Open AccessHealth Policy and the Coloring of an American Male Crisis: A Perspective on Community-Based Health Services
Author(s) -
Amos L. Smith
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
american journal of public health (1971)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.93.5.749
Subject(s) - health policy , health care , community health , perspective (graphical) , environmental health , health services , medicine , health education , health promotion , health equity , health insurance , public health , international health , business , nursing , gerontology , economic growth , population , artificial intelligence , computer science , economics
Health services at the community level are organized and financed in such a way that men need access but encounter barriers to care such as poor service design, lack of insurance, and the absence of health literacy. Community health delivery systems may not be appropriate, effective, fit, or able to meet the needs they are charged to fill. Community-based health services, including health departments, are underfunded, understaffed, and unable to carry out their mission in a way that protects the health of the community. The current design for funding and delivering health care services excludes poor men, particularly men of color. Improving the health of men requires modifications in the way health care is financed, delivered, and managed.