Social, Political, And Economic Influences On Acce

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Social, Political, and Economic Influences on Access to Health Care Access to health care can be thought of as a person’s ability to receive medical treatment because of the availability of resources, medical personnel, and necessary funds. Access can be impacted by numerous societal, economical, and political forces. These impacts on health care access can be seen throughout world history and in our country today. While some of the issues impacting access may changes, others seem to remain the same over the centuries. This paper highlights some of the major forces that have influenced access to adequate health care, both historically and in modern times. Historical Influences Social standings and wealth have historically had a large influence on who had access to health care, and the quality of care they received. Traditionally, the impoverished masses often received the medical brunt of wars, famines, and pandemics that have faced the world. The lower classes also traditionally received treatment from priests who had limited medical knowledge and were less educated than those serving the upper classes (Jamieson, Sewall, & Suhrie, 1966). These social influences, attributed to factors such as class standing and wealth, proving to be major barriers against health care access of the poor. Economic factors such as poverty and the economic outlook of the country have also continuously influenced access to health care throughout history. During the Pre-Christian eras, the lack of wealth among the populations of Europe would have been a massive economic influence on access to health care. The disproportionate spread of wealth would have insured that very few lower class citizens would have had the means to receive proper medical treatment (Jamieson, Sewall, & Suhrie, 1966). Centuries later, America’s Great Depression of the 1930s led to the
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