Medical Care Provision: Opportunities and Threats

Table of Contents

Introduction
SWOT Analysis Table
Summary
References

Introduction

The community chosen for this assignment was Miami-Dade County, Florida, with a population of 2,712,945 citizens based on the estimations presented by the United States Census Bureau (2016). As with any community, there are weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats associated with health and health-related outcomes. This assessment will include a comprehensive table that will discuss the factors mentioned above within the context of the Miami-Dade community. Critical problems investigated in the assessment will include the communitys health behaviors with such contributory factors as smoking, exercising, etc. as well as the socio-economic environment (e.g., insurance, federal support, household income, healthcare practitioners income, etc.) that either limits or supports the adequate provision of health care for the Miami population.

SWOT Analysis Table

Strengths	Weaknesses
Miami-Dade is considered a community that has access to appropriate health services as well as health opportunities. For instance, County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (2017) reported that Miami-Dade citizens have 99% access to exercise opportunities, which promotes their healthy behaviors and enhances lifestyle choices. It has been reported that Miami has high ratings of nursing homes and accommodations for seniors, which is a positive characteristic of living in the community (U.S. News, 2017). Miami communities have unlimited access to fresh produce as well as seafood, which is essential for maintaining a balanced diet and being overall healthy.	Based on the findings presented by the State of Obesity (2016), Florida is ranked fourth in the list of states with high rates of child obesity (10-17). It was estimated that around 36.6% of children in the state are obese, which is a startling statistic given the fact that Florida was ranked thirty-sixth in the rating of states by adult obesity. Compared to top-performing communities, Miami-Dade has a high rate of uninsured patients: 25-26%, which is a crucial weakness associated with access to health care and seeking appropriate services (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2017). Obtaining health insurance is important for the following reasons: The uninsured receive less timely and lower quality medical care; The uninsured exhibit lower health outcomes; The uninsured have a higher monetary burden placed on their families. For families, Miami is among the most expensive cities with high costs on rent and buying houses, which significantly undermines the ability citizens to purchase affordable housing and pay for healthcare coverage in case of emergency.
Opportunities	Threats
It is noteworthy to mention that the majority of health statistics in Miami-Dade show an average on the by state basis. For example, Miami shows average rates of adult smoking (14%), has positive indicators of food environments (8.4), does not exhibit excessive drinking (17%), and has low rates of alcohol-impaired driving deaths (17%) (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2017). These statistics point to the fact that Miami has positive health behaviors and thus has opportunities to transfer them to the areas of community health that show negative indicators. In recent years, Miami showed growth in real median household income (+4.74% change), which means that communities will have increased opportunities to enhance their health (Department of Numbers, 2015). The decline in unemployment rates (from 12.4% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2016) also presents opportunities for the improvement of community health as more individuals get insurance coverage from their employers and will afford to pay for healthcare (FRED, 2017).	At the moment, Miami is experiencing the implications of dramatic Federal cuts in health care funding, which means that even the largest hospitals lose millions of revenue (Chang, 2016). If the trend continues, the health care system will be unable to withstand the pressure Health care practitioners earn around $58,790 while healthcare support staff makes $26,220 per year, which is not enough for adequate retention of skilled healthcare personnel (Glasmeier, 2017). With budget cuts, the staff is expected to encounter financial challenges and seek new occupations with higher salaries. The affordability of housing and general living in Miami is a major threat to the community as costs continue increasing with each year. With the increases in housing costs, citizens will have less financial resources available to them to address their health care needs, which is a threatening factor for the development of the community.

Summary

The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the delivery of healthcare as well as overall health outcomes of the Miami-Dade community showed that there is a long way to go. On the bright side, the community is active in its lifestyle choices and has access to healthy food choices due to the proximity of the ocean as well as organic fruit farms. Importantly, community citizens showed low rates of smoking and excessive drinking, which presents significant opportunities in the expansion of health promotion strategies for enhancing health education and awareness. On the downside, the high cost of living in Miami impairs the ability of citizens to afford housing for their families or pay for high-quality health care services.