Syllabus
Building upon the lessons below, learners will also critique assigned articles, participate in discussion boards, compose a comprehensive essay on the subject “How shall my nation better prepare against pandemic threats?” and participate in a comprehensive healthcare improvement simulation.
Week 1: The Paradox and Historical Perspectives
The “Spend More, Get Less” paradox
Capitalism, public health, American exceptionalism, imbalance of spending
The rise of “organized” medicine and opposition to a national health care system
Contrasts in US health care and social services systems
Week 2: Front Line Insights
US health care system bears the brunt of an inadequate social services sector
Front line healthcare personnel are stretched past the limits
Need for more holistic care widely known and acknowledged
Week 3: Learning from Abroad and Home Grown Innovations
Models for more effective health care systems
The definition of health differs in the US and Scandinavia
Rationing of health care is part of both the US and Scandinavian systems
American creativity in health care technology, organization and financing
Front line models of inventive, integrated health care
Week 4: An American Way Forward and Continuing the Discourse
Lessons from neighborhood/ community health centers and HMOs
Collectively addressing social determinants of health requires a paradigm shift
American individualism, concepts of health, and massive financial investments
Week 5: Health Care Access in America and the Formal-Informal Hybrid Health Care System and Access to Care in Jackson Homes
Health disparities abound due to race, income, language, etc.
Health care “safety net”, emergency rooms, resources outside formal healthcare
Formal-informal hybrid health care system
Health care resources available to Jackson Homes
Obstacles to overcome
Heterogeneity in access to care
Week 6: Sick, Poor and without Care and On the Poor Side of Things
The emergence of a hybrid system
Family, friends and the underground economy
Hybrid systems exist because of the formal system
Week 7: The Doctor Is In
Intense role conflict for caregivers due to inadequate resources
Risks of violating usual norms, rules and practices
Reasons for using (or not) informal assistance to needy patients
Week 8: After the Affordable Care Act and Conclusion
ACA related improvements and deficiencies for the marginalized
Persistence of the hybrid health care system
Cultural humility essential to understanding the hybrid system
