Healthcare Issues in the United States and Beyond with Existentialist Philosophy

Author(s)

Kristen D'Entremont, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Major

Biological Sciences

Advisor

Gail Faris

Advisor Department

Women's Studies

Date

5-2011

Keywords

Healthcare; International; Developing countries; access; malnutrition; immunizations

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Abstract

Healthcare Issues in the United States and Beyond with Existentialist Philosophy

Kristen D’Entremont
Faculty Sponsor: Gail Faris, Women’s Center

The importance of quality healthcare is a personal matter for each and every individual across the globe. We cannot go a day without considering the impact that proper health through good nutrition, disease prevention, and access to care has on our bodies. The topic of medical care has interested me for many years and has lead me to the major and position that I am in today. As a senior, majoring in Biology with a pre-medical focus, I will begin the application process to medical school come June, 2011.

By applying in June I will have a gap year between undergrad and medical school. In this year I would like to spend considerable time in a foreign developing country, volunteering in underserved communities. For this reason, I designed a project that would help broaden my view of healthcare systems around the world. The five countries that I chose to research are: Ghana, Haiti, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and the United States. Each of these countries has a great need for further development in their delivery of healthcare.

In researching these countries I have discovered the significance that quality nutrition plays on a population and how inadequately equipped many countries are to provide this for their residents. Along with malnutrition, disease prevention and immunization availability play a dramatic role in the overall health of a nation.

Above all else I have learned that without proper access, both physically and financially, the qualities of the health resources do not even matter. This project will reveal the shocking realities of the access and importance of healthcare as it is and how it ought to be.