This provocative question evokes sentiments of national pride, social justice, and personal experiences. It’s also a pivotal question, influencing the design and resources for healthcare. A compelling follow up to “Who has the very best healthcare?” is to clarify, “By what criteria shall we judge quality of healthcare?” Consider the following benchmarks:
- Cost. Health expenditures per capita loosely correlates with quality of healthcare. United States: $11,800 per person, Canada: $5,800, Chile: $2,400, Turkey: $1,300, Ghana $221
- Health Outcomes. Commonly used measures include life expectancy, child mortality, and years of potential life lost. Life expectancy in the US: 79, Canada: 83, Chile: 80, Turkey: 78, Ghana: 63.
- Compassion. Authorities broadly agree on the essential nature of compassion in healthcare. Yet scholarly research has yet to identify an acceptable objective measure.
Compassion is a virtue better observed or experienced than quantified. Muhammad is a 13-year-old in the nation of Ghana, west Africa. For months he has suffered from severe scabies, an infestation of the skin causing relentless itching, weight loss, cellulitis and sepsis. See the above left photo. The volunteer physician caring for him in Ghana, Burton Adrian, is a graduate of the INMED Master’s Degree in International Health. Dr. Adrian made the diagnosis, and upon discovering that the needed medication was not available, he searched the country to locate it. Muhammad’s photo on the right was taken two months after treatment.
“Who has the very best healthcare?” Those who receive it with compassion! On Fri-Sat, June 9-10, INMED is hosting hundreds of professionals like Burton Adrian at the 2023 Humanitarian Health Conference. This gathering will increase knowledge and skill surrounding diseases connected with poverty, community health and development, and career decision making. Moreover, the 2023 Humanitarian Health Conference could be your very best opportunity to talk together with inspiring colleagues, whose priority is health care infused with compassion.