Compare and contrast health care in the United States and abroad and describe major health disparities and issues within the United States

Health in the United States is a complex and often contradictory issue. One the one hand, as one of the wealthiest nations, the United States fares well in health comparisons with the rest of the world. However, the United States also lags behind almost every industrialized country in terms of providing care to all its citizens. The following sections look at different aspects of health in the United States and how this compares with general global health.

What you’ll learn to do:

• Apply theories of social epidemiology to an understanding of global health issues
• Understand the differences between high-income and low-income nations
• Explain disparities of health based on gender, socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity
• Explain mental health disability issues in the United States and describe the terms stigma and medicalization
• Explain the different types of health care available in the United States
• Compare the health care system of the United States with that of other countries

Learning Activities

The learning activities for this section include:

• Reading: Global Health
• Reading: Health in the United States
• Reading: Mental Health and Disabilities
• Reading: Healthcare in the United States
• Reading: Healthcare Outside of the United States
• Self-Check: Health in the United States and Abroad