Health Policy Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Health Policy Analysis - Assignment Example Patient navigators and navigator programs therefore became necessary in terms of providing the much needed connection between patient populations and providers with an aim of improving healthcare outcomes. Patient navigator and outreach services dates back to the year 1971 when then US President Richard Nixon ratified the National Cancer Act. Since then there have been significant improvements in healthcare outcomes in terms of reducing cancer related mortality. This can be attributed to better measures at preventing, screening and diagnosing cancer as well as the use of better treatments for the same. However, poor persons, those without any medical insurance and those without sufficient insurances covers have continued to show low 5-year survival and high rates of mortality. Disconnects still exist between discovery and delivery enterprises and also between what is known and what is applied to all people. Disparities arise when medical interventions meant for all are not equally distributed. Disparities are also occasioned by a combination of economic, cultural and social issues (Freeman and Rodriguez, 2011). Poverty is a very important cause of healthcare disparities when it comes to the management of cancer and other chronic illnesses. Poverty is a complex problem associated with other issues such as lower levels of educational achievement, squalid living conditions, total lack or insufficient social assistance, lack of employment, risky lifestyles and reduced healthcare service access. As per the 2010 national census, 14.3% of the US population representing a whooping 43.6 million persons was poor the year 2009 alone. In the same year 16.7% (50.7 million) of American citizens did not have any health insurance cover. Furthermore statistics have shown a huge gap in terms of the five year survival rates for cancers between the poor and the rich; survival is ten percent lower among the poor Americans compared to the rich. An emerging