Sociology Discussion Responses
Response to Post #1
The issue your raise in terms of the long-term negative consequences on the lives and well-being of caregivers is an extremely important one. As you mention, there are various sources of significant emotional strain associated with the responsibilities of providing life-sustaining healthcare to others. Likewise, you mentioned the fact that patient and elderly abuse are problems that becoming increasingly apparent, particularly in the long-term care facility and in home healthcare scenarios. Obviously, this is a problem that demands immediate attention to identify the specific causes and ways of identifying and preventing its occurrence.
The social issue you raise might be one of the most important problems facing contemporary Americans. Specifically, healthcare is becoming increasingly expensive and correspondingly unavailable to many people based solely on their financial circumstances. Moreover, at the current rate of increase analysts predict that healthcare costs could reach forty percent of the entire national GDP within this decade. I would agree with your characterization of Americans being "split" on the issue of healthcare reform. On the other hand, I would suggest that it not a split over different views. Rather, those on the Democratic side of the issue are motivated by genuine fiscal and quality-of-life concerns. Unfortunately, those on the Republican side of this issue seem to be motivated exclusively by its political value in undermining the Obama administration.
Response to Post #2
Frankly, I am very surprised and disappointed to hear your views about the quality and methodologies that you describe in connection with the treatment provided by non-profit mental health agencies. Naturally, I would hope that this is more of an isolated agency-specific problem rather than a more general problem that compromises the care received by large patient populations. I would be very curious to hear some of the details about how widely you have observed this problem and to know whether you believe that there are any such agencies that furnish...
Finally, I would be curious to know what your think might be the best approaches to resolve these problems.
I would also agree with you that
homelessness is a continually growing problem in the U.S. And that the current economic situation has been the primary reason for that. I would be curious to know how much of that you believe might be directly attributable to the increasing cost of medical care and to what extent you think that is the result of political factors rather than of direct cost issues.
Response to Post #3
I would agree with your point-of-view that contemporary healthcare workers should be better trained in the fields of
psychology and mental health counseling. You also raised a very important point linking the increase of
mental health issues in the community to the
economic recession and to the stresses faced by so many families in connection with the loss of jobs, income, homes, and also in connection with the deprivations and sacrifices entailed in prosecuting numerous foreign military campaigns. If anything, it would seem that mental healthcare will soon become one of the most important issues in American healthcare. With
respect to your observations about
equal opportunity and justice for different classes of people in the U.S., I would be curious what you think are the major reasons for that problem. Specifically, I would ask you whether you believe that the main problem in that regard is the degree to which current
tax rates and tax and trade laws applicable to large corporations are the problem.
Response to Post #4
Your specific interest in and…
