History & evolution, focusing on system's shortcomings. Private vs. public health insurance, need for reform, costs, managed care, AMA, Medicare, universal coverage, more.
5,175 words (approx. 20.7 pages), 20 sources, 1996, $ 135.95
From the Paper "The United States is the only industrialized nation, other than South Africa, that has no national health insurance program. Throughout this century attempts have been made to initiate such programs but all these efforts have been defeated by a combination of political attitudes and economic interests that favor private approaches to health care. The result has been that the American health care system is dominated by private insurance companies, a fee-for-services basis for medical care, and a largely private system of health care institutions. Health insurance has largely come to be the responsibility of employers and individuals rather than of any public authority. Despite some governmental involvement in hospital construction, medical research, public health, and targeted programs such as Medicaid..."
From the Paper "Nursing research increasingly is moving away from quantitative research methods, towards qualitative techniques to describe and give meaning to life experiences. Participant observation is a popular way of collecting data in qualitative research. Quantitative research methods concentrate mainly on issues of cause and effect (Martin, 1995, p. 44). Research data may be evaluated through the application of either quantitative or qualitative analytical procedures (Guba, 1990, pp. 24-35). Quantitative approaches are more easily defined than are qualitative procedures, because qualitative research may refer to either the way data are measured or the way such data are evaluated (Summers, Peters, & Armstrong, 1994, p. 7)...."
From the Paper " RATIONING
Introduction
Health costs are escalating and rationing of health care has become a focus. Many believe it is inevitable and others still argue against it. Confusion exists regarding the definition of rationing; it is argued that limitations have always existed within the health care system. If rationing does exist, the question to explore then becomes what and how.
Health Care Rationing
The American health care system is expensive and getting more so; by 1993 expenditures climbed to approximately 14 percent of the gross national product. The system consumes resources disproportionate to the value it delivers; about 20 percent is spent on administrative costs and about one third of Medicare.."
From the Paper "Thomas S. Spradley and James P. Spradley, in Deaf Like Me chronicle the experiences of a parents coming to grips with their daughter's deafness and learning much not only about that handicap but about human love. The Spradleys are brothers, Thomas is the father of Lynn, who was born deaf, and James is an anthropologist and uncle to Lynn. Louise, Lynn's mother, is an integral part of the book, and Lynn herself, at 19 years old in 1985, writes the book's Epilogue, making the work a truly family effort.
Perhaps one reason that the parents felt such pain at the discovery of "their daughter's deafness was that the mother Louise felt partly responsible because she had German measles during her pregnancy. Before their daughter's deafness is confirmed, their greatest fear seems to be that she will appear to be..."
From the Paper " Tourette's Syndrome (TS) is a chronic, age-sensitive neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by childhood onset of motor and phonic tics of fluctuating severity, often accompanied by slight to significant amounts of behaviors now associated with obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), and possibly attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). Peterson (7) presents a thorough review of the broadening range of symptoms categorized by this syndrome, some of whose diagnostic acceptance and evaluations have changed since the disorder was first described by Gilles de la Tourette in the late nineteenth century.
Once thought a rare occurrence, current data from epedemiological and genetic studies indicate that TS may be among the most common of neuromotor syndromes, affecting between 1 and 8 of every 1000 boys, and between .1 and 4 of every 1000.."
From the Paper "ISSUES CONCERNING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FOR NURSES
Introduction
This research examines issues concerning professional education for nurses. The issues examines are (1) the need for nurses educated at several levels of preparation, (2) continuing education as a criterion for license renewal, and (3) the incorporation of differentiated nursing practice levels in hospital staffing.
Need For Nurses Educated At Several Levels Of Preparation
In the contemporary health care environment, the traditional differentiation in nursing education primarily between two-year programs and baccalaureate programs, with a much smaller number of doctoral programs, has been superceded by an environment wherein several preparatory levels for advanced .."
Abstract "The purpose of this research is to examine issues surrounding the emotional development of children exposed to drugs at the prenatal stage. The plan of the research will be to set forth a working definition of emotional development and more generally the context for investigating this topic.
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine issues surrounding the emotional development of children exposed to drugs at the prenatal stage. The plan of the research will be to set forth a working definition of emotional development and more generally the context for investigating this topic, and then to discuss ways in which emotional development is compromised by prenatal exposure to drugs known to have toxic properties at each developmental stage, as well as programs that may be available to both parents and children that come within the meaning of the problem area.
Human development has been described as "the study of the way cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, transform, and permute the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self ..."
Abstract The onset of cancer has been linked to diet in various ways, and certain foods are seen as contributing to the development of cancer cells in the human being. At the same time, the specific relationship between diet and cancer remains largely unproved at this time, though because of news reports of new cancer-causing agents week after week, the public may believe that our diets are loaded with cancer-causing contaminants.
From the Paper "The onset of cancer has been linked to diet in various ways, and certain foods are seen as contributing to the development of cancer cells in the human being. At the same time, the specific relationship between diet and cancer remains largely unproved at this time, though because of news reports of new cancer-causing agents week after week, the public may believe that our diets are loaded with cancer-causing contaminants. One substance ingested by many that has been found to contribute to increased cancer risk is alcohol when consumed at a high rate, and alcohol consumption is associated with about three percent of the cancers in this country. Heavy drinkers show an increased incidence of cancers of the liver, pancreas, esophagus, larynx, mouth, and throat. As little as one or two drinks a day several times a week contributes to a ..."
Abstract The problem of alcoholism is viewed as a major social problem, one that has an impact not only on the individual affected and not only on his or her family but on society as a whole. Alcoholism has been examined from a number of different perspectives in an attempt to explain its etiology or its consequences
From the Paper "The problem of alcoholism is viewed as a major social problem, one that has an impact not only on the individual affected and not only on his or her family but on society as a whole. Alcoholism has been examined from a number of different perspectives in an attempt to explain its etiology or its consequences. The prevailing perspective is the medical model, which holds that alcoholism is a disease, which also means that it can be treated through medical means. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an organization that makes use of a theory of self-help to enable alcoholics to take control of their own lives and to learn to change their behavior, following a disease theory of alcoholism. Alcoholics Anonymous stands outside the medical model in that it does not offer a "cure" and indeed holds that the individual will always be an alcoholic. What the alcoholic..."
From the Paper "In the United States, the incidence of community-acquired
pneumonia (CAP) is estimated to be between three and four million cases each year (2). It is the sixth most important cause of death, and the estimated cost of treatment, including patient care and lost wages, is $20 billion per year (4, 10). Treatment of pneumonia represents the largest consumption of antibiotics of all the diseases for which they are used. The disease is most prevalent in hospitalized patients, the elderly, and patients with compromised immune systems (e.g. AIDS patients). This paper will look at the epidemiology, etiology, clinical presentation, prognosis, treatment, and complications of pneumonia.
Epidemiology
Pneumonia is defined as an infection of the lung parenchyma (6:1S). Pneumonia is now the leading cause of death due to ..."
Abstract An Industry overview including economics, products, major firms, sociocultural factors, research and development, mergers and competitive structure
From the Paper "The pharmaceutical industry is described by the United States government in the Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) manual as the Pharmaceutical Preparations Industry, SIC 2842. The industry group is 283, which is drugs. The industry is described as follows:
Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing, fabricating, or processing drugs in pharmaceutical preparations for human or veterinary use. The greater part of the products of these establishments are finished in the form intended for final consumption, such as ampoules, tablets, capsules, vials, ointments, medicinal powders, solutions, and suspensions. Products of this industry consist of two important lines, namely: (1) pharmaceutical..."
From the Paper "Physician-assisted suicide is a troubling issue which involves at least two moral actors -- the patient who makes a decision as to whether to live or die, and the physician who decides whether to assist or not. The real moral issue is faced by the physician, for it is he or she who will make the decision which changes a suicide to a physician-assisted suicide. Different moral systems can be applied to this issue.
The concept of right to die pertains to individual control over the process of dying. It remains unclear whether assisted suicide, which may include termination of life support, should be acceptable and legal or to what extent its practice can be regulated to protect the vulnerable and guard against abuse.
Self-determination is a central issue in the debate regarding end-of-life decisions, which includes the right to die...."
From the Paper "This paper is on the eating disorders of anorexia nervosa, a complex and often fatal illness, and bulimia nervosa, a related condition. It attempts to explore the extent to which social expectations, primarily male ideals about the female body, are a major causal factor in the etiology of anorexia, but looks as well at other explanations.
Anorexia nervosa is defined as self-starvation leading to a loss of body weight to a level 15 percent below normal, accompanied by hyperactivity, hypothermia, and amenorrhea. Hypothermia results when the body fat is lost and the victim becomes cold all the time. Amenorrhea is defined as the absence of at least three menstrual cycles.
Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder that affects from 5 to 15 percent of young women. Girls with bulimia may appear..."
An examination of the applications, effectiveness, technology and benefits of computer-based patient treatment. Includes diagnosis, surgery guidance, costs and accessibility.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 5 sources, 2000, $ 39.95
From the Paper "Telemedicine involves sharing information via computer networks that link doctors and patients at different locations in real-time. It can be used for diagnosis, for guiding surgeons at remote locations through unfamiliar procedures, for consultations between doctors, and for monitoring patients while they are at home. This paper will look at the uses of telemedicine and its role in the future of health care. It is hypothesized that telemedicine will be the health care of the future.
Telemedicine can be used to enhance cooperation between hospital specialists and primary care physician . Harrison, Clayton, and Wallace looked at the feasibility of such interaction by selecting six general practitioners and giving them access to teleconsultations with 10 specialists in various ..."
Abstract This paper analyzes the topic of surrogate mothers, discussing the many considerations to be taken into account when deciding to be a surrogate mother or selecting a surrogate mother. The paper provides information about laws concerning surrogate mothers, from various countries. Also illustrated are the sensitive issues for the surrogate mother to deal with after birth of the baby.
From the Paper "Surrogate mothers have many battles to face giving their babies to the set of parents that want to receive them. "Between 50 and 100 babies a year are born to surrogate mothers in Britain" (Henderson 2). Italy is against using surrogate mothers for childless couples (Australian 1). Should couples that have had children be allowed to use surrogate mothers? What are the problems of selecting a surrogate mother? What are the steps to having a baby from a surrogate mother? If the surrogate mother has more than one baby, what happens? Are the proposed parents mandated to take more than one baby? What about expenses? Surrogate mothers offer hope to couples that have not been able to have a baby with the natural childbirth and to couples who have married for the second time who desire to have a baby, but there are many decisions that should be made first."
