Values Beliefs Religion and Health Policy

Health Policy Values
My personal values and spiritual beliefs are rooted in the catechism I was taught as a young person. My family is Roman Catholic and they taught me that values and beliefs of this church and how they should guide one’s life and actions. Inherent in this system of beliefs is the concept of the Golden Rule, which is that you should do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. In other words, don’t ever treat anyone with disrespect if you yourself don’t want to be disrespected. Likewise, Catholicism teaches that there are two basic rules to live by, which Christ pointed out: 1) love God and keep His commandments, and 2) love your neighbor as you love yourself. These rules basically cover all aspects of life (one needs to know the 10 commandments of course) but in them is a great deal of wisdom as well that can really help people to grow and develop as a community.
I can differentiate my beliefs and opinions about health care policy by following the Golden Rule and understanding and appreciating the fact that not all people are going to share my values and spiritual beliefs and thus not all people are going to have the same views on health care that I have. This why having an understanding of the transcultural model can be so helpful: it allows a care provider to see the social factors that impact one’s background, cultural sense and worldview, all of which ultimately will shape their approach to health care (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002; Karabudak, Arslan & Basbakkal, 2013). Cost and quality of care are also issues that have to be addressed when it comes to health care policy, and these issues will be approached differently by people depending on their own values. My approach is that my own personal values and beliefs are my own, and health care policy is what belongs to everyone—so there is a distinction that has to be made. Whether or not I agree with the politics of Medicare or Medicaid is beside the point: those policies are law and that is what must be respected. They provide access to care for individuals who otherwise might not be able to obtain it because of high costs. My job would be to ensure that no matter who is on the other end of receiving care, that could should be of the highest quality possible—and that is not only policy but also a personal belief of mine shaped by my background and spiritual upbringing.
Relevant ethical principles that might be a problem for someone with a deep spiritual background might be the issue of promoting and supporting life as a health care provider. The controversy of physician assisted suicide, for instance, could be problematic for health care providers who do not believe that any doctor or nurse has the right to help an individual die (Huxtable & Mullock, 2015). However, when viewed a different way, one could argue that this practice could be respectful of the individual’s wishes, especially if that individual is in the end-of-life stage of care and wants to die peacefully on his or her own terms (Frey & Hans, 2016). Should a doctor or nurse be permitted to assist the patient with this request? Or what about abortion rights or the use of and promotion of contraception? Should doctors and nurses have to address these issues if they are policy to be followed?
Factors like upbringing, spiritual and religious beliefs and doctrines, personal and professional experiences and political ideology all impact me in different ways. Each has shaped my perspective on health care policy. My religious upbringing has shaped my views on how care providers should provide care by always putting the patient’s needs first. They have also shaped my view of life and why it is important to preserve life rather than to end it. My personal and professional experiences have taught me that it is important to respect others but also to follow the policy rules and regulations. This is important, for example, in do-not-resuscitate cases where patients do not want to be resuscitated by artificial means. This, I believe, should be respected because there is a line between preserving life naturally and preserving it artificially. My experiences have taught me that there is a beauty in natural preservation and that sometimes this beauty can be distorted or lost when there is an overreliance on artificial preservation. In any case, it is important to know the patient’s preferences and wishes in all things so that high quality care can always be given. When it comes to the problem of the cost of health care, my politics inform me that government should stop subsidizing care, because this is what drives costs up. The free market should determine cost, and right now it is not really free. Likewise, the industry focuses too much on profits over people and that is not right, I feel. People should come first—and that means care providers should focus more on providing preventive care, which is actually in line with what the Affordable Care Act recommends. So I am not so politically right that I automatically reject anything that comes from the political left. I view everything based on the facts.
I do not feel that I have any inconsistencies in my alignment of personal values and health policy. I think that I respect the law but also have opinions on what the law should be. If I were asked to do something that violated my religious beliefs I would have to refuse and I think this is fair and should be respected; I would certainly respect someone who did the same. I think this insight is important to consider because it shows that in a multi-cultural society laws may not be appropriate for all people in all places in that society—so we really have to treat each person, each case on an individual level and be mindful of how differences of culture and background can shape perspectives and beliefs.






References
Frey, L. M., & Hans, J. D. (2016). Attitudes toward assisted suicide: Does family context
matter?. Archives of Suicide Research, 20(2), 250-264.
Giger, J. & Davidhizar, R. (2002). The Giger and Davidhizar Transcultural Assessment
Model. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3): 185-188.
Huxtable, R., & Mullock, A. (2015). Voices of discontent? Conscience, compromise, and
assisted dying. Medical Law Review, 23(2), 242-262.
Karabudak, S., Arslan, F. & Basbakkal, Z. (2013). Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural
Assessment Model: A Case Study in Turkey. Health Science Journal, 7(3): 342-345.