Question

Women and Healthcare

Women have healthcare requirements in addition to those of men because of their biology and gender roles. Due to their gender roles, they are frequently responsible for the health and healthcare of others. The resources they need to care for others may create constraints on their ability to care for themselves.

Also, it is important to consider the workplace when considering women's health issues because the position of women in the workforce has great impact on the healthcare they receive. Many businesses have recognized the need to create a more diverse workforce by selective hiring based on the need to increase selected groups in their workforce. Some businesses have been more proactive than others. For example, let's consider that a business workforce's diversity plan includes the following benchmarks:

Maintain women's representation at a minimum of 60 percent.

Increase women's representation in nontraditional occupations from 16 percent to 20 percent.

Increase women's representation in senior positions (grade twelve and above or equivalent) from 28 percent to 35 percent.

On the basis of what you have learned so far, answer the following questions:

How can the dimensions of diversity, such as age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion affect individual or collective healthcare needs and capabilities?

Could the above statements constitute discriminatory hiring practices? Why or why not?

What would the implications of diversity-based policy development be in relation to healthcare needs?

Describe a workforce diversity plan using at least three dimensions of diversity. Additionally, explain how it relates to improved health-service delivery.

Answer 1

1. ANS: The dimensions of diversity can affect them by not allowing a person to get the adequate healthcare that they need due to race sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, age, and religion. The dimensions of diversity such as age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and religion affect individual or collective healthcare needs and capabilities. It has been unclear why health disparities among diversity exist because laws and the constitution states that everyone should be created equal no matter their ethnic background. According to report,Unequal, Unfair, Ineffective and Inefficient Gender Inequity in Health: Why it exists and how we can change it, mentions that gender inequality can damage the physical and mental health of millions of men and women; also it gives men tangible resources such as power, authority, and control. Social hierarchies have been a challenge that affects diversity as well for example, (Sen, G., & Östlin, P., 2008)

“Discrimination cutting across race and economic class groups is from the state of Mississippi in the US. In 2004 the state elected a Governor who pledged to cut Medicaid (which pays health costs for the poor) and not to raise taxes on tax-payers. As a result, access by the poor to health services has declined in a variety of ways, including shorter hours when health centers are open and longer distances to travel to reach services without easy public transport. Consequently, enrolment in Medicaid and children’s health insurance has declined by 54,000 in 2005 and 2006.” (Sen, G., & Östlin, P., 2008). The diversity dimensions can also affect them by making certain patients wait longer for treatments. For example, a poor mother walks in with her sick child and they make her wait longer because the patient ahead of her has insurance, or a patient walks in complaining of chest pains and they are from Africa and don’t speak any English they will make them wait until a translator can be contacted for their care. WADE VS. WOE states no matter the problem everyone should be treated equal.

2. ANS: The above statement could constitute to discriminatory hiring practices the reason for this is becausehealth care facilities and other companies can come up with different reasons why to choose a certain person for a position. No matter the job every job including the healthcare field should consider a diverse group of staff to accommodate the community. Hospitals for example, take major risks on hiring certain groups of people due to budget. Example, a CNA walk in the door wanting a job then a nurse walks in the door wanting the same job because a CNA costs less and pays less the hospital will take them over a nurse for the same job title. Or a physician compared to a specialists if the physician is qualified in the same kind of work they will take him instead of the specialist they will pay him less as well compared to paying the specialist more.

3. ANS: The implications of diversity-based policy development in relation to healthcare needs include. According to the joint commission “It is well recognized that communication is essential to quality care and patient safety. Direct communication can be inhibited by primary language barriers, hearing or vision impairment, literacy, culture, cognitive limitation, intubation, or disease. Individuals whose care is inhibited due to a communication barrier or a lack of sensitivity to a cultural belief may be at risk for poor outcomes. Data reported to The Joint Commission demonstrate that communication is the most common underlying root cause of sentinel events (Wilson-Stronks, Lee, Cordero, Kopp, & Galvez).” This would help in decreasing disparities among diversity-based policies for women within healthcare.

4. ANS: A workforce diversity plan would include. The Department of Health and Human Services has a disparity action plan. This plan helps in reducing racial and ethnic health disparities within the health care field and protects people’s race, sex orientation, religion, gender, and ethnic backgrounds. How it relates to improved health-service delivery is by providing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. For example, “The United States will become a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socioeconomic circumstance, will have unfettered access to high-quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination. This plan was intended to decrease health disparities by working with the federal government to prevent discrimination among those people who are considered low income. NO person is left behind or aside. (HHS, 2015)

References:

Sen, G., & Östlin, P. (2008). Gender inequity in health: why it exists and how we can change it.

Wilson-Stronks, A., Lee, K. K., Cordero, C. L., Kopp, A. L., & Galvez, E. (n.d.). One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations. Retrieved from The Joint Commission: http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/HLCOneSizeFinal.pdf

http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/npa/files/Plans/HHS/HHS_Plan_complete.pdf

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