Chris Owino

Department of Health Science,University of the People

HS2712:Health Science 2

Dr. Angel Mendez

October 24th, 2024.

Introduction

The University of Melbourne (2023) explains that in order to comprehend as well as to

elucidate on how individuals make decisions about their health together with the use of
healthcare, therefore health economics applies economic principles including methodologies.
And In order to satisfy people's demand as well as need for health care services, health
promotion together with prevention whereby there is also offers of a framework
in consideration on how society should divide its available health resources . Notwithstanding,
the biggest obstacles for implementing healthcare benefits are inequality, misallocation as well
as inefficiency. These difficulties could have a negative effect on healthcare decisions when
they are not properly taken into account. The socioeconomic circumstances in which people are
born,
grow, live, work as well as age can lead to disparities in health status or in the allocation of
health resources among various demographic groups whereby these disparities are known as
health inequalities. And unfair health disparities could be decreased with the appropriate
combination of governmental initiatives (WHO, 2018).

Rising Costs: According to Fazal et al.( 2022), the ever-increasing prices of healthcare services,
technology as well as drugs are among the main financial obstacles which healthcare systems
all over the world must contend with in which medical technological developments, an aging
population in need of more intensive care including the rising cases of chronic illness are
prevalent and calling for long-term management are some of the fundamental factors driving up
these expenses in our midst..

Limited Resources: WHO (2022) claims that due to insufficient funding, healthcare personnel,
together with medical facilities then healthcare systems frequently experience restrictions which
may make it more difficult in provision of timely as well as fair access to healthcare services,
specifically for underprivileged or disadvantaged groups of people.

Health Inequality: WHO (2018), explains that health inequalities are mostly a result of
economic disparities because those with lower socioeconomic position mostly encounter
obstacles while trying to obtain high quality medical treatment. Moreover, to exacerbate
already-existing health inequalities based on socioeconomic determinants of health, education,
as well as income then this discrepancy causes uneven health outcomes.

Approaches for Resource Allocation in Health Care:-

Needs-Based Allocation: Kluge (2007) explains that the goal of this healthcare resource
allocation approach is in provision for the healthcare needs of the populace, that is, to make
sure that resources are allocated to regions with the highest need which actually comprises
assessing the frequency and severity of illnesses together with taking population
demographics into account.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: According to Jamison (2016) the method compares the prices of
several healthcare interventions with the expected health outcomes to determine which is the
most cost-effective whereby finding therapies which offer the best possible balance between
health benefits and resource use ensures the effective resource allocation.

Equity-Oriented Allocation: Asamani et al. (2021) Acclaims that through providing resources to
address discrepancies in healthcare outcomes as well as access across various socioeconomic
groups then this strategy places a priority on minimizing health disparities which comprises
allocating funds to underserved communities as well as putting laws into place for the support
of fair access to medical treatment.

Impact of Resource Allocation on Disease Prevention and Health Promotion:-

The distribution of resources affects disease prevention as well as health promotion programs in
an immense way as explained by Raghupathi & Raghupathi (2021) since it determines how
much money, people, including infrastructure are available for these kinds of projects. The
adoption of comprehensive preventative methods such as immunization campaigns, screening
programs, health education campaigns together with community interventions aimed at
moderate risk factors which is made possible by adequate resource allocation.

Further,Raghupathi & Raghupathi (2021) explains that the capacity to address biopsychosocial
determinants of health including socioeconomic variables, environmental circumstances as well
as behavioral patterns which are impacted by resource allocation and by addressing underlying
determinants of health, funding for social support programs, educational efforts as well as
public health infrastructure, for example, can possess a favorable influence on health outcomes.

Evaluation of Resource Allocation's Impact on Health Services:-

Efficiently allocating resources guarantees the cost-effective delivery of healthcare services via
optimizing the health benefits attained for each unit of resources used whereby efficient resource
allocation reduces waste, makes the best use of the resources that are available as well as
enhancing the performance of the healthcare system in terms of patient outcomes and service
delivery. Asamani et al.(2021) further explains that in order to provide fairness together with
equal access to healthcare services, regardless of socioeconomic position or other demographic
criteria in which the equity in resource allocation is important. Equitable resource allocation
enhances health outcomes as well as advances social justice in the healthcare system through
giving priority to disadvantaged people including resolving health inequities.

Conclusion

In summary, efficient resource allocation is very vital for improving the efficacy, equality
together with efficiency of health services which in turn improves population well-being
including health outcomes.

References

Kluge, H. W. (2007). Resource Allocation in Healthcare and Implications of Models of

Medicine as a Profession. Medscape General Medicine, 9(1), 57.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1925021/
Jamison, D. T. (2016). Cost-effectiveness analysis. Priorities in Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10253/

Asamani, J. A., Alugsi, S. A., Ismaila, H., & Nabyonga-Orem, J. (2021). Balancing Equity
together with Efficiency in the Allocation of Health Resources; Where Is the Middle Ground?
Healthcare, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9101257

Raghupathi, V., & Raghupathi, W. (2021). The association between Healthcare Resource
Allocation and health status and An empirical insight with visual analytics. Journal of Public
Health, 31(7), 1035–1057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01651-6

Fazal, F., Saleem, T., Ur Rehman, M. E., Haider, T., Khalid, A. R., Tanveer, U., Mustafa, H.,
Tanveer, J., & Noor, A. (2022). The rising cost of healthcare including its contribution to the
worsening disease burden in developing countries. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 82.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104683

The University of Melbourne. (2023). What is health economics and economics? The
University of Melbourne. Evaluation?https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/centres-institutes/centre-for-
health-policy/health-e
conomics/study/what-is-health-economics-and-economic-evaluation#:~:text=Health%20econ
omics%20uses%20economic%20concepts,and%20use%20of%20health%20care

WHO. (2018, February 22). Health inequities and their causes. WHO.
https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/health-inequities-and-their-causes

World Health Organization. (2022, December 8). Global spending on Health: Rising to
the pandemic’s challenges. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240064911