As a society it is important that we as individuals recognize issues where we can make a change in this world. In the short Youtube video “Reducing Global Health Disparities” Dr. Patrick Lee gives advice for students on what they can do to make a difference for these problems. Dr. Lee also shares how he felt when he was a student about global health issues and what he did to start making a change. There are people whose health is suffering simply because of the environment that they live in. An example that Dr. Lee mentions in the short clip is; how in this day and age, we are so advanced in technology, yet there are people who don’t get the medical support they need from the providers. Dr. Lee gives an analogy of water flowing down driveways. He mentions how the water will flow in different directions. Instead of trying to cover all the dry areas, instead he recommends to students to attack the areas with more water. The areas with more water in this analogy are the global health issues that we can make a stand or call to action for. Dr. Lee mentioned that when he was a student he struggled with the feeling of having little power to actually make a difference to these health issues. He recommends to students when in a setting, to be culturally sensitive and listen with humility. This will allow students to recognize concerns more easily and to make a difference. According to a Komo 4 news article: https://komonews.com/news/local/report-seattle-has-nations-largest-homeless-population-outside-of-new-york-los-angeles Seattle has become the largest city of homeless people outside of Los Angeles and New York. Homeless people correlate to social health concerns because most of them have been traumatized mentally and physically from not being able to take care of themselves. It is sad that there are funding’s out there that could help eliminate this issue. Not only would the homeless have shelter over their head, but their overall physical health would significantly get better. Referring to the functionalist perspective from the textbook, a society needs to develop and organize its main concerns so that social needs are met. Our economy needs to be able to provide food, shelter, and clothing for the homeless. With more shelters for the homeless, this will reduce global health concerns. If we as a society create programs to help people of need, this will benefit us more in the long run. Tax payers costs would be reduced because then we wouldn’t have to pay as much for homeless people’s health care. All in all, I believe that we need to be more optimistic as a society and reflect on a number one growing issue of global health concerns.
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Social Problems of the 21st century 