and treat you equally, it doesn’t matter your race, age, social class or wealth.

Issues of Health Equity

• Discrimination as a result of race and ethnic background. This issue in particular has been trending for years. Under normal circumstances this is likely to never end. Discrimination is a very critical hindrance to health equity.
• Inaccessible valuable education: Good education is a very sure guarantor of authentic information. It’s a way in which health equity can be taught and brought to the notice of all. But because quality education isn’t easily gotten, such eye-opening information will not be made clear for all to understand.
• Class discrepancy and wealth gaps: These are instances where proper health care facilities are only accessible by people who can pay for it. Therefore, those from the lower class who are terribly sick can’t afford to see even general practitioners  for a proper checkup.
• Geographical barriers: These are difficulties influenced by the location of people and services. For example, living too far away from proper health care.
• Hazardous environments: Environmental impurities can cause health crises. People with low earnings are more likely to live in polluted neighbourhoods and have unsafe drinking water. They may experience shortage or unavailability of proper health care services.
• Language barriers: Restriction in language can affect access to healthcare. It can result in lack of access to primary health physicians and worse health outcomes.

5 Ways to Increase Health Equity

Health Equity gives room for opportunities on proper health care across nations, race, colour and cost of living. It’s a very beautiful thing that health care practitioners, and primary care physicians, are beginning to realise that they have a huge role to play. Here are some ways that health equity can be improved.

1. Donating to Public Health Infrastructure 

The public health system is essential to guaranteeing the health of the country. It is committed to disease prevention and health promotion. Subsequent donation to ensure the system works as required is needed. Protocol makers can enhance public health infrastructure, by taking the following steps:

• Creating and allowing for constant upheld annual funding, for the purpose of establishment of stable and accessible public health infrastructure.
• Enforcing workforce energy that encourages workers entrance, retention, devotion and increases capability through efficient  supply of basic work needs.

2.  Investments in Environmental Justice 

Everyone can be affected by the outcome of pollution and waste, most especially women, children, lower income communities and people of color. This investment aims to bring crucial financing to organizations and even small businesses that are offering solutions and ideas on environmental change and access to a more healthy environment. 

The major aim of this initiative is to support the accomplishments by community groups and government agencies to:

• Concentrate on clean water and healthy air, water, and power
• Make sure that this initiative cuts across the globe to make health care and primary care physicians available to all.

3. Improvement of Healthcare Access

Policymakers have the chance to widen access to health coverage. They can reduce costs for care and medication, and enhance the excellence of healthcare services. There are people who are not steadily employed. They do not have the money to get the access to the health care that they are in dire need of. Such people are more likely to face poor health outcomes. 

Ancient marginalisation of challenged people and those segregated by colour are more likely to face more unemployment and poverty. 

The interventions of the government and high ranking executives to improve accessibility to proper health care is needed. It will have a lifelong impact on the economy as a whole and for individuals as well.

It is important that decision making bodies exert their power to:

• Make sure that mental health services are made accessible by ensuring that there is adequate insurance coverage.
• Provide health professionals, by implementing equality criteria.
• Reduce the increase in price to improve the access of prescribed drugs to individuals in need of them.

4. High Ranking Executives Making Health Equity a Prime Concern

Top management must not only frame the idea, but also act on it. They could build it into high-level decision-making.

Policy makers can partner with agencies and organizations that have come up with the initiative of ensuring that equity in health spreads across borders. They can;

• Participate in associations that work to deal with the root causes of health and education differences.
• Come up with forums that enable the discrimination of health care to be eradicated and meet the health needs of low income community individuals.

5. Improve Access to Quality Education 

Quality childhood improvements are very important determinants of adult consciousness in welfare and health. A good quality education is the foundation of health and well being. Statistics from the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, show that the attainment of higher levels of education among mothers actually improves child’s nurturing. It also reduces exposure of children to diseases that might cause death.

Provision and access to quality and inexpensive higher education is also needed for improvement of economic stability and health. Government and policy making bodies should come up with ways and initiatives to:

• Address the declining physical framework of schools, including lack of adequate drinking water, laboratories and equipment.
• Provide health and mental health counsellors, and invest again in accessible higher education to break the line of systemic inequity.

Access to Care

According to the health affair organisation, access to care implies that a patient has the potential to see a qualified health provider within a reasonable duration of time. Access to care varies by state, demographics, and insurance coverage.

Importance of Access to Care for Health

Access to quality health care service is important for promoting and maintaining health. It is also recommended for the prevention and managing of diseases, reducing unnecessary disability and achieving health equity for all.

Having access to care makes it simple for individuals to find their way into health care, pay for their care and keep their health in check.

Affordable Care Act (ACA), helped to extend coverage to many formerly uninsured individuals. These individuals are less likely to have primary care providers and general care physicians than the insured ones.

3 Barriers of Access to Care

• Cost can be a barrier to care even for those who have insurance.
• For the elderly or those with flexibility challenges, getting to and from doctor appointments can be tiring and time-consuming. This makes such patients neglect to make or keep important appointments.
• Communities with low health insurance rates often have fewer care providers, hospital beds and emergency resources than areas with higher insurance rates.

Conclusion

There are deep root causes of health inequalities in this country and the world at large that would take a lot of time to address. It requires a change in the system to be able to eradicate racism, reduce poverty and improve income equality. All these can be done by fixing the laws and policies that allow for these structural inequalities. Except this is done the fight for health equity will be of no use.

Agents of change like the government, policy makers, even individuals that have the power to change this narrative of inequity need it start now and take actions for the betterment of the economy.