...Running Head: MEDICAL PLURALISM IN WESTERN SOCIETY 1 Course Project: Medical Pluralism in Western Society July 31st, 2015 Introduction & Objectives: Through the course of Health and Society, we explore different techniques and remedies for the use of individual’s health. We have come to an understanding that even in a Western society that is dominated by western biomedicine, there are still correspondence with alternative medicine and spiritual healing that is used when dealing with diseases and other related health illnesses. Since Canada has a multicultural society, individuals may visit doctors, psychologists, paediatrician, and physicians, and at other times we seek chiropractic solutions, relaxation techniques, massage, prayer, herbal therapies, special diets, folk remedies, acupuncture, yoga, or homeopathy in pursuit of having a healthier life. There is not always a conflict between non-western medicine and Western biomedicine. Though the two may have different forms, procedures, norms, regulations, and values, Canada has come to rely on both for a solution to their health. The process by which people take advantage of a variety of health techniques and strategies that are based on different models of health and healing is what has come to be known as medical pluralism. (Woronko) For the objective of the interview, I was tasked...
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...Pharmaceutical Policy in Canada Thesis Canada's health care system, more importantly, the pharmaceutical policy is the under federal and provincial levels of government. In Canada, citizens have a publicly funded health care system with universal access to the Medicare system. The Canada Health Act provides “near-universal” coverage across the nation. Moreover, the government has failed in improving health care results and in altering policy decisions to make a strategic plan. Physicians also play a significant role in contributing to the healthcare facilities and on how they satisfy their patients. In Canada, prescription drug plans vary across the nation. There is a universal prescription drug coverage in Canada that varies throughout each...
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...Abstract Health policy debates are replete with discussions of federalism, most often when advocates of reform put their hopes in states. But health policy literature is remarkably silent on the question of allocation of authority, rarely asking which levels of government ought to lead. We draw on the larger literatures about federalism, found mostly in political science and law, to develop a set of criteria for allocating health policy authority between states and the federal government. They are social justice, procedural democracy, compatibility with value pluralism, institutional capability, and economic sustainability. Of them, only procedural democracy and compatibility with value pluralism point to state leadership. In examining these criteria, we conclude that American policy debates often get federalism backward, putting the burden of health care coverage policy on states that cannot enact or sustain it, while increasing the federal role in issues where the arguments for state leadership are compelling. We suggest that the federal government should lead present and future financing of health care coverage, since it would require major changes in American intergovernmental relations to make innovative state health care financing sustainable outside a strong federal framework. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23, 2010 by President Barack Obama. The ambitious (and controversial) legislation focuses on reforming the...
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...Introduction In the united Sates there is a constant dialogue about the health insurance industry, health care, access to care, the escalating cost of care; the impact of health insurance on work productivity, or the question of health insurance being a right or a privilege. There are approximately thirty-two countries that have an established universal health care system, and the citizens of these countries have access to care. Why is it so hard for the United States of America to create and accomplish this same feat? Is it because of pluralistic views of those in power in America? Is it because of capitalism? Fleming (2006) states, “ compared to health care systems in other nations, the U.S. system depends more on the free market and is more fragmented in pluralism with multiple players, and with large but not Universal public power” (para. 2). Is the United States’ unwillingness to craft a system based on models contrived in the thirty-two countries a testament to more conservative libertarian views, by holding on to the belief that Government should have limited power over the people? Either way it is a defeatist view for America and the disadvantaged groups in this country....
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...The Relevance of Spirituality in the Context of Managed Care Including Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives. Isha Kanu Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V-O503 January 23, 2015 Spirituality is a broad term and there is so much room for different perspectives. It is a way one can connect themselves to something that is bigger than who they are to my own understanding. For so many cases, people’s spirituality is based on searching for the real meaning of life. Spirituality can be defined as the awareness of the relationships with all of creation and also the appreciation of a presence and a purpose that involves a sense of meaning. It is very important for doctors and nurses including other healthcare workers to be certain about when/whether or even how to address the spirituality and religious issues of their patients. Considering the field of health, there are so many cultures and religious pluralism faced every day by healthcare workers. The range of belief systems in the healthcare field is so wide that even nurses and physicians cannot be expected to have an understanding of all beliefs with the practices involved. It is obvious that there are so many differing faiths ranging from atheism, Christianity, agnosticism, Islam, and even to the myriad assortment of spiritual practices that is unheard of to some healthcare workers. Although as healthcare workers it’s impossible to determine every single patient’s spiritual background immediately, it is very vital...
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...In the wake of Obama Care, United States battled with the questions of universal health care for all. Why do other countries less influential like Cuba have universal health care and we do not? What is the stakes behind not having that kind of coverage for all U.S. citizens? Investigating country of France, there are plenty of reasons why we should as Americans have universal health care. What are some pros and cons of universal health care? Pros of universal health care are the number of uninsured U.S. residents has grown to over 45 million. Health care has become increasingly unaffordable for business and individuals. We can eliminate wasteful inefficiencies such as duplicate paper work, claim approval, insurance submission, etc. Medical professionals can concentrate on healing the patient rather than on insurance procedures, malpractice liability, etc. Free medical services would encourage patient to practice preventive medicine and inquire about problems early when treatment will be light; currently patients often avoid physicals and other preventive measure because of the costs. Cons of universal health care are there is not a single government agency or division that runs efficiently; do we really want an organization that developed the U.S. Tax Code handling something as complex as health care? Free health care is not really free since we must pay for it with taxes, expenses for health care would have to be paid for with higher taxes or spending cuts in other areas...
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...Mediation and Ethics Consultation: Destiny Gove Mediation and Ethics Consultation: “The orchestration of moral collaboration [required in ethics consultation] will be complex. Parties will share morally problematic situations but may have different senses of what is relevant and understandably different personal stakes. The ethicist has special responsibility to enliven a process in which these common moral concerns stay in focus while differences are recognized and, ideally, mediated.” —Margaret Walker, 1993, p. 39. Abstract Mediation has received considerable attention in the bioethics literature on ethics consultation. The recent consensus report Core Competencies for Health Care Ethics Consultation issued by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities acknowledges positive benefits of mediation training. In times when moral consensus in the most intractable of cases is not possible, mediation or other conflict resolution strategies might help the parties reach a resolution. Moreover, mediation training can help ethics consultants achieve mastery of the interpersonal elements of ethics consultation. However, to argue that mediation can be appropriately adapted as an ethics consultation modality is a more controversial matter. This paper surveys the bioethics literature regarding the role of mediation as a consultation modality and presents criticisms levied against bioethics mediation. The strongest criticisms concern the supposed...
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...Health Essential Concepts Allopathic –cure based – the biomedical approach takes this approach via surgery, drugs etc. Alternative medicine – see complementary medicine Altruism – the idea that some medical professionals are motivated by the need to put society first rather than financial reward – functionalists such as Barber often argue this. Artefact approach – an approach that believes that the statistics about class and health exaggerate the real situation. Bio-medical model of health – the conventional Western model of health which sees the body as a machine under attack from germs etc and which insists on diagnosis of symptoms by medical professionals. Birth rate – the number live births per 1000 of the population each year. Clinical iceberg – the idea that most illness never comes to the attention of doctors because it is self-medicated. Complementary medicine – alternative forms of health therapy, usually disapproved of by the medical profession, e.g. homeopathy, acupuncture etc. Cultural explanations of health – blame the victims (or their culture) for engaging in unhealthy behaviour and lifestyles, e.g. smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise etc. Cultural relativity of health and illness – the idea that different cultures explain and react differently to illness, e.g. some take a holistic approach, some blame witchcraft or magic, Hindus refer to chest pains as a ‘sinking heart’ etc. Disability – a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and...
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...Abstract Entitlement, as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary (1985), is "to furnish with a right or claim to something." The legal definition of entitlement as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2007), is “an individual’s right to benefits by law or contract.” “Entitlement Mentality” as defined by our textbook is the general belief that someone is owed something (for example, a job, an education, a living wage, or health care) just because she or he is a member of society (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2008). In this paper we will discuss the entitlement mentality of various demographic groups along with the other generations we have labeled, and how the idea of Pluralism plays a part in the Entitlement way of thinking as well. Along with how this mentality is perceived, why and how it’s been acquired by our new generation and how other generations played a part in this new mind set and the potential effect and how or what we can do to remedy the situation. Introduction I would like to explain my background as I feel this will lay the groundwork for this paper and portray my personal beliefs as to why the various generations have played a part in my life and others lives as well. I myself was born in 1964 in Chicago the last year of the “Baby Boomer Generation” (1946-1965) one year before “Generation X’ (1965-1981) and from parents of the “Silent Generation” (1928-1945) and I now have children from the “Millennial” (1982-2009) or “Generation Y” (Pew, 2010). ...
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...1. In 1882, Congress enacted legislation prohibiting the immigration of a. Hawaiians. b. Japanese. c. Chinese. d. all of these 2. Curanderismo refers to a. illegal immigrants from Mexico. b. feminist views by Mexican American women. c. a form of holistic health care and healing. d. godparent-godchild relationship. 3. The policy of separate but equal was defined as __________ by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896. a. reasonable b. discriminatory c. racist d. unacceptable 4. The culture of poverty is a. based on conflict theory. b. a way of not holding individuals responsible for their poor choices. c. a way of holding policy makers responsible for social inequality. d. another way of blaming the victim. 5. The Termination Act of 1953 a. ended reservation residents' tax immunity. b. was a policy favored by Native Americans to gain greater self-governance. c. resulted in the withdrawal of basic services such as road repair and medical care. d. provided funding for basic health care services. 6. A significant aspect of familism is the godparent-godchild relationship called a. curanderismo. b. vendidos. c. bracero. d. campadrazgo. 7. The Allotment Act intended to impose upon the Native Americans the European concept of a. voting and election of leaders. b. religion. c. hunting for sport. d. private property ownership. 8. By the mid-1960s one-fourth to one-third of the people in the Employment Assistance Program a....
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...four theoretical traditions in the study of American politics – which can be characterized as theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic Elite Domination, and two types of interest group pluralism, Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism – offers different predictions about which sets of actors have how much influence over public policy: average citizens; economic elites; and organized interest groups, mass-based or business-oriented. A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. This paper reports on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues. Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism. 2 Gilens and Page Testing Theories of American Politics...
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...Evolution of Health Services in the United States Learning Objectives To discover historical developments that have shaped the nature of the US health care delivery system To evaluate why the system has been resistant to national health insurance reforms To explore developments associated with the corporatization of health care To speculate on whether the era of socialized medicine has dawned in the United States “Where’s the market?” 81 26501_CH03_FINAL.indd 81 7/27/11 10:31:29 AM 82 CHAPTER 3 The Evolution of Health Services in the United States Introduction The health care delivery system of the United States evolved quite differently from the systems in Europe. American values and the social, political, and economic antecedents on which the US system is based have led to the formation of a unique system of health care delivery, as described in Chapter 1. This chapter discusses how these forces have been instrumental in shaping the current structure of medical services and how they are likely to shape its future. The evolutionary changes discussed here illustrate the American beliefs and values (discussed in Chapter 2) in action, within the context of broad social, political, and economic changes. Because social, political, and economic contexts are not static, their shifting influences lend a certain dynamism to the health care delivery system. Conversely, beliefs and values remain relatively stable over time. Consequently, in the American health care delivery experience...
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...International Journal of Medical Sociology and Anthropology ISSN: 2546-9763 Vol. 2 (2), pp. 066-075, February, 2013. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals Review Review on Medicalisation: A critical appraisal with special reference to India Zulufkar Ahmad Khanday Department of Sociology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 202002, India. E-mail: k.zulufkar.amu@gmail.com, Tel.: 8171286053 Accepted 10 December, 2013 The concept of medicalization emerged from the intellectual and social turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s as a critique of medicine as authoritarian and the expansion of its conceptual model to the analysis of social ills and attendant policy. “Medicalization” refers the process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in terms of illness and disorders”. This review is based mainly on three objectives; (a) first is to explain the nature of medicalization- i.e. what medicalization actually is and why there is need of de-medicalization, (b) second is to explain the how the medicalization has negative effects on the health of people- i.e. ‘the medical establishment has become a major threat to health’ and providing a dossier of medicine’s adverse effects – the wrongs and harms it has done – through processes of clinical, social and cultural ‘iatrogenesis’ or doctor-induced conditions, and finally (c) third is to explain the impact of the...
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...Abstract Developing countries can generate effective solutions for today’s global health challenges. This paper reviews relevant literature to construct the case for international cooperation, and in particular, developed-developing country partnerships. Standard database and web-based searches were conducted for publications in English between 1990 and 2010. Studies containing full or partial data relating to international cooperation between developed and developing countries were retained for further analysis. Of 227 articles retained through initial screening, 65 were included in the final analysis. The results were two-fold: some articles pointed to intangible benefits accrued by developed country partners, but the majority of information pointed to developing country innovations that can potentially inform health systems in developed countries. This information spanned all six WHO health system components. Ten key health areas where developed countries have the most to learn from the developing world were identified and include, rural health service delivery; skills substitution; decentralisation of management; creative problem-solving; education in communicable disease control; innovation in mobile phone use; low technology simulation training; local product manufacture; health financing; and social entrepreneurship. While there are no guarantees that innovations from developing country experiences can effectively transfer to developed countries, combined developed-developing...
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