Analyzing health records and statistics is vital for understanding the current trends in public health issues and the development of new concerns, as well as the assessment of the implemented interventions and the promotion of target audiences’ education. The available data sources indicate that the state of public health in Dougherty County, GA remains marginally positive compared with the general trends observed in the U.S. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019) However, further patient education and an increase in healthcare accessibility are vital since it will allow curbing the extent of risks associated with the further aggravation of the county residents’ health status.
Dougherty County holds a rather important place in Georgia history, as well as its current social and political life. Specifically, the community in question represents one of the largest counties in Georgia. Moreover, the community in question contains Albany, which is Georgia’s largest metropolitan area (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Therefore, Dougherty Country represents quite impressive levels of urban development in Georgia compared to other cities in it (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Nevertheless, the specified progress rates still do not ensure that the extent of healthcare services offered to its citizens meet the national standards.
Overall, healthcare issues are quite a few in Dougherty County, GE. Specifically, reports indicate only the presence of insurance concerns and the fact that the target area is represented by a large (11%) percentage of people under 65 with disability (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). The fact that the disability rates in Dougherty County are significantly higher than the national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2019) suggests that the healthcare services within Dougherty County should be modified to focus on the specified health issue specifically. Thus, healthcare providers will be able to cater to the needs of the vulnerable group in question while also supporting the rest of the community members.
At the same time, the current levels of access to healthcare services in Dougherty County remain lower than the national average, though only by a comparatively small margin. Specifically, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2019) data, the total percentage of U.S. citizens without health insurance coverage reached 8.6%. In turn, in Dougherty County, 16.9% of citizens were reported to have no health insurance coverage, which is a surprisingly large amount compared to the U.S. average rates (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). The identified discrepancy in the extent of insurance coverage for the U.S. population, in general, and Dougherty Country residents, in particular, can be attributed to the problems with access to healthcare services, in general (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Specifically, problems with maintaining the quality of healthcare consistent and keeping hospitals open to patients have been reported recently in Georgia (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). Thus, access to healthcare assistance represents a massive problem for residents of Dougherty County.
Overall, the concerns in question. Namely, the absence of immediate access to healthcare and the lack of age-specific services align with the issues outlined in the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Indeed, the HP2020 project shows that the removal of financial barriers to healthcare services is one of the core objectives to be sought (“Older adults,” 2013). For this reason, authorities of the Dougherty Country healthcare system need to focus on access to care for aging patients by means of making health insurance more affordable and addressing the current infrastructure issues. The described objective holds special significance for Dougherty County since its problem of accessing healthcare services due to poor infrastructure has been in existence for decades (Economic Development Commission, 2021). Therefore, creating a solution for managing it is presently a priority.
By focusing on patient education and the increase in the accessibility of health services, healthcare authorities of Dougherty County, GA, will improve the efficacy of respective services exponentially. Though the current rates of healthcare efficacy served in the target setting are not significantly different from the U.S. average, further improvements will be needed to prevent possible aggravation from taking place. Thus, public health issues, particularly those associated with the unceasing threat of the coronavirus, as well as several local concerns, will be addressed accordingly.
References
Economic Development Commission. (2021). Infrastructure. Web.
Older adults. (2013). Web.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2019). QuickFacts. Dougherty County, Georgia. Web.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2020. Web.