Course talk:DHYG404/groupthree2009

Hello? group 3? this is so scary, I'm afraid I'm posting this into the wrong area and it will never be seen again, or maybe I'm writing over what Tanya wrote by mistake? eek, i hate technology. Anyway, here are some contributions to the assigned question this week:

-Ongoing research needs to be done to continue to learn and stay up to date on the values and needs of Canadians. Especially those Canadians that are not being heard from as much such as people confined to their homes or those in remote communities. All Canadians should feel like they have a voice in the matter.

-Communication lines need to be open between government programs and the public. Clarity and understanding needs to be promoted to help Canadians feel like health care is "their" system, and not just something being cooked up by some high up government official behind a closed door. The same needs to be done between individual health care providers and patients. Attention and explaining (which invloves time), need to be given to people who do not understand what treatments they are about to receive, what they are having lab tests done for, or what/how to take medications correctly. It seems a lot of people feel like they're being pushed about the system without really knowing whats going on or feeling like anyone cares to explain.

-Evaluations of ongiong programs and health professionals to ensure efficacy, appropriateness, and a high standard of care.

-A larger focus on ethnic minorities, possibly encouraging cultural sensitivity training for health care providers, translators, increased availability of materials for patients in their language, and specialized preventative and wellness programs aimed at specific groups.

-Accountability and timeliness (for example long wait lists)

-The problem of accessability to care needs to be addressed. We either need to get health professionals over to isolated communities without medical care, or to establish a way for the people in these communities to access health professionals. Also home visits for people who are not able to leave their homes. This might include money being directed towards vehicles and portable medical equiptment.

-Elderly care. There are going to be a larger number of elderly Canadians in the upcoming years, and Canadians are living well into their 80's, 90's+, a lot of resources will be needed in this area.

-A larger focus on prevention, and wellness promotion. This includes promoting healthy lifestyles (physical activity, environmental care (eg: clean air), safe housing, community support programs, health education for children to encourage healthy habits from an early age.

-Increased support for "informal" care givers, maybe in the form of financial assistance, stress relief (counselling?), help with child care, etc.

-Ensuring privacy for all patients, especially now that information can be accessed so easily over the internet. People need to feel their information is safe.