The role of healthcare in global sustainable development.

• Author: Cholewka, Patricia A.
• Position: Report

Globalization has changed the way in which communities and nations interact while providing opportunity for interdependence between peoples and their economies, cultures, technology, and governance. Global forces are increasingly shaping national healthcare policies, and the importance of healthcare for the world's population now extends beyond national borders. In fact, some major issues facing global healthcare policymakers include but are not limited to: monitoring healthcare financing and expenditures; using information technology to improve clinical practice; building human capacity of healthcare practitioners; controlling communicable diseases precipitated by changes in human migration and risk behavior; and acknowledging, and effectively addressing, the physical and mental effects to post-genocidal societies caused by totalitarian rule.

This symposium will address the following sub-themes related to healthcare service reform and improvement proposed by international development scholars and practitioners from diverse healthcare-related disciplines:

Socioeconomic Development: papers in this section address healthcare as an integral part, and influential factor, to sustainable political and socioeconomic reform and development efforts. Contributors analyze funding needs to finance overburdened healthcare systems; explore other funding sources to provide for healthcare services; focus on the pros and cons of privatization of healthcare services; discuss the role healthcare information technology has in addressing socioeconomic (i.e., healthcare related) issues explore the relevant factors to developing and improving healthcare systems; investigate whether the mental and physical rights of the patient are critical to development; and, discuss the role of healthcare education for sustainable development.

Results of a study by Arrodondo et al, entitled, Qualitative Analysis of Trends on Health Financing and Governance After Decentralization in Latin America, identify trends and results for three Latin American countries (Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru) associated with health financing and governance in context of the reform of their health systems. They found some weaknesses such as: the lack of human resources trained in health economics who could implement changes; lack of financial independence between the local and central levels; and resulting difficulty in developing new financial alternatives. However, identified strengths included, the...