U.S. Healthcare Inequality Highest Ever: Rich Have Access, Poor Don't - Research Paper

Introduction

Health inequality is highest in the United States than before. According to the Washington Post, households reported earning less than $22,500 annually reported poor access to quality healthcare (Johnson, 2017). Further, the report found out that out of the households earning more than $47,700, only 12% reported a poor or fair state of health (Johnson, 2017). Internationally, wealthy people have access to better healthcare compared to low-income earning families. It is also worth to note that most poor families live in rural areas (Johnson, 2017). In this regard, the problem of healthcare inequality has been persistent in the US and it is time to develop policies to ensure all people have equal access to healthcare services. The purpose of this research paper is to determine how poverty shapes the health of communities in rural areas, and recommend strategies to overcome health disparities.

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Research Background

Inequality in the healthcare sector is the highest in the United States than before. It is a common issue internationally that wealthy people have better access to health and social care compared to low-income earners. Improving the quality of health and social to all people requires the development of policies that enhance poverty reduction and the provision of universal care services. Various social factors determine the health of communities (Singh et al., 2017). The first one is the economic factor. For example, wealthy people have the financial capacity to offset huge bills in private hospitals where poor people cannot afford and they depend on government healthcare services that may not meet their specific requirements.

The other social factor is an educational opportunity. People have different levels of education regarding their healthcare. The educational background helps to determine steps individuals take about their health. For example, knowledgeable individuals in society understand their rights. Also, they can monitor their health status regularly to improve their well-being. However, the process of medical check-up requires financial resources (Singh et al., 2017). Therefore, wealthy individuals have a better chance of accessing timely and quality healthcare. Consequently, health disparity will continue to exist in the American community, as long as there is income inequality. One of the initiatives of building health people was the establishment of the Health and Human Services department, focusing on the health of people. Among its initiatives was disease prevention, as well as promoting health education. Nevertheless, the country continues to experience health disparities. Notably, there is a need to identify the impact of poverty on the health of communities.

Research Aim

The aim of the research is to investigate the impact of poverty on the well-being of communities in rural areas. As discussed above, income inequalities influence health of people (Singh et al., 2017). Therefore, it is vital to investigate factors affecting the quality of healthcare and recommend prospective solutions that can promote equity in the healthcare sector, especially improving the living conditions of communities in rural areas.

Research Questions

The following questions guide the investigation process:

• What are the health trends in rural areas?
• What are the barriers to health?
• What is the relationship between poverty and health in rural communities?
• What strategies can improve the health of rural communities?

Health Trends in Rural Areas in the US

The healthcare trends in rural areas illustrate that the government should improve its healthcare policies to ensure equity in the sector. One of the trends is that people get health services from small organizations that face various challenges compared to a fully equipped institution in big cities. Rural hospitals in the US provide services to about 57 million individuals (Vogenberg & Santilli, 2018). The number of people living in rural areas declined by 200,000 between 2010 and 2016 but people's health has not improved (Vogenberg & Santilli, 2018). Considering government programs that have led to cutting costs in the healthcare sector, rural facilities are facing a severe crisis, negatively affecting the health of people in rural areas. Based on current financing trends, most healthcare facilities and organizations are likely to close in the near future since they will not sustain their operations.

The second trend in rural areas is consumerism in healthcare. Consumerism is the process of transferring the employer's benefit-plan to meet the purchasing power of the user and other participants. The best way the government can achieve this is by hiring medical practitioners who can make informed decisions based on prevailing circumstances (Vogenberg & Santilli, 2018). As the cost of healthcare increases, service users become more engaged and demand better quality services. In this context, rural people are increasingly demanding more from the healthcare providers, while the facilities have limited resources to meet their expected needs. Therefore, there is a conflict of interest between care providers and users.

The other health trend in rural areas is that the number of specialized medical practitioners keeps declining. For example, the supply of dentists keeps declining with an increase in the level of rural. Notably, people in rural areas live far away from health centers, and this increases the challenge of accessing quality and timely healthcare services (Vogenberg & Santilli, 2018). Although there is a scarcity of specialized in rural areas, nursing practitioners have a significant role to play. Therefore, the current trend shows that the problem of specialist scarcity continues to persist, compelling many patients to seek alternative care in metropolitan cities where they can access specialized healthcare services.

Barriers to Health

Besides poverty, another healthcare barrier is the unavailability of the services in all areas of the country. The most hit are rural areas where it is a challenge to book an appointment with specialists during emergency cases. The supply of specialized personnel to rural areas is limited compared to metropolitan cities. In the process, it is a challenge to meet the needs and expectations of patients. Some of them would travel to cities to access the services (Kullgren, McLaughlin, Mitra & Armstrong, 2012). Due to the shortage of specialized personnel in small healthcare facilities in rural facilities, medical practitioners are forced to expand shared appointments for patients with chronic diseases or conditions. As a result, there is a lack of a personal approach to healthcare. In some cases, there are delays in the medication process due to delayed appointments; hence, other patients resolve to seek alternative services in other areas.

The other barrier to health is accommodation problems. The rural population has remained high in the US, while only a few small facilities provide healthcare services to the people. In this case, the facilities have overstretched their resources and facilities like the admission wards. The government has done little to improve healthcare facilities in rural areas (Kullgren et al., 2012). The government can expand these facilities so that they sustain the growing population and healthcare needs of the people. Also, healthcare facilities should review their admission policies and develop alternatives like offering home-based care to avoid over-stretching of wards in the small centers. For example, patients with chronic conditions could manage them from their homes. It is important for the department of health to ensure it supports the adoption of technology in these facilities so that they can offer home-based care to reduce admissions in hospitals and this would reduce the cost of care.

The third barrier to health is the geographical barriers. Some patients travel long distances to access quality healthcare services. Although there are facilities in rural areas, they are relatively small and competent compared to healthcare facilities in cities. As a result, some patients travel long and expensive distances to book services (Huot et al., 2019). The distance between healthcare givers and patients is a stressing factor, especially when patients are critically ill that it is the risk to travel such long distances. For example, it is challenging to travel to long distances weekly for appointments. In this context, service users opt to use available resources and facilities even if they are scarce. Therefore, the government should take this concept into account when designing health programs to ensure equity.

Relationship Between Poverty and Rural Communities

One of the characteristics of rural communities worldwide is the concentration of poverty and low potential. One of the accounting reasons for poverty in rural areas is that these locations are far from economic centers; hence, little business activities take place compared to metropolitan cities (Huot et al., 2019). In the process, individuals living in rural areas have limited employment opportunities compared to other areas. They afford to live in these regions because of the low cost of living, such as affordable housing. Therefore, remote regions are considered to comprise many people, coming from poor economic backgrounds.

The second reason why there is a high concentration of poverty in these regions is because of the limited access to educational facilities. The communities have limited access to opportunities compared to big cities. Although the government has tried to develop all regions, the problem of inequality persists since the individuals have limited educational backgrounds; thus, they cannot compete effectively for competitive jobs (Frist, 2005). Due to limited opportunities in remote areas, most people relocate to metropolitan cities to improve their living standards. However, it is not true that only poor people live in rural areas. Some wealthy individuals consider the environment conducive to live a private life.

Thirdly, most rural areas are considered low-potential since. They have limited agricultural and natural resources that would improve the living conditions of the people. These conditions equate to highlands and drylands (Frist, 2005). They are politically disadvantaged since most politicians consider the regions unproductive and they have a limited population. Consequently, they allocate little resources compared to populated cities. Therefore, rural areas are disadvantaged because of various reasons. These challenges translate to various sectors, including the health of the people.

How Poverty Contributes To Health Inequalities in Rural Areas

The number of poor people living in rural areas continues to increase, creating more challenges to the healthcare sector. Poverty is high in remote areas compared to urban areas. For example, in 2012, 17.7% of households in remote regions lived in poverty compared to 14.5% of people living in urban areas (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2018). Individuals living in poor rural regions have higher chances of suffering from chronic conditions, high mortality rates and decreased life expectancy. These conditions are common in low-income earning households because of stress that eventually leads to depression since they cannot meet their family needs. Since they have limited income to spend on healthcare services, they are disadvantaged compared to wealthy families. They suffer from these conditions because they cannot afford quality healthcare. Therefore, there is a continuous disparity in healthcare due to differences in financial capacities.

The other illustration about the impact of poverty on the health of rural...