Comparison of Health Care in the U.S. & in Asia

Late into the nineteenth century, after the victory of such figures as Galileo, Newton, Priestley, and Darwin had given credence and authority to the scientific method in a variety of disciplines, Western health care was grounded to some degree in imaginative and magical healing powers. The residue of the "predictive" and "diagnostic" abilities of astrology and command of the four elements--earth, air, fire, and water (Burke 120, 124). Miller cites John Elliotson, professor of medicine in London who "introduced the stethoscope into English medicine" (79); Elliotson died in 1868. Now this man of science was also a devotee of one Franz Anton Mesmer, whose theory of Animal Magnetism and "universal fluid" survived his death in 1815 by many decades and was employed in quest not only of utopian social theory but also as a mechanism of healing all manner of afflictions (74-6). While there was characterization of Mesmer's theory and charismatic charm as quackery by some in the European medical establishment, Miller points out that his remedies, which owed a good deal of the

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function of whether indigenous caregivers had an understanding of Western protocols in this regard (206ff). The significance of this pattern of care seeking is not confined to mental-health cases. In a variety of cases, the health-care protocols and priorities of Asian people and governments point up a broad and culturally based disconnect between Asian and American structures of knowledge and treatment. Indeed, the role of the government appears to be a defining factor of health-care delivery in Asia, with the government's conception of fair access to care its foundation. For example, although policies are by no means uniform country to country, Asian governments have traditionally managed health-care distribution as a function of the social realities of the national population. For example, where illiteracy is a problem for patients who need to self-medicate, emphasis has been more on word-of-mouth communication or images--i.e., as a practical matter, radio and television--than on labeling as such (De Maar, et al., 267). Compare this structure of health-care delivery to that of the U.S., where the government creates public policies that have the effect of regulating fee-based, private-sector health-care management. The consequen
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Some common words found in the essay are:
French German, Kong Philippines, Animal Magnetism, Asian American, America Africa, Republic China, African Americans, Sen China's, De Maar, Goldstein Beall, health care, health-care delivery, et al, family policy, care asia, york st martin's, delivery asia, de maar, care seeking, missing girls china, single-child family, china's one-child, wilson quarterly 20, soap operas promote, 20 summer 1996,
Approximate Word count = 2186
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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