Healthcare Provision in Developing Nations

Healthcare Provision in Developing Nations

Table of Contents

The challenges

 Many developing nations suffer widespread poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, unrestricted sexual behavior resulting to a rapid increase of population, diseases, poor social amenities and harmful traditional practices. All these aspects combine to contribute to poor healthcare provision and backwardness in development.  The social economic development, as well as,  increasing population rate makes it difficult to provide sufficient health care to people. Bloch and his colleagues (2011) have  found out that  adequate health care can only be provided when the issue poverty has been adequately dealt with other barriers that they have suggested that relate to health is based on knowledge limitations, attitudinal aspects and lack of a patient or provider centered structure (Bloch, Rozmovits, & Giambrone, 2011).


Many developing nations consist of up to 90% in terms of disease burden but, healthcare is only allocated 10% of the nation’s annual budget (Milstead, 2008).  This means that misplaced priority of the governments contribute to the continuous cycle of ill health, poverty, backwardness and diseases. The physical factors, such as, lack of adequate water supply, inadequate sanitation, poor drainage and sewage disposal do contribute to poor health.  Furthermore, behavioral factors such as alcohol abuse, personal hygiene, tobacco smoking and inappropriate sexual habit are also the cause of poor health. When these issues are not addressed, then the provision of the right healthcare service becomes futile.


Strategies that address the challenges

In order to address the challenges of providing adequate care to patients, it is essential to enact accreditation, mandates and administrative regulations that impact on the practice and quality of health care. The policies will look into the need to have licensed facilities and professionals with appropriate certification and accreditation so as to provide the right clinical procedures.  The accreditation of Hospital is determined by their performance standards and to urge the facilities to make continuous improvements.  An improvement of these facilities will see health improvement outcome.  Another strategy is for healthcare reforms to urge the government to allocate more resources in terms of employing qualified staff, paying the staff members well and supplying the right equipments to the healthcare centers.


Millennium development goals of most developing countries should look into enhancing healthcare services to its citizens. It is also necessary to educate community members on the consequences of careless sexual behaviors and harmful cultural practices. This is because education will, empower people to make healthy choices. The developing nations also have to work towards the e improvement of the environment, such as, ensuring that every region has clean water supply, provision of adequate drainage and sewage facilities and addressing the issue of housing (Kovner, & Knickman, 2011).


The effort of a nurse at a global level

The nurses have a crucial role to play at a global level in improving access to cost-effective and quality care. This means that nurses have a role in influencing change right from the local, national, regional, organization, systems and international level (International Council of Nurses, 2011). The nurses play a necessary role in providing information concerning the people’s healthcare needs. They have the knowledge on who various environmental and structural factors contribute to poor health of a given group of people. They also have the insight in the way people will respond to various services and strategies. Therefore, nurses should be part of the decision and policy making process at a national and international level no matter the country they are (Benton, 2012).


Reference

Milstead, J (2008) Health policy and politics. 3rd ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
Bloch, G, Rozmovits, L, & Giambrone, B (2011) Barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty as a risk factor. BMC Family Practice12, p 62–67.   Benton, D (2012) Advocating Globally to Shape Policy and Strengthen Nursing’s Influence. Online journal of nurses, vol 16. P123
International Council of Nurses (2011) International nurses day closing the gap, increasing access and equity. Geneva, International Council of Nurses. Retrieved from www.icn.ch/publications/2011-closing-the-gap-increasing-access
On November 13, 2012
Kovner, A & Knickman, J (2011) Health care delivery in the United States 10th.New York, Springer Publishing




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