America's Health Care System

The maintenance of health in a country's population involves more than the mere reliance on modern medical technology. Granted, the life expectancy of humans in the twentieth century far exceeds their eighteenth or nineteenth century counterparts, but over the past few decades little improvement has been made in the medical management of such life-threatening disorders as cancer, heart disease, and strokes. In addition, other causes of death such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), homicides, and suicides have become increasingly prevalent. The incidence of many of these causes of death is related to socioeconomic or lifestyle factors, over which improvements in medical technology have no control.

A recent study of British civil service workers confirmed earlier studies that indicated the lower the social class, the higher the mortality rate. Potential explanations for this phenomenon include biological and behavioral risk factors, as well as the psychosocial characteristics of the subjects studied. The study suggests that the encouragement of healthy behaviors and attention to social environment and job design would help reduce the gap in mortality rates between the upper and lower classes.

Despite its diminishing ability to increase life expectancy, society continues to invest a disproportionate amount of capital on modern medical technology. As McKeown states, "The public believes that health depends primarily on intervention by the doctor and that th

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Category: Medical - A