Articles
Introduction
In today’s society, many places have the luxury and expenses to provide proper healthcare. However, there is an abundance of underdeveloped countries that cannot provide proper healthcare. Around 80 percent of people in developing countries rely on local health care. There are no ambulances or numbers to call for help and people often have to walk long distances to get to a hospital. People can’t visit doctors or clinics which result in individuals with medical problems not being to get help needed. There are major challenges that contribute to the quality of primary care delivered in these underdeveloped countries. These major challenges are the lack of doctors, resource limitations, and expensive treatments.
Lack of Doctors
Many developing countries face shortages of medical professionals such as doctors and other healthcare professionals. In addition, the lack of available human resources results in training and poor motivation of these medical professionals These places suffer from healthcare professionals shortages for different reasons such as emigration, rural/urban mal-distribution, and change in population demography. This is especially true for rural areas and developing countries where populations are large, and there is already an established shortage of healthcare professionals. Adding on, some village wives in these places perform check ups, help deliver children, give birth control devices, and provide postnatal care. Meaning that patients would not be getting the proper service instead they would be receiving it from someone who is not experienced. Also, patients and family members are expected to take care of patients while they are in the hospitals. Furthermore, patients are usually in a room with other patients. Relatives usually stay in the room of the sick patient around the clock and take turns taking care of them since the shortages of nurses and doctors. Without doctors with proper training, these underdeveloped countries cannot receive the proper health care.
Resource Limitations
Resource limitations play a vast role in providing healthcare. The providing of health services in underdeveloped countries is significantly affected by limited funding and other resource restrictions. In developing countries, there is the lack of facilities, poverty, and resources available. In many developed countries, there has been a trend towards the reduction of funding and infrastructure support for health services in rural communities. Resource limitations lead to poor quality clinics and hospitals. The environment also plays a role in resource limitations. For example, near Konso’s capital, 500 patients were sick with waterborne disease and were treated daily. Since this health center was miles away from civilization, they didn’t have resources such as clean water for the patients. This Ethopian health center would run out of water and would have to truck in river water. This river water was only used for giving patients to drink, swallow medicine, and to disinfect. In fact, this health center can clean rooms only once a month leading to unsanitary conditions. To add on, many underdeveloped countries receive recycled resources. For example, places such as in India received recycled pacemakers. These recycled and used pacemakers are a great way for resources for underdeveloped countries but there is more needed to be done. According to Amy Norton of Reuters: “, Recycled pacemakers donated from US funeral homes could offer a safe way to get the heart devices to people in the developing world who otherwise might not be able to afford them, a US study said. An estimated 1 million to 2 million people around the world die each year because they have no access to a pacemaker, an implanted device that uses electrical pulses to the heart to maintain a normal heartbeat. Resource limitations and recycled resources are challenges in providing healthcare in underdeveloped countries
Expensive Treatments
In developing countries, middle and low income countries pay as much as 20 to 30 times more for generic medicines. Examples of generic medicines are acetaminophen, which is a common pain reliever, and omeprazole which is used to treat heartburn. Compared to places such as in the US, most drugs are on-patent medicines or unbranded generics. These on-patent medicines throughout the world should be accessible to everyone. However, in many developing countries more expensive brand-name generics are widely used because counterfeit and fake medicine are major problems. Underdeveloped countries turn to fake medicine because they are cheaper, however fake medicine is ineffective at treating medical problems and some can be poisonous. Many countries have counterfeit drugs which make up 25 percent out of all drugs sold. By one estimate half of all the malaria treatments sold in Africa are fake. In Cameroon, the World Bank study found that 30 to 70 percent of the pharmaceuticals were deflected to the black market. According to Lembit Rägo of the WHO, “Poor people deserve good quality medicines,”,Lembit says that quality drugs are needed to fight other diseases such as malaria. Quality drugs are needed to treat illnesses of all kinds. Lembit Rägo states that, “70 % of patients with mental disorders in low-income countries do not have access to adequate medicines.” The need to make quality drugs that are inexpensive and help treat illnesses is important for all types of mental and physical problems. The problem of counterfeit medicine has led to challenges of receiving proper medicine and healthcare.
Conclusion
Providing proper healthcare in developing countries has become a major problem in today’s society. Many challenges are faced when figuring out solutions: the lack of doctors, resource limitations and expensive treatments. The need to provide proper medicine, proper medical professionals, and resources that are inexpensive and accessible to underdeveloped countries is important for all types of diseases and medical conditions. These challenges in providing healthcare play a major impact on societies and should be taken seriously to provide proper healthcare to everyone.
Bibliography
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nursinganswers.net/essays/healthcare-challenges-developing-nations-7084.php.
http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-developed-and-developing-countries