How Individual Beliefs and Values Affect One's Opinions on Healthcare

Health Policy Values
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Health Policy Values
Introduction
Our personal values are at the core of our perception, and they help us filter the world by what is right or bad. This is also true of the way a person views the health policy based on their values and upbringing. This paper shows how individual beliefs and values affect one's opinions on healthcare regarding cost, quality as well as how factors like family upbringing and political views affect one's perspective on healthcare policy. Besides, the paper evaluates the inconsistencies that exist on my persona values and the present condition of our healthcare.
Personal Values and Beliefs
I am an American and brought up in a middle-class, Catholic family. My childhood was dominated by school, sports, and church. Since I am a practicing Catholic, I have been attending mass since I was young and have observed all the Christian holidays. However, the conservative nature of my family and being practicing Catholic has not blinded me in acknowledging that some of these values have changed. My conviction on spirituality is that it should help to attain a balance between values and morals. My family highly emphasizes the value of work and the importance of developing and maintaining a healthy work ethic. My parents rewarded academic excellence and excellence in home chores and the need to perform a task within the shortest possible time but in a good way. I remember from when I was young; my father emphasized on the need for one to take personal responsibility for their life and to be willing to pay for one’s mistakes. Therefore, I am a great advocate of people taking their destinies in their hands and solving their problems without waiting for external forces. Through this upbringing, my parents impressed on me that I must be willing to work hard for what I want and that I must be self-dependent.
Beliefs and Opinions on Healthcare Policy
For a country to keep its population healthy, I believe it must commit resources, time and energy to realize this goal. The cost of healthcare provision is significant and has serious fiscal implications to the government budget (Eijkenaar et al., 2013). The cost of healthcare, therefore, can be paid either from the taxpayer’s money as well as promoting healthy behaviors in the population. Regarding quality of healthcare, I am convinced that a lot of improvement is desired since it is not enough to measure the number of people who can access healthcare; the effectiveness and efficiency are as well important. Milstead (2013) poses that the healthcare system still experiences acute efficacy challenges that adversely affect the quality of health services rendered. To improve this situation, I think adoption of evidence-based systems could be a great boost. The notion that excellence should be rewarded was imparted i...