From Disease to Person-Centric Treatment: The Diversification of Healthcare
May 31, 2021
This post was written by Alan Sherman.
As healthcare continues to progress within the western world, many developing countries continue to utilize archaic treatment systems. In particular, women face harsh healthcare inequalities due to a glaring lack of resources as well as outdated gender norms.
Many developing nations, that comprise almost half the world’s population, lack the capital to establish comprehensive healthcare systems. Consequently, medical treatment, especially for women, remains fragmented and varies between communities. All too often, healthcare providers study medicine from a disease-centric approach. Here, they ignore patient differences and utilize general, and at times outdated, guidelines to treat illness. In doing so, they assume that the majority of individuals share treatment priorities and react similarly to a particular health crisis. However, this “one size fits all” approach often leaves physicians unprepared to handle a patient’s potential complications. This methodology has been particularly harmful towards women, who experience a myriad of different symptoms and conditions throughout pregnancy and childbirth. According to the World Health Organization, among the 529,000 deaths from pregnancy-related causes, 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing nations. Many physicians utilize over-generalized approaches to childbirth, leaving expecting mothers without the proper emergency obstetric care. In addition, foundational treatments and medications such as antibiotics, anticonvulsants, and oxytocics (drugs that strengthen contractions and induce labor), are rarely available.
A person-centric approach allows the physician and the patient to formulate a treatment plan that directly fulfills their individual concerns and objectives. Thus, it shifts the healthcare paradigm towards patient satisfaction and values the unique circumstances of every individual case. For the betterment of women’s healthcare in developing countries, it is imperative to transition from a disease-centric approach to a person-centric approach while directing more funding towards reproductive healthcare.
Furthermore, many developing countries have societal gender roles that force women to marry at an early age. Girls under 18 are often forced into marriages with older men. Within many countries, such as Papua New Guinea and Pakistan, the ratio of girls to boys married under the age of 18 is approximately 72:1 (WHO). Some justify these poignant wedlocks as a means of reinforcing social ties and ostensibly providing young adults with stability in their lives. Yet, these arrangements disproportionately place young girls at risk. In addition to creating immense trauma and the potential for assault, child marriages place the physical health of young girls. Studies from the US National Library of Medicine reveal a correlation between early marriage and a drastically increased risk of STDs, malaria, early/unintended pregnancy, as well as death during childbirth.
Despite the glaring ineptitude of women’s healthcare in developing countries, individuals continue to turn a blind eye and remain ignorant towards these issues. Organizations such as the Center for Reproductive Rights, recognize the importance of spreading awareness regarding healthcare inequality. Through robust legal support, the organization has expanded reproductive healthcare rights within over sixty countries, providing women with vital specialists and lowering treatments costs. In turn, greater access to healthcare has been linked to higher levels of happiness as well as more opportunities for academic achievement (WHO). Consequently, the mission of healthcare equality impacts various other aspects of an individual’s development and can be a foundational cornerstone of one’s life. To learn more about the Center for Reproductive Rights and donate to support their work, consider clicking on the embedded hyperlink above.
