What are the sources of pediatric primary care in the United States?
Pediatrics primary care is the first-level of treatment admininstered to a patient that involves the assessment, management, and use of preventive measures to address health problems. The main activities involved include the assessment of the developmental milestones, nutritional status, and the general health of the patient (Arora, Godoy, & Hodgkinson, 2017). Secondly, preventive measures search a vaccination of various diseases including polio, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and hepatitis among others. The primary sources, where all these activities take place, are the pediatric unit, neonatal, unit, MCH, pediatric nursing homes, clinics and pediatric forums organized by both governmental and non-governmental organizations (Stille, Honigfeld, Heitlinger, Kuo, & Werner, 2017).
Are these sources sufficient for providing healthcare services to the pediatric population?
Due to technological advancement and increasing population within the United States of America, there has been rampant increase of pediatric centers. Both private and public hospitals have emerged in the last few decades. As a result, health providers (medical officers, nurses, and pediatric specialists), have been able to provide pediatric primary care efficiently (Pourat, Wallace, Hadler, M, & Ponce, 2014). However, due to increased population, some pediatric patients are unable to access the primary health they require. The scenario is typical in the marginalized areas of the united states. Furthermore, spending on pedriatic care in the United States has significantly increased. However, Pourat et al. (2014) reveal that current pedriatic trauma resources fluctuate significantly based on the size of the population. Besides, the establishment of school-based health centers as a part of the pediatrics program provides affordable healthcare services to the youth in a expedient and manageable atmosphere.
Why or why not?
Based on the population increase, scholars have enrolled in pediatric primary care courses. This situation has improved the number of pediatric specialists, leading to an increased provision of pediatric care especially within the US urban centers. Scientific research shows that the ratio of specialists to pediatric patients is 1:4 within a metropolitan area and 1:10 within marginalized areas (Green-Hernandez, Singleton, & Aronzon, 2016; Nobles, Serban, & Swann, 2014). Pedratric residency programs have also improved due to the introduction of community-centered healthcare.
Are there certain pediatric populations that lack access to healthcare services? Why?
The rapid increase of primary care units has enabled each patient to gain access to the efficient medical services (Parker, 2015). Moreover, some organizations offer free services in this program, especially within the urban centers. However, various communities in the united states are marginalized and do not benefit from pediatric care services adequately. For instance, Parker (2015) reveals that poor children especially from Indian American families have poor access to this plan due to racial profiling and white dominance in the medical facilities. However, campaigns to stop discrimination against minority groups in the US are gradually changing the attitudes of the whites towards the provision of good healthcare to them.
What are the barriers to children in accessing healthcare services in the United States?
Several finaincial and non-finaincial barriers either hinder or delay access to health care. They include lack of professionals in rural areas, geographical boundaries and increasing motor vehicle accident rates. Moreover, some Americans cannot clear medical bills. In response to the obstacles, however, policymakers implemented the patient affordable and protection act which has lessened the barriers to at least a half (Parker, 2015). Besides, children from poor families are unable to access medical services due to lack of financial resources. As a result, poor children continue to suffer since services may fail to reach them, especially those from marginalized areas.
Why do these barriers exist?
These barriers exist because some of them are inevitable. For instance, motor vehicle accidents are events that cannot be predicted. Secondly, some areas are inaccessible, especially those with poor terrains (Obama, 2016). Finally, professional health providers may find it costly and risky to visit the marginalized regions. Pourat et al. (2014) reveals that barriers to healthcare also arise from cultural variations among the US citizens.
References
Arora, P. G., Godoy, L., & Hodgkinson, S. (2017). Serving the underserved: Cultural considerations in behavioral health integration in pediatric primary care. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48(3), 139.
Green-Hernandez, C., Singleton, J., & Aronzon, D. (2016). Primary care pediatrics. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Lippincott.
Nobles, M., Serban, N., & Swann, J. (2014). Spatial accessibility of pediatric primary healthcare: Measurement and inference. The Annals of Applied Statistics, 8(4), 1922-1946.
Obama, B. (2016). United States health care reform: Progress to date and next steps. Jama, 316(5), 525-532.
Parker, S. (2015). Developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Wolters Kluwer.
Pourat, N., Wallace, S. P., Hadler, M. W., & Ponce, N. (2014). Assessing health care services used by California’s undocumented immigrant population in 2010. Health Affairs, 33(5), 840-847.
Stille, C.J., Honigfeld, L., Heitlinger, L.A., Kuo, D.Z., & Werner, E.J. (2017). The Pediatric primary care-specialist interface: A call for action. The Journal of Pediatrics, 187(1), 303-308.