Neoliberalism and Productivism and Climate Change

Question: Discuss about the Neoliberalism and Productivism and Climate Change. Answer: Introduction: The public understanding about the causes of illness in Australia has been changing over the years. The beliefs and views held by the people on diseases have been changing depending on the changes experienced. The beliefs that were held by the people who lived in the 19th century are different from the current ones (Donato Segal, 2013). Today, peoples belief on healthcare issues has been influenced by education, technological changes, environmental changes, and the rise of new diseases in the community. Initially, Australians believed that the most serious diseases were measles, scarlet fever, and measles (Wright, et al., 2015). These diseases were associated with abrupt changes in temperature, wet feet, anger, sedentary habits, and night air (Donato Segal, 2013). Such conditions would result into the outbreak of diseases in the community. The view on the causes of illnesses differed from one disease to another (Baba, Brolan Hill, 2014). The Australians believed that cholera was caused by putrid food, and cold fruits like melons and cucumbers. On the other hand, the Australians believed that fever was caused by extreme weather changes, irregular bowels, violent emotion, bad air, and body injuries (Donato Segal, 2013). Modern day Australians believe that diseases have many causes. First, there are a category of diseases caused by inheritance. These are genetic diseases that are transmitted from the parents to the children through the genes. Such diseases include sickle cell anemia, leukemia and others (Wright, et al., 2015). These are the diseases that can be transmitted from the parents to the offspring because they are found in the genes. Secondly, there is a category of diseases caused by disease-causing micro-organisms like bacteria, fungi, and virus. Such illnesses include AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, meningitis, and cancer. The diseases affect an individual if the pathogens gain entry into the body (Wright, et al., 2015). Lastly, there is a category of illnesses caused by environmental factors such as cancer which is caused by smoking (Colton Faunce, 2014). Human behaviors such as smoking and physical inactivity and poor eating habits can result into diseases. The public health principles and approaches in Australia have been changing with time. Australia is a country made up of a population that has different social, cultural, political, and economic diversities (Wright, et al., 2015). In order to address the health challenges facing the society, the government has had to change its principles on many occasions. The need for the changes has been necessitated to research, disease outbreaks, and public understanding on health matters (Lawrence, Richards Lyons, 2013). The health principles have become what they are today because of the efforts of the government to transform the public healthcare system. Research has been conducted to help in understanding the situation on the ground before making changes in the sector (Donato Segal, 2013). All the changes in disease assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management have been changing in response to the changing situations. For instance, unlike before, Australia nowadays relies on the use of modern technologies such as X-ray, CT scan and many others (Wright, et al., 2015). New therapies have also been adopted to help n managing different conditions. Different theories of public health have always been applied when coming up with new principles and approaches. Some of the most relevant theories of public health used so far are social ecological theories, social cognitive theories, transtheoretical model and stages of change theories, and the health belief model (Gubhaju, et al., 2013). These are theories that can play a significant role in understanding the changes in the socio-economic and cultural position of the society (Wright, et al., 2015). For instance, when addressing the problem of mental illnesses, the behavior of the community is analyzed using the social cognitive theory. The government has been effective in coming up with good interventions to address the challenges facing its healthcare system at different times (Gubhaju, et al., 2013). For example, a proper application of the transtheoretical model and stages of change has been instrumental in formulating responsive approaches and principles for the indigenous communities like the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander people (Donato Segal, 2013). This has been applied in addressing the challenges of the minority groups as the country seeks to realize the desired equality and equity in its healthcare system. Australia has been facing a large number of challenges in its healthcare system. The diseases that were affecting the Australians in the 19th century have changed a great deal (Donato Segal, 2013). Although some diseases still cause problem up-to date, there are so many of them that no longer exist in the country (Brown, O'Shea, Mott, McBride, Lawson Jennings, 2015). At the same time, there is a crop of new diseases that have arisen today. The diseases that were rampant in the 19th century are cholera, measles, pulmonary tuberculosis, small pox, chicken pox, and scarlet fever. Although they caused a lot of suffering and deaths, the prevalence of these ailments is no longer a threat in Australia (Gubhaju, et al., 2013). Today, the country has to deal with new diseases like HHIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, liver cirrhosis, and mental disorders such as alcohol dependence, anxiety, sleep disorder, eating disorders, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Wright, et al., 2015). The challenges facing the healthcare system have been changing with time. The new diseases have arisen because of the changes in the environment. First, there has been climate change (Lawrence, Richards Lyons, 2013). Research has proven that the existence of global warming has been causing a large number of diseases like cancer. Besides, there has been a lifestyle change that has exposed people to diseases like diabetes, eating disorders, and obesity (Abbott 2014). Australia has an organized health system. It is one of the countries that have the strongest and well-managed health systems in the world. In Australia, healthcare services are provided by collaboration between the government and private sector (Brown, O'Shea, Mott, McBride, Lawson Jennings, 2015).. The government, being at the top of the countrys leadership, is the overall authority in the country. The role of the federal government is therefore to control all the health matters, formulate and enforce health-related policies in the country (Eckermann Sheridan, 2016). Below the federal government, power is given to the state and territory governments which have a responsibility of overseeing the health issues within their areas. The government of Australia has been coming up with policies to manage its healthcare system. In terms of funding, the government has come up with Medicare which was founded in 1984 to support the sector (Brown, O'Shea, Mott, McBride, Lawson Jennings, 2015). The support provided by the federal government has enabled the country to have a hospital bed to population ratio of 1 to 244 and a doctor-patient ration of 1 to 322 (Russell, 2013). References Abbott, K.W. (2014). Strengthening the transnational regime complex for climate change. Transnational Environmental Law, 3(01), pp.57-88. Baba, J.T., Brolan, C.E. Hill, P.S., (2014). 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