All developed countries around the world have a functioning healthcare system that delivers education, treatment, and management of medical conditions to patients. In addition, healthcare systems around the world are a major source of employment and help drive national economies. As one of the top employers around the country, the US healthcare system is a good example of this.
Although health services in individual countries often operate in relative isolation, geopolitical events can bring worldwide healthcare into sharp relief. This can often see huge geopolitical news having a massive impact on global health concerns and the infrastructure that supports healthcare associations.
What are geopolitical events and how do they impact healthcare associations?
Geopolitical events are political issues that happen on a global scale and have an impact in a worldwide sense. This is different from national or local political events, which do not impact the world. Good examples of recent geopolitical events include the Russia/Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healthcare associations are industry-specific bodies that offer support to and advocate for members. They can also bring continuing professional education and networking opportunities to them.
As this list of nursing associations shows, working nurses in particular have a wide choice of associations they could join. To become a member, nurses first need to qualify from an academically robust nursing program, such as that offered by Rockhurst University. They have programs that cater to the needs of both aspiring and experienced nursing professionals, meaning there is something for everyone.
How do geopolitical events impact global healthcare concerns?
Whether you work as a qualified nurse or in another healthcare role, you will be keenly aware of how global political events could have an impact on worldwide health concerns.
More people need treatment
This is perhaps the most obvious, and recent, influence that major geopolitical events can have on worldwide healthcare. For example, the COVID pandemic left millions of people all over the world in need of treatment to recover. The same can also be said around immigration levels in certain parts of the world, which can leave more people in need of medical treatment if they get injured or fall ill as a result of traveling.
The net effect of this on worldwide health is an increase in the number of people globally who need medical treatment. This can have a very real impact on how healthy the world’s population is overall and the population figures in general. It can also impact the number of people who suffer life-changing injuries from geopolitical events and need help from global healthcare services in order to manage the injuries.
Extra pressure on global health resources
The increase in people needing treatment globally due to geopolitical events has had a noticeable effect in terms of the pressure on medical resources. Good examples of this include the rising global demand for specific medical equipment, medicines, and trained healthcare staff to help deal with the event in question.
As a result of this rising demand, healthcare services in many parts of the world may be negatively affected. This could mean they lose trained staff from their own hospitals or clinics who travel to help deal with a geopolitical event. It may also mean struggling to get certain medications that are now in high demand due to an event that has taken place.
These increased pressures can also lead to services in some countries not operating as effectively as normal and not being able to care for patients as they usually would. As rising demand also leads to rising prices, it could unduly affect the financial stability of healthcare facilities around the world.
Spread of disease globally due to geopolitical events
This is another major influence in terms of worldwide health concerns that large-scale political events can deliver. In simple terms, a huge disaster in one country may well see people from that country fleeing to safety in other parts of the world.
If this is done without any proper organization or screening of immigrants, though, it can lead to the spread of diseases globally. These may be diseases that were confined to one country in the past but could easily spread with the movement of people from the infected area.
As you would expect, this can have a very real impact on the overall levels of global health and the spread of disease worldwide. It also shows that geopolitical events can potentially be the driver behind the spread of certain conditions worldwide, which then need treating and managing through organizations like the World Health Organization.
Impact of geopolitical events on healthcare infrastructure
The influence of geopolitical events is not just confined to worldwide health concerns. They can also be felt in terms of the infrastructure which enables associations in the sector to operate. But what are some good examples of this?
One point to consider is the funding that some associations in healthcare might receive. If some of the money they normally generate comes from fees or donations, people may give to relief efforts for victims of a geopolitical disaster instead. This could mean that their ability to generate funds diminishes and impacts their ability to operate as usual.
It is also key to think about the impact large political events can have on health associations in terms of staff. If key staff, for example, are caught up in a geopolitical event and killed, this could affect how well the infrastructure is managed. The workings of any healthcare association may also be impacted by staff choosing to travel to the location of a geopolitical event to offer help. This could see the association having less staff to operate and not functioning as smoothly as usual.
Conclusion
There is little doubt that healthcare seems to have gone truly global during the last few years. Although this has always been true to some extent, it appears that political events that take place on the big stage now have a major influence on worldwide health concerns and healthcare associations.
