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Introduction
When the world is under pressure from the COVID-19 infection, previously implicit public health problems became apparent to people. Without pointing out the rather spontaneous difficulties with the lack of personal protective equipment such as disposable gloves and masks, emphasis should be placed on an information system and the creation of an environment in which every citizen could have access to treatment. Officials who have power need to improve the structure of health care. It is reasonable to note that this is not an easy task, as there are socio-economic barriers to alteration. This paper will focus on the discussion of these barriers and changes.
Two Social-Economic Barriers
There are two socio-economic obstacles to changing the structure of public health. First, older adults do not always use social networks and other communication platforms due to the technical complexity of the Internet’s perception. According to Hargittai et al. (2019), Americans over the age of 75 have little or no use of the Internet, although they are a leading risk group. Adult members of society tend to trust television but are convinced that there can be no quality, reliable, and useful information on websites. This is a significant public health threat, as the majority of urban patients at risk are known to be over 75 years old (“Age, sex,” 2020). Moreover, the lack of valid information makes younger citizens not believe official numbers but prefer to ignore recommendations from public health agencies (Cummins, 2020). Second, health care is critical in the context of the pandemic, but less well-off and unemployed people cannot afford health services because they are expensive (Gros et al., 2020). This is confirmed by statistics, which demonstrate a strong correlation between the lack of visits to a doctor and social class, as shown in Fig. 1 (“Summary health statistics”, 2018). In other words, the absence of sufficient financial resources creates an environment in which patients prefer not to consult a doctor unless it is an emergency.
Supports for Change
The problems described should be supervised by responsible agencies and taken into account when changing public health policies. In particular, it is recommended that more investments are made in education campaigns to have an informational impact not only on those segments of the population that have access to the Internet but also on those who do not. To achieve this objective, it would be desirable to provide training and advisory services on television, the Internet, and poster platforms located in the city streets (Lai et al., 2020). At the time of quarantine, restaurants, nightclubs, and cinemas do not require promotions; instead, free advertising banners should be reserved for recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services on the importance of observing hygiene and social distancing rules. Such a step would help to implement an effective system of hazard awareness not only for the elderly members of society but also for those younger.
Another significant step will be to support a change in the health system so that as many citizens as possible have access to reliable health facilities that provide quality services. There are several ways in which this can be done. First, authorities could provide free access to health care for patients and people suspected of contracting coronavirus (Tepepa, 2020). This would help to solve financial barriers for citizens to obtain quality services. Second, if the geographical remoteness of clinics is relevant, it is possible to organize traveling events for antibody testing for citizens from disadvantaged areas. Thus, the authorities could solve financial barriers and the geographical accessibility of services under quarantine conditions. Finally, medical facilities, which represent cheap but not quality services, should be modified to improve the reliability of results. For example, officials could provide such organizations with rapid tests and educational work on the procedure for interaction with coronavirus patients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it would be desirable to reiterate the importance of the barriers discussed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, as their direct overcoming would allow for the development of the public health system and provide the population with quality, timely, and necessary assistance. Key recommendations include reviewing the funding system, focusing on public awareness, and helping small organizations to provide health care to citizens. In addition, every resident should be able to seek and receive medical services, and federal funds should be allocated to provide free consultations and treatment of coronavirus infection.
References
Age, sex, existing conditions of COVID-19 cases, and deaths. (2020). Wordometer.
Cummins, E. (2020). “I’ll do what I want”: Why the people ignoring social distancing orders just won’t listen. Vox.
Gros, C., Valenti, R., Schneider, L., Valenti, K., & Gros, D. (2020). Containment efficiency and control strategies for the Corona pandemic costs [PDF document]. Web.
Hargittai, E., Piper, A. M., & Morris, M. R. (2019). From internet access to internet skills: Digital inequality among older adults. Universal Access in the Information Society, 18(4), 881-890.
Lai, Y., Yeung, W., & Celi, L. A. (2020). Urban intelligence for pandemic response. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), 1-7. Web.
Summary health statistics: National health interview survey [PDF document]. (2020). Web.
Tepepa, M. (2020). Public charge in the time of coronavirus [PDF document].
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