Introduction
Over the last several decades, life expectancy in the United States has not kept pace with other high-income countries. The US has ranked between 29 and 32 places worldwide between 2007 and 2012, which is below the majority of other developed and industrialized countries (Avendano & Kawachi, 2014). In addition to this, recent reports have been concluding that Americans experience higher injury, disease, and health-damaging behaviors compared to other countries (Avendano & Kawachi, 2014).
This problem remains unresolved despite the US having a good concentration of wealth in the country, which could have positively contributed to the increase of life expectancy. Therefore, despite the country’s potential, there is a lack of resources and solutions that can increase equality among the population to ensure that everyone receives the necessary degree of healthcare and prologues life expectancy.
Main Objectives
Causes of death in the US have significantly contributed to the increased mortality in the country. For example, mortality from infectious diseases, childbirth, pregnancy complications, transport incidents, and homicide, are higher in the US than in the majority of other OECD countries (Avendano & Kawachi, 2014). In addition to the mentioned fatal causes, Americans have a higher prevalence of low birth weight, injuries from traffic incidents, poor mental health, and HIV prevalence. Thus, poor health outcomes of the population are the result of several broad mechanisms that contribute to high mortality rates.
Quality of medical care and public health systems, as well as access to healthcare insurance, individual behaviors, social and demographic factors, as well as physical and environmental factors all, contribute to high mortality rates. Socioeconomic inequality, as well as racial disparities, are particularly important to note because the United States has a high concentration of diverse groups and populations, which, because of their ‘low’ status, cannot receive the necessary level of care. Inequality of health persists in wealthy countries because of the segregation of groups based on race and religion, thus increasing health inequities among underserved populations (Cheng & Goodman, 2015).
Social differences in health are considered inequities because they perpetuate an unfair distribution of not only healthcare resources but also risks and behaviors that increase the likelihood of individuals getting diagnosed with adverse conditions or getting injured.
Therefore, the connections between health and race and ethnicity cannot be doubted when it comes to discussing mortality rates in the United States. The persistence of health differences that are based on people’s nationality, ethnicity, and other social factors raises concerns in terms of morality, thus distributing the notion of unfairness and injustice in society (Arcaya, Arcaya, & Subramanian, 2015). As health is considered a human right protected by the United Nations General Assembly Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there should be more attention given to health disparities in the US to increase life expectancy and overcome barriers that prevent some social groups from getting the quality of healthcare that they deserve.
Conclusion
While many see people’s poor health as a combination of behaviors, choices, and genetic predispositions, it is essential to understand that social processes are far more important when considering populations at large. Despite being a wealthy country with a myriad of resources to accommodate the population, the United States still has lower life expectancy than comparable countries worldwide. Strong legislative efforts are required to overcome this problem, with a specific focus placed on the elimination of health disparities.
References
Arcaya, M. C., Arcaya, A. L., & Subramanian, S. V. (2015). Inequalities in health: Definitions, concepts, and theories. Global Health Action, 8, 27106.
Avendano, M., & Kawachi, I. (2014). Why do Americans have shorter life expectancy and worse health than do people in other high-income countries? Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 307-325.
Cheng, T., & Goodman, E. (2015). Race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status in research on child health. Pediatrics, 135(1), 225-237.