This Tuesday (16th), the Census and Statistics Department published a feature article "Death Trends in Hong Kong from 1986 to 2020". The latest figures show that the mortality rate of different age groups in Hong Kong continues to decline. Last year, the average life expectancy of men and women in Hong Kong was 82.9. And 88 years old.
However, even though Hong Kong people have the longest life expectancy in the world, health inequities still exist.
The Institute of Health Equity of the Chinese University of Hong Kong announced the first "Health Equity" report on Tuesday (16th), pointing out that the impact of the new coronavirus disease on "health equity" has further exacerbated social inequality.
Yang Yongqiang, co-director of the Institute, said that different factors such as housing, working environment, socio-economic status, degree of community integration, elderly life, and medical system all affect "health equity". It is evident that the current situation of "health equity" is increasing. Embarrassed, it is recommended that all walks of life examine the problem from a more comprehensive perspective and respond to it.
Health is more than medical
The so-called "health fairness" means that all people have a fair chance of health and longevity, but this fairness does not necessarily exist, but is affected by many factors, such as social, economic and political systems.
In the past, personal health issues were mostly linked to the medical system, but when factors affecting health can be affected by human factors, health issues will expand from personal issues to social issues.
Statistics such as average life expectancy, mortality, and morbidity can of course be directly used to measure the overall health of society, but in order to analyze the issue of "health equity" in depth, it is necessary to further evaluate the in-depth aspects of healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy. Data, and then compare the performance of different social groups in these aspects, so that we can understand how social factors affect the health of different classes.
Yang Yongqiang said that under the new crown epidemic, health inequities have worsened.
(Photo by Liang Huanmin)
Governance needs to inject a "health and equity" perspective
The CUHK report pointed out that disadvantaged groups, namely new immigrants, ethnic minorities, low-income families, etc., are more likely to experience delays in diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, employment, education, economic security, health and the use of social services are particularly affected. .
The "health inequities" they encounter are not only caused by differences in health caused by the social environment, but even more systematically distributed in society.
When the public is not able to influence policies, those in power need to have a "healthy and fair" vision before they take charge to avoid making structural policy decisions lead to unfair health.
Under the new crown epidemic, social inequality has further worsened, especially in access to health services. The report pointed out that although inpatient services for patients infected with new crown pneumonia are fair, public non-emergency outpatient services have been greatly reduced, making it difficult for disadvantaged groups To manage their own chronic illnesses and mental health, the poor people’s waiting time for treatment has been repeatedly extended.
In addition, the disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong have become more ill than those in the wealthy group after they have contracted new coronary pneumonia.
Moreover, in addition to the problems mentioned in the report, the new crown epidemic has actually exposed the injustices to ethnic minorities, immigrants, and foreign domestic helpers in related policies. They have language disadvantages in obtaining epidemic prevention information and using services.
Take the "Travel with Peace" app as an example. Although it has been launched for more than a year and has been updated more than ten times, it has not yet released a version other than Chinese and English, which has caused inconvenience to non-Chinese speakers.
The measures that could be used to control the epidemic in society have instead created a more unfair environment, posing a health risk to the affected groups.
There are different classes in society, but this does not mean that the poor are not worthy of a healthy body and life.
According to the World Health Organization Act of 1946, it is everyone’s basic right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. There will be no difference due to race, religion, political beliefs, economic or social conditions, and governments of all countries should also Responsible for people’s health by implementing appropriate sanitation and social facilities.
Regarding the right to "health and fairness" that is born to them, the government is undoubtedly obliged to take care of and provide protection to every member of the society, and it needs to constantly update and improve policies in order to make society more fair.
The key to improving health care vouchers lies in prevention and standardization. The government cannot rely solely on welfare to help the grassroots get rid of poverty. "Traveling with peace of mind" has repeatedly been criticized because of improper policy design.