(a) “Access to food is more important than access to health care. Why do governments intervene more directly in markets for health care compared to markets for food?”
Food and health have a direct association, and they influence each other. In most developed nations like the UK, food production and supply is not a big issue,e and that is why many governments do not see access to food as being more important than healthcare. In contrast, most developed nations have worrying statistics on health, with most of them spending billions of dollars per year to cure large percentages of their populations. This is why governments intervene more directly inhealth marketsh compared to markets for food. It is logical for the economic adviser to the Health Minister to advise the minister to dwell on access to food because access to food plays a crucial role in determining the overall health status of an individual.
It is paramount to note that different factors shape a person’s overall diet, body weight, and the risk of developing diet-related illnesses, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes, among others. Individual factors may explain some but not all the differences in the rates at which different population groups experience these problems. Focus on food access has increased as researchers seek to better understand the factors besides individual behaviours that may lead to differences in diet and health outcomes (Ploeg 2010). Interest in the relationship between food access, diet, and health outcomes is also rooted in a substantial body of literature that shows disparities in many health outcomes across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Morland 2013). Many studies have hypothesized that differences in food access across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status may contribute to or reinforce these health disparities (IOM 2009).
Conceptualizations have been made where it has been shown that an individual’s (family) and physical environment characteristics shape dietary decisions. Individual characteristics entail demographics (age, sex, race, and ethnicity), socioeconomic status (income, education, and employment), and family characteristics (family size and composition,n and presence of children), and preferences for food and other goods. The physical environmenincludesde the food environment (accessibility to stores and restaurants) along with the characteristics of the built environment, such as parks, sidewalks, availability of public transportation, air pollution, and noise. It is also likely that the social environment faced by individuals and familie.g.,(e.g cultural and social norms, social support, and safety and violence) affects diet. Diet is a major determinant of the BMI and obesity status, and it is also a factor in the risks of such diseases as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Some of the same individual factors and physical and socioeconomic status affect BMI and diet-related illnesses.
A good number of studies have attempted to study the association between food access and health outcomes. The majority of the studies have assessed the association between store access and dietary intake and it has been shown that better access to a supermarket or large grocery store is associated with healthier store is associated with healthier food intake (Stensland 2015). The relationship between the associations between the availability of restaurants, both fast food and full service, and dietary intake has also been studied. In general, these studies have found that greater availability of fast food restaurants and lower prices of fast food items are related to poor dietary outcomes. Moreover, access to restaurants with full service shows eitherao relationship or a positive relationship with healthy dietary intake.
Additionally, different studies have examined the link between store and restaurant access and BMI and obesity. In general, these studies find that better access to a supermarket is associated with reduced risk of obesity and better access to convenience stores is associated with increased risk of obesity (Robertson 2004). In another study, the researchers sought to examine the risk of developing obesity and schools’ access to fat and full service restaurants. The findings indicated that obesity cases were high among students whose schools are located near fast foods while the risk of obesity was lower in schools that are near full-service restaurants and far from fast food restaurants (Ploeg 2010). For these findings, it can be noted that access to food, healthy food for that matter, plays a crucial role in promoting healthy living, while the reverse is true.
These findings bring forth important findings that ought to be taken into consideration by health policy makers and experts,s including the Health Minister. In other words, when health experts focus on health care domains, they thus indicate that they lack a proactive approach to problem-solving. Many things can be done at the level of food access that would go a long way in reducing health disparities in different locations, ethnicities/races, and socioeconomic statuses. The Member of Parliament, with the view that access to food is more important than access to health care, thinks so because by dwelling on access to food, the policy makers would be taking a proactive approach to addressing societal problems. Previous studies have shown that there is a direct association between food access and health outcomes. They have clearly shown that access to healthy food contributes to healthy outcomes. Unfortunately, access to unhealthy foods contributes to unhealthy outcomes. In most developed nations, including the UK, there are no big issues with food production, but access to healthy food is problematic. By focusing on access to healthy food, the Health Minister can help reduce poor health outcomes.
b) What do you think should be the objectives of a health care system? How would you finance and organise the system to achieve this?
Access to healthcare is a fundamental right, and it is the responsibility of the government of the day to provide access to healthcare to all its citizens. Therefore, the main objectives of a healthcare system should be as follows:
(i) Access to affordable healthcare by all citizens;
(ii) Provision of timely, safe, and high-quality care to all citizens;
(iii) Ensure that all public healthcare institutions are well-equipped and staffed.
(iv) Ensure that all private healthcare institutions are well equipped, staffed, and provide affordable, safe, high-quality, and timely healthcare to all their clients.
(v) Ensure that all healthcare professionals are well compensated.
A solid healthcare system cannot be established if its operations and functions are left as the prerogative of the government only. However, the entire success of a health care system relies on collective efforts and involvement of both public and private organizations and entities, as well asthee public. Firstly, there would be a need to work with the government to form the necessary laws that would anchor the entire healthcare system on solid legal foundations. The regulations will ensure that there is law and order and that those who flout the laws are held accountable. Those regulations ought to define how to finance the entire healthcare system, starting from the establishment and equipping of healthcare centres, hiring and compensation of healthcare professionals, provision of drugs and insurance cover to citizens, and the code of conduct of all professionals involved in the provision of healthcare services (medical and non-medical professionals).
Health financing systems play a crucial role in increasing access to healthcare for all citizens. Health financing is anchored on three levers,s namely generating funds for health, using the fundequitably andfairlyr, and minimizing financial barriers through prepayment (reducing out-of-pocket payments). In order to attain these goals, there are different ways through which funds to drive the healthcare system can be generated. Firstly, there is the normal taxation; the government gets huge amounts of income via tax, and it would be prudent to get a sizable percentage of that income to fund the healthcare system. In this case, 10% of the tax income would be a commendable amount. Since the UK government generates more than £606 billion in tax peryeara,g £60 billion can be invested in healthcare. In other words, healthcare should be given priority. In addition, employers and self-employed people will be required to contribute to the national health fund via taxation. Collectively, these two taxation platforms will generate sufficient funds to run the entire national healthcare system. These funds will be sufficient to finance public hospitals and other healthcare services, as well as pay doctors.
Having established a rich national healthcare kitty, running the other processes would be much easier. The next step would be to ensure that all public healthcare institutions are staffed well, as well as equipped as per the set standards. Through the provision of well-equipped and staffed healthcare facilities, the goal of attaining safe, timely, and high-quality healthcare would be easily attained. Besides the high nursing workload thef nursing shortage has been one of the threats to the patient’s safety. The nurse’s workload has a definite effect on nurses’ task completion. When overloaded with work, nurses may be forced to neglect some activities that directly impact the patient’s safety,y precisely in the Intensive Care Unit. In addition, a substantial nursing workload lessens the time that nurses spend communicating and collaborating with physician thus impacting nurse-physician collaboration quality (ANA 2015).
Research by Agezna, Tefera, and Yiman (2014) has indicated that there is a direct correlation between the working conditions of the nurse, like the workload and satisfaction at work. The researchers further contend that dissatisfaction among nurses undermines nurses’ morale and contributes to high turnover, absenteeism, and poor performance at the job. These factors are potential threats to the quality of the care being offered to the patient and the effectiveness of the organization.
The poor working environment has been found to heavily stress nurses and junior medical doctors in multifaceted settings (BML 2014). A heavy workload can cause burnout, distress, or emotional exhaustion. Those nurses and medical doctors who are stressed may underperform because of the reduction of their cognitive and physical resources. This phenomenon is likely to hurt the quality of services and the safety of the patient. Through sufficient staffing and fair compensation of doctors and nurses, concerns of burnout, fatigue, low morale, and high turnover will be minimized,d meaning that most of the staff will focus on their primary role oprovidingde care.
Unfortunately, harsh economic conditions have been a key obstacle to the resolution of the problem of nursing job satisfaction and turnover. The scarcity of resources has forced many health institutions to hire fewer workers to enhance their competitive advantage. The problem has led to a massive workload among the few nurses, thus compromising the quality of services being offered and the safety of the patients. The motivation of employees through promotions and awarding of financial incentives has also become hard due to economic problems that are facing many health organizations,d ultimately causing poor patient outcomes. On a positive note, addressing the nurses and doctors’shortagee will help improve patient outcomes. Previous studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between the working conditions of nurses and doctor like the workload and satisfaction at work. The researchers further contend that dissatisfaction of the nurse/doctor can lead to low morale, high turnover, absenteeism, and poor performance at the job. These factors are potential threats to the quality of the care being offered to the patient and the effectiveness of the organization. Therefore, by addressing the shortage of nurses and doctors, quality patient outcomes are guaranteed.
In conclusion, through excellent funding of the national healthcare kitty, sufficient staffing and well-structured regulations, and commendable remuneration for all health professionals, all citizens will access affordable healthcare, citizens will be guaranteed of timely, safe, and high-quality care, and there will be sufficient staffing and equipment of all public hospitals.
References
Agezna, A, Tefera, B, and Yiman, E 2014. Factors influencing job satisfaction and anticipated turnover among nurses in Sidama zone public health facilities, South Ethiopia.
Biomedical Central Limited (BML) 2014, Nursing churn and turnover in Australian hospitals: Nurses' perceptions and suggestions for supportive strategies.
Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009, The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts: Workshop Summary, Washington DC: IOM.
Morland, K 2014, Local Food Environments: Food Access in America, New York: CRC Press.
Ploeg, D 2010, Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress, Philadelphia: Diane.
Robertson, A 200). Food and Health in Europe: A New Basis for Action, WHO.
Stensland, A 20).5, Healthy Food Access and Policy: A Study of Rural and Urban Food Environments in Riley County, Kansas: Kansas State University.
