Comprehensive Analysis of Population Health: Key Issues and Challenges

This essay delves into critical aspects of population health. It begins by highlighting the limitations of the biomedical model and emphasizing the social model's focus on health determinants and societal interventions. The essay then contrasts privatized and public healthcare systems, evaluating their efficiency and sustainability, particularly in different economic contexts. The discussion extends to the impact of economic inequality on health, exploring how income disparities affect access to resources, living conditions, and overall well-being. Finally, the essay addresses the importance of educating healthcare professionals about gender inequality, advocating for their role in addressing gender-based health disparities and promoting equitable healthcare practices. The essay underscores the interconnectedness of social, economic, and gender factors in shaping population health outcomes.

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Population Health
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Authors note:

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Section 1
Do social models of health highlight the limitations of the biomedical model?
The social model of health highlights the limitations of biomedical model as the social
model emphasizes on the health determinants and health interventions in the society. It
demonstrates ill health as a process of interaction between the individuals and the environment.
The biomedical model plays a significant role in understanding the causes of the disease and
appropriate treatments related to it but it has been criticized due to social and behavioral factors
like sociology and psychology and also medicine. The social model demonstrates the health and
illness by focusing on scientific or medical reasons as well as other factors that may lead to a
deprived state of health such as poverty, low socio economic status, lack of housing and
nutrition, stress related to employment and pollution in the environment (Riekert, Ockene &
Pbert,2013).These factors affect the physical as well as the psychological health of individuals
because health largely depends on the society and the culture the individuals are living in. The
main limitation that is experienced by the biomedical model is that it neglects the social and
psychological factors by underestimating the complex nature of health and disease. In this
model, the overall health aspects are linked to changes in the society and the environment and
not the medical changes. The social model explains that a proper balance between the individual
and the social interventions is mandatory. It assumes that good health is the main responsibility
for the individuals living in the society. It can be done by properly examining the social
determinants of the health such as status and the behavior related to the health of individuals.
The social model of health focuses on the discrimination that is faced by the individuals
on the basis of caste, creed, religion, ethnicity, socioeconomic status etc. It provides equal

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importance in preventing the health issue by providing proper treatment and reduces the
discrimination between the individuals (Germov, 2009). It works by promoting the participation
of communities and incorporating several interventions in the state such as social services and
public policies including control in the pollution levels and safety at the workplace. There are
three major aspects of the social model of health. These include social production and the
distribution of the illness and the health, Social construction of illness and health, Social
organization of health care (Germov, 2009).The biomedical model focuses in the treatment of the
disease and the ability of taking risks in the individuals. There are several disadvantages of the
biomedical model such as the patients who suffer from any health disease are known by their
diagnosis and not by their individuality. They are not provided quality care and more importance
is given on the use of modern and scientific technology (Kidd, Kenny & McKinstry,2015).
Do privatized Health Care Systems deliver better Health care?
Health care services delivered by the privatized health care systems are
more efficient and sustainable as compared to public health sector organizations especially in
developing and poor countries. Private health care in Australia is funded by health insurance
funds. Medibank is the largest provider of health fund with a 30% share in the market ( Eldredge
et al., 2016). There are a large number of individuals who prefer to take the assistance of health
care professionals in private hospitals. This is because private hospitals provide proper assistance
and are responsive towards patients as they are well equipped in providing personalized attention
to their patients. The nurses, doctors, clinicians and other health care professionals have a few
patients and hence can provide individual attention to them (Barbour,1995). They have proper
amenities and involve the usage of modern and scientific technology to deliver the health care

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services. Hence, the services are quite expensive and cannot be afforded by all the patients. The
waiting time of the patient is short in private health care systems as compared to public health
care systems. Private hospitals provide individual attention and personalized care to their patients
related to the health disease and treatment. The nursing staff and other health care professionals
provide self help and rehabilitation care to the patients after the treatment if required.
Public health care is provided by the government through national health
care systems. The health care funding in Australia is through Medicare which provides funding
to a major part of the cost of health care services. The amount that is paid by the Medicare
includes the health cost of the specialist and the general practitioner. A large number of people
do not prefer visiting public hospitals for health care services especially in the poor and the
developing countries. This is because public hospitals lack in providing proper hospitality and
person centered care to all their patients. The patients do not get enough time to discuss their
concerns with the doctor as there are a large number of patients. The waiting time of the patients
is also large in a public health care system (Leeder, 2003). The number of nursing staff and the
doctors is large in public hospitals but they do not provide personalized care to their patients.
Public health care systems lack equipments based on modern technology as they are expensive
and hence are unable to provide proper health care services to patients.
There are several initiatives and measures that are being taken in order to
improve the quality of health care services in the public hospitals. These include providing
proper attention to patients suffering from complicated health issues, responding to their phone
calls and reducing the cost of the treatment. It is important to provide person-centered-care and
take appropriate measures in order to provide quality health care services to the patients. The
patients should be provided proper counseling after the treatment and should be explained about

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the preventive measures to be taken to enhance their experience as a patient. Proper measures for
the safety and the prevention of infection in patients should be taken by the nurses and other
health care professionals. They should wash their hands with soap solution or any other alcohol
based hand wash during examining the patient. The instruments used should be disinfected and
sterilized before using and the waste products should be disposed of safely to avoid any harmful
infections especially in public hospitals in developed countries.
Section 2
Is economic inequality a threat to good health?
Economic equality refers to gap between the individuals who have a high income and a low
income. It acts as threat to good health in several ways. Income produced by an individual plays
a crucial role in meeting his or her basic needs and also impacts health such as provision of
proper medical facilities, nutritional diet and adequate housing facilities. A high income
increases the chances of good health in human beings and a low income leads to several health
issues in individuals. This is because they mainly reside in poverty –stricken areas which are
more prone to risks related to health issues (Kawachi & Subramanian, 2014).
People who earn a low wage struggle everyday to meet their needs as well as their family
members. They have to choose between different activities such as buy food items, health care
services or housing facilities. They do not receive any support from anyone and hence suffer
from several mental and physical health issues such as low self esteem, depressive symptoms,
anxiety, fear and sadness. It has been observed that people who have a low income are
discriminated on the basis of low socio economic status in the society. They are excluded from
economic, social and political life. Individuals who earn a high income can lead to improved

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health condition and well being. People who live in poverty conditions experience violence,
crime, environmental pollution and unhygienic environment. They have less access to education,
employment, recreational facilities which lead to a negative impact on the individuals as well as
the entire community (Reuss,2001).
Individuals who live in the lowest poverty conditions are expected to live longer as
compared to those who live in highest poverty conditions. Economic equality plays a significant
role in affecting the health condition of individuals. The distribution of income within the
individuals or the population also affects the health status along with the income and poverty
levels among individuals. The country spends around 2 times in providing health care services
per individual as compared to other countries; it ranks 49 in terms of life expectancy (Pickett &
Wilkinson, 2015).
Countries which have a higher rank on the basis of life expectancy have several policies
in order to support families and protect their workers. They can provide a safe environment by
providing several health care facilities to individuals. These policies address the inequality of
income/wealth by lowering down the gap between the two in order to provide appropriate
resources to everyone to survive (Eldredge et al., 2016). It can also be done by reducing the
connection between health and wealth and promoting the availability of resources for each and
every individual, by not being dependent on income or the assets of individuals.

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Should healthcare professionals be educated about gender inequality?
Gender inequality results in the discrimination between men and women. It leads to a
negative health issues among females and women on a global scale. It provides men with
authority and control over the lives of women and results in emotional and mental health issues
such as depressive symptoms, anxiety and sadness in women. The health care professionals
should be educated about gender inequality because discrimination on the basis of gender is a
major social and health issue ( García-Moreno et al., 2015).Nurses can play a crucial role in
addressing the rights of women and they can help in reducing health inequalities among men and
women. It is important to provide information and knowledge to the nursing staff and other
health care professionals about gender inequality. This will play a crucial role in the
identification of women who had been the victims of physical and sexual violence (Bowler,
1993).
The nurses and the doctors can make a significant contribution in helping women and
protect them from the destructive behavior against them. These are the analysis of personal
attitude towards the issue, empowering women by the use of nursing practice and the formation
of specific interventions. The nursing staff and the health care professionals should provide
proper health care services to both men and women and discriminate them on the basis of
gender, caste, religion and socio economic status. Since, majority of the nursing staff are women;
they will not question women candidates that would support her being a victim of abuse (Miers,
2002). Nurses will remain sensitive towards women who have been abused. Nursing staff can
help in empowering the women who have been assaulted physically and psychologically. They
will examine her physically and make her comfortable while listening to her ordeal. The nurses,

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doctors and other health care professionals should make them comfortable and provide proper
counseling sessions. Victims of sexual or physical assault should be treated using proper
communication skills so that they feel comfortable in sharing their problems and issues (Pickett
& Wilkinson, 2015).
Women have always been treated as a burden in the society since ages due to lack of
education and wealth. They are treated as an object in their homes by men specially husbands
and are not allowed to work according to their wish (Riekert, Ockene & Pbert, 2013).They are
not given a well- balanced diet.Nurses should provide information about the practice of having
safe sex and encourage them the use of condoms to prevent the infection from sexually
transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancy in females (Chrisler, Barney & Palatino,
2016).Nurses can also provide emotional and physical support to women. They should be
provided appropriate health care services by the nurses and other health care staffs.Hence, it is
very important to educate health care professionals about the gender inequality in order to
prevent discrimination among men and women in the society (Sampselle, 1991).

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