Perspective on Health Care Name: Course: Date: Perspective on Health Care Question One The history of healthcare can be traced in Europe to the era of Otto von Bismarck. In time, healthcare services made their way into the United States and spread to the rest of the world since. What I find captivating in the history of health lies with the fact that Europe and Germany in particular has the oldest system of health care. Taking this into perspective, Otto von Bismarck’s social legislation included the 1883 health insurance bill, the 1884 accident insurance, and the 1889 disability and old age insurance (Bijlefeld, 2010).
All these bills are responsible for the discovery of healthcare in Europe and its spread to the rest of the world. Initially, the bills were designed to address people on low wages and certain civil servants. Eventually, development of the healthcare system saw the bills covering the entire population of Germany. It is interesting how the 18-century German civilization was able to come up with health care insurance. At this period, other civilizations were still primitive in terms of healthcare and development and thus could not comprehend achieving such a groundbreaking feat. Furthermore, another factor of the history of healthcare that interests me is the development of disease vaccination in the course of the years. This I can associate with development programs such as the center for disease control (CDC). Vaccinations are what capture my interest mainly.
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The early 18th and 19th centuries oversaw the death of many people from cholera and yellow fever epidemics. Others succumbed to contaminated food and water. However, development of technology and breakthroughs in science led to the discovery of vaccinations over the years. Currently, vaccinations against these and many more diseases have led to a drastic drop in disease related deaths worldwide (Bijlefeld, 2010). Question Two I am interested in pursuing the clinical areas in health care practice. In this case, compared to non-clinical areas, I will be directly involved in treating patients or providing any direct care to patients. In my view, I would like to be associated with those that provide vital help in the processes of diagnosing, treating, and caring for individuals. In certain cases, I would also like to be involved in looking after the comfort and general well-being of patients.
Ultimately, these are rewarding and responsible roles that pose direct influence on the lives of the patients. Furthermore, pursuing a clinical role presents an ideal route to a variety of health care careers to individuals with enthusiasm and commitment rather than qualifications in academics (Edge, & Groves, 2009). In this regard, it my understanding that I should be prepared to work in one among many roles such as the laboratory, the maternity or hospital ward, the health center or community clinic. It is my belief that I possess the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable me to pursue a clinical role in health care. Question Three Among the positive health outcomes in relation to demographic indicators that have intrigued me, come from the premise that the rate of disease and infection is low in certain parts of the world.
In this regard, access to medicine and vaccination has been the main contributor to this aspect (LaVeist, 2005). This is mainly dependent on the level of development and status of health care. Regions where deaths related to disease are prevalent imply little or no access to medicine and vaccinations. On the other hand, global regions where medicine and vaccinations are available have minimal disease related deaths. Negative health outcomes associated with demographic indicators that intrigued me include global warming. Global warming has become a current worldwide concern due to the devastating impact it poses for the entire global population. Ultimately, global warming has led to certain regions in the world receiving excess rainfall than others. This often leads to flooding leading to new infestations and infections that can be attributed directly to global warming.
Additionally, people that live in regions with high temperatures associated with high temperatures are more likely to contract malaria due to the high mosquito population (LaVeist, 2005). On the hand, certain regions will receive limited sunshine due to global warming. With a poor diet, people in these regions are likely to suffer from rickets. Question Four One major resource for finding information regarding the United States history on health care is the United States National Library of Medicine. This library operated with a specific cause of collecting, preserving, making available, and interpreting to its diverse audience a rich global collection of historical materials related to disease and human health. This United States federal government is responsible for operating the library. It is located in Maryland, Bethseda. The library boasts an excess of seven million books, manuscripts, technical reports, and microfilms.
It also includes images and photographs on medicine and sciences sources for some of the rarest and oldest works in the world (National Library of Medicine (U.S.), & National Institutes of Health (U.S.), 2004). For those who cannot gain access to the library, it has a website with a user-friendly environment that provides icons with relevant information pertaining to a particular issue.
Reference Bijlefeld, M., & Cooper, E. (2010). Health care: Trends. Virginia Business, 25, 5, 31-33. Edge, R.
S., & Groves, J. R. (2009). Health care: A guide for clinical practice. Albany: Delmar Publishers.
LaVeist, T. A. (2005). Minority populations and health: An introduction to health disparities.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. National Library of Medicine (U.S.) & National Institutes of Health (U.S.). (2004). The National Library of Medicine.
Bethesda, Md.: National Institutes of Health.