Global Health
The term global health is a crucial element in the field of healthcare. Global health is a field of research, study, and practice that prioritizes promoting equality in medical care for all people worldwide over other goals (Salm et al., 2021). A blend of population-based preventive measures and individual-level medical treatments, global health emphasizes international health challenges, their determinants, and potential remedies.
It emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation and involves multiple fields within and beyond the health sciences (Salm et al., 2021). By this term, I understand health problems and challenges that extend beyond the borders of one country and can be influenced by events or experiences abroad. As a result of such a definition, it becomes clear the importance of international cooperation in addressing these issues.
Healthcare workers need to collaborate globally. First, it is crucial to understand that global health issues, such as pandemics, may involve infections that transcend borders and affect other nations, requiring prompt action. Moreover, collaboration between healthcare workers can establish a strong foundation for the exchange of expertise, ultimately benefiting the broader society (Chen et al., 2020). Thus, collaboration in the healthcare field is crucial due to the global integration of medicine.
Border-Crossing as a Pandemic Contributor
The free movement of people across borders can pose significant challenges for all countries when it comes to dealing with pandemics. For example, travel across borders has enabled the rapid spread of the new coronavirus (Arora et al., 2021). Travel restrictions and border closures are effective, but only when implemented at the beginning of an epidemic’s spread. A significant amount of exposure to COVID-19 occurred before takeoff, in waiting rooms and on board the plane, in the terminal, and after arrival, later spreading across countries and cities (Arora et al., 2021).
Therefore, when discussing border crossing in the context of a pandemic, it is essential to consider how it can significantly contribute to the spread of the virus. As a result, to stop the virus from spreading, more effective emergency measures are needed. This can be achieved through various measures, including vaccination, quarantine, or testing.
Challenges in Reducing the Infection Rate
The COVID-19 pandemic affected all countries worldwide, with some nations experiencing the most severe consequences. In terms of cases per capita and mortality per instance of infection, the United Kingdom experienced one of the most severe epidemics (Anderson et al., 2020). The primary pandemic prevention and control strategies employed by the nation include the COVID-19 vaccine, relaxed pandemic preventive strategies, public and social policies, border control strategies, population and testing strategies, and blockade strategies. The country instituted three lockdowns during both the initial and second waves of COVID-19, which helped to contain the pandemic’s spread (Yang et al., 2022).
With such a diverse range of policies, the UK managed to keep infection rates under control. Nevertheless, throughout the process of implementing the measures to stop the virus from spreading, several challenges were faced. First, healthcare resourcing was a significant issue, as COVID-19 was an unprecedented pandemic that required a substantial allocation of resources, including the efforts of medical professionals, equipment, and beds (Anderson et al., 2020). Given that many nations were unprepared for rapidly increasing rates of infection, providing sufficient resources was problematic.
Moreover, it was challenging because the authorities believed that collective immunity could be achieved through spontaneous infection, which was a risky and poorly defined concept. Another challenge that arose was the public’s non-compliance, posing significant risks to a quicker recovery (Anderson et al., 2020). Thus, several barriers existed to controlling the virus, and implementing a variety of measures was necessary.
Reference List
Anderson, R. M., Hollingsworth, T. D., Baggaley, R. F., Maddren, R., and Vegvari, C. (2020) ‘COVID-19 spread in the UK: the end of the beginning?’, Lancet, 396(10251), pp. 587–590.
Arora, P., Mrig, S., Goldust, Y., Kroumpouzos, G., Karadağ, A. S., Rudnicka, L., Galadari, H., Szepietowski, J. C., et al (2021) ‘New coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) crossing borders beyond cities, nations, and continents: impact of international travel’, Balkan Medical Journal, 38(4), pp. 205–211.
Chen, X., Li, H., Lucero-Prisno, D. E., Abdullah, A. S., Huang, J., Laurence, C., Liang, X., Ma, Z. et al (2020) ‘What is global health? Key concepts and clarification of misperceptions’, Global Health Research and Policy, 5(1), 1–8.
Salm, M., Ali, M., Minihane, M., and Conrad, P. (2021) ‘Defining global health: findings from a systematic review and thematic analysis of the literature’, BMJ Global Health, 6(6), pp. 1–14.
Yang, M., Shi, L., Chen, H., Wang, X., Jiao, J., Liu, M., Yang, J., and Sun, G. (2022) ‘Critical policies disparity of the first and second waves of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom’, International Journal for Equity in Health, 21(1), pp. 1–11.