Public health is significant to our society as it ensures communities stay healthy and safe. However, the medical practitioners of today face numerous challenges that complicate care. Understanding these challenges is important for health improvement and ensuring every individual receives the service he or she requires. We, therefore, focus on ten major public health challenges facing the services provided by health workers.
- Chronic Diseases:
Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are on the rise around the globe. According to the WHO, chronic diseases are responsible for 71% of all deaths. The practitioners need to assimilate treatment approaches of these chronic conditions with prevention measures in this art of medicine through education of patients and changes to their lifestyles. That calls for a paradigm shift in the way medicine is practiced-the focus from acute management to chronic management.
- Mental Disorder
Mental health is increasingly being valued as a part of healthy living. As stated by the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five adults in the United States suffers from mental illness each year. Stigma, lack of resources, and poor health care provider training compound the issues of proper treatment of mental health. Medical professionals should make efforts to bring quality mental health services into places of primary care.
- Infectious Diseases
The modern age and the medicine progress continues, yet infectious diseases continue to threaten. The COVID-19 outbreak of the last year has revealed loopholes in health systems and drew attention to the urgent need for preparedness. As the CDC says, millions of deaths occur due to infectious diseases every year. The health workers need to be vigilant and active in finding new diseases and develop capacity to provide the appropriate equipment and knowledge to ensure a proper response.
- Licensure to health services is one of the most serious issues, mainly on vulnerable communities. In fact, a U.S. Census Bureau report of 2021 shows that about nearly 28 million have no health insurance. Unmet access to health services leads to late-stage diagnoses and poor health effects; thus, policymakers have to do their best to address this gap by advocating for policy to ensure that health services are accessible to all.
- Health disparities
Health disparities are composed of differences in health outcomes among various groups. This has been attributed to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. The CDC asserts that racial and ethnic minorities have more cases of chronic conditions. It is, therefore, an appeal to medical professionals to appreciate these differences and provide culturally competent care to different populations.
- Substance Abuse
Substance abuse and opioid addiction has spiked in most countries to epidemic levels. In the U.S. alone, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in 2021 that over 100,000 people lost their lives to overdose from drugs. A doctor is faced with the challenge of treating patients who have substance use disorders yet preventing the said addiction requires a holistic education, treatment, and supportive systems.
- Aging Population
In order to be able to address the needs of the aging population, professionals in medicine must be challenged and met with changing trends. According to WHO, by 2050, it is predicted that the number of people aged 60 years or over will be 2 billion. Thus, it seems there will be a big challenge in managing chronic diseases, providing geriatric care, and ensuring the maintenance of older persons’ quality of life.
- Environmental Health
Environmental determinants strongly influence public health. Issues, such as air and water quality, global warming, and access to clean water, affect people through various health-related problems. The WHO estimates that 13 million deaths are caused yearly by avoidable environmental causes. Medical professionals should advocate policies which are environmentally protective and health-enhancing.
- Health Technology Integration
Advancement in health technology may be highly rapid, yet it imposes some problems like new probabilities and challenges. Telemedicine and electronic health records will expose chances for enhanced patient care yet ask the health care providers to adapt to new systems and technologies. Proper training is necessary for health care providers to maximize the use of these tools.
- Global Health Threats
Other important efforts relate to global health threats, pandemics, and the rise of antibiotic resistance. It is realized that the challenge of the fast diffusion of diseases all over the world results from the world’s interconnectedness. Medical practitioners need to start mobilizing against such threats through collaborations and research.
With this in consideration, the problems in public health today are rather broad and involve a lot of different things medical professionals need to worry about. In terms of understanding these challenges and working for a common good, healthcare providers may act toward healthier futures for all.
