Overcoming the prejudice against establishing a national health care system

Article Abstract:

The author of this editorial cites a prejudice against a national health care system (NHCS) as the major obstacle to assuring all Americans access to affordable health care. The origins of this prejudice lie in the American value system; major aspects of this value system are reviewed and critiqued. Public opinion, as revealed in opinion polls, and the Declaration of Human Rights support the concept of medical care as a basic right, but current public policy and the Constitution do not. Like the alcoholic who believes in abstinence while continuing to drink, Americans remain addicted to the perceived benefits of the present system while the nation's health worsens. All other western democracies except the US support health care as a human right; NHCSs are built on this principle. Under these systems, access to primary care is easy, but access to high-cost technology is regulated. A value system characterized by libertarianism, self-serving individualism, antisocialist rhetoric, antigovernment sentiment, and the business ethic, as well as a belief in the sovereignty of the biomedical paradigm (high-technology achievements are more impressive than good primary care) are incompatible with movements to establish an NHCS. The ways that these values support the present health care system are examined. Questions are posed to challenge the application of these values to the health care situation, such as: to what extent can the ''haves'' in society obtain the best medical care, when basic medical care is not available to the ''have nots''? Change in the nation's health care system will only come after society adopts new ethical principles, which do not need to consist of completely revised views. An educational campaign to promote values that favor establishing an NHCS should be started. Without attention to the values that underlie it, the American health care system will remain unjust and will neglect millions of its potential beneficiaries. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Public participation, Public opinion, Medical policy, Health policy, National health insurance, editorial

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Protective Effect of a Thermoreversible Gel Against the Toxicity of Nonoxynol-9

Article Abstract:

The combination of nonoxynol-9 with a polymer gel may reduce the inflammatory effects of the spermicide in the vagina. Nonoxynol-9 is a spermicidal agent that can cause vaginal irritation, inflammation, and ulcerations on the cervix in women. Researchers combined the spermicide with a thermoreversible gel and tested it in the vaginas of rabbits and in colon and cervical tissue samples. The spermicide alone was highly toxic to vaginal and cervical tissues, but in combination with the gel was much less toxic.

United States, Physiological aspects, Nonoxynol 9, Spermicides, Contraceptives, Vaginal, Vaginal contraceptives

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Violence to health staff - four times national average

Article Abstract:

Research has revealed that in the year ending April 1998, 8.5% of NHS staff experienced violence at work, although the number rose to 33% in community and mental health trusts. The research included 105 NHS Trusts and was commissioned by the IRS Health Service Report. Preventative measures have been implemented at most trusts, with a formal policy on violence in the workplace at 90% of trusts.

Management, United Kingdom. National Health Service, Workplace violence

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