Variations In Approaches To Care

Part One

For this section, I chose Haitian Americans. They comprise 8% of immigrants in Florida, according to the American Immigration Council. Haitian Americans’ culture gravitates more to the Haitian culture. Unaeze & Perrin (n.d.) find that Haitian Americans from rural areas are less likely to see healthcare services from the mainstream sector. Instead, they consult folk healers (Unaeze & Perrin, n.d.). It has also been found that mothers have a duty to treat illnesses through home remedies, recommendations, or organize folk healers and Voodoo treatment (Unaeze & Perrin, n.d.).

Nevertheless, there are no laws that prevent Haitian Americans from accessing mainstream healthcare services. The choice for traditional healthcare services may be due to a lack of cultural competence, making them susceptible to discrimination. The “privatized, commoditized, and largely unregulated and informal health market” makes it costly for most Haitian Americans to have an affordable healthcare experience (Durham et al., 2015). The community and state may resolve this situation by ensuring a professional status for the home caregivers, such that their cost and implications is comparable to the mainstream healthcare sector. This would bring together all healthcare practitioners and legislatures to ensuring that Haitian Americans access quality and affordable healthcare.

The Refugee Health Program is among the programs that serve immigrants and refugees in Florida. The program aims at increasing refugee’s access to primary health services. It has enabled access to healthcare services and education for a considerably large population of Haitian Americans who cannot access mainstream healthcare services due to the high cost of insurance or cultural beliefs. Enactment of immigration policies that will favor immigrants will enable straightforward access to legal status, and thus the ability to work and access education. Both work and education will foster the affordability of healthcare costs and reduce reliance on traditional treatment interventions.

Part Two

For this section, I choose the elderly in Naples, Florida. A study found that some of the barriers hindering older adults from accessing quality healthcare include doctor’s responsiveness to concerns, medical bills, transport difficulty, street safety, fear of severe diagnosis, fear of unneeded test, lack of a regular doctor, and work responsibilities (Fitzpatrick et al., 2004). Besides these challenges, the elderly are considered vulnerable since they are more susceptible to harms. For instance, they are more likely to suffer impairments and dysfunctions since their immunity is lower than younger adults. However, as Fitzpatrick et al. (2004) have noted, quality healthcare would go a long way in improving the quality of life for the elderly. Therefore, I would work to modify the doctor’s responsiveness to patient concerns as an immediate issue.

I would consult the elderly when formulating the programs and policies since patient-centered approaches are critical in the intervention. A patient-centered approach would consult from each older adult about their personal preferences regarding activities and services (Avanecean et al., 2017). That way, the program of policies would ensure doctors are responsive and honor seniors’ choice, dignity, and individuality, leading to better health outcomes.

The program would appreciate that sometimes a shortage of doctors challenges the personalization of treatment, and thus patients feel that their concerns are not addressed. Therefore, through legislation and state administrative processes, I would ensure that public hospitals and healthcare facilities have adequate doctors to enable patient-centered and personalized care for seniors. That would make access to treatment seamless, reduce medication costs since readmission is likely to reduce, and improve seniors’ health outcomes in the town.

References

Avanecean, D., Calliste, D., Contreras, T., Lim, Y., & Fitzpatrick, A. (2017). Effectiveness of patient-centered interventions on falls in the acute care setting. JBI Database Of Systematic Reviews And Implementation Reports, 15(1), 55-65. https://doi.org/10.11124/jbisrir-2016-002981

Durham, J., Michael, M., Hill, P., & Paviignani, E. (2015). Haïti and the health marketplace: the role of the private, informal market in filling the gaps left by the state. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-015-1088-5

Fitzpatrick, A., Powe, N., Cooper, L., Ives, D., & Robbins, J. (2004). Barriers to Health Care Access Among the Elderly and Who Perceives Them. American Journal Of Public Health, 94(10), 1788-1794. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.94.10.1788

Unaeze, F., & Perrin, R. Haitian Americans – History, Modern era, The first haitians in america. Everyculture.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020, from https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Haitian-Americans.html.