Reflective Journal Entry: Measurements of Health

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1 Reflective Journal Entry: Measurements of Health How do members from different constituencies measure health? Health is a complex phenomenon that can be conceptualized and measured in various ways depending on one's position and values. From a biomedical perspective, physicians and healthcare systems emphasize clinical outcomes and disease-centric health indicators. Common metrics include morbidity, mortality, life expectancy, and the prevalence of illnesses and risk factors like obesity, hypertension, and high cholesterol. The biomedical model focuses on bodily health and mitigating disease states. Public health professionals take a broader population-level view, tracking health equity, social determinants, and community-wide outcomes beyond just individual clinical measures (CDC, 2018). They examine factors like access to care, food security, education, environmental risks, and the distribution of health and illness across groups. The social justice model of health requires looking beyond medical conditions to the social, economic, and political structures shaping health inequities. Health economists analyze how macro-level healthcare resources are allocated and utilized (Fuchs, 2011). They study costs, quality, access, efficiency, and insurance coverage through metrics like per capita spending, utilization rates, and health program budgets and funding (Tikkanen & Abrams, 2022). Cost-benefit analysis is commonly applied to weigh healthcare interventions and policies. Public officials and governmental health agencies rely heavily on population health metrics to guide policy decisions, target interventions, and distribute funding (ODPHP, 2022). Disease rates, mortality, life expectancy, and use of health services commonly inform public health planning and resource allocation.


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