Health Politics & Policy: Fifth Edition

Abstract
This paper explores the textbook Health Politics and Policy, Fifth Edition by authors James A. Morone and Daniel C. Ehlke (2013) and Body of Knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences by Sharon Y. Nickols (2009). With this paper, I will explain some of the parts on how the textbook Health Politics and Policy, Fifth Edition written by the authors and numerous scholarly contributors relate to the body of knowledge. The textbook is compiled with many chapters that will be explain family health, family politics, and family policies. The book has a collection of publications by some of today’s finest political minds and policymakers. In a world of changing policies and politics, this fifth edition easily connects themes of the past and

modern-day dilemmas with a look to the future of health care politics in America. The body of knowledge of family and consumer sciences includes three major components: core concepts, integrative elements, and cross-cutting themes. The body of knowledge paper is meant not simply to present the concepts but also to demonstrate their correlation, alliance, and interaction.

Body of Knowledge Paper
The textbook and body of knowledge relates to each other in various ways.

Health Politics and Policy, Fifth Edition (Morone and Ehlke, 2013) guides you through the inner movements of health policymaking, from the law-based process to the way money impact people’s lives, and exhibits both modern and historical point of views in thrilling detail. A collection of publications by some of today’s finest political minds and policymakers. The book considers factors that mold the U.S. health care system and policy, such as values, government, and private players, and compares them to other countries for international context. The textbook even includes helpful learning techniques. In a world of changing policies and politics, this fifth edition easily connects themes of the past and modern-day dilemmas with a look to the future of health care politics in America. Likewise, the Body of Knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences (Nickols, 2009) presents three categories of concepts: integrative elements, core concepts, and crosscutting themes. The body of knowledge paper is meant not simply to present the concepts but also to demonstrate their correlation, alliance, and interaction. The focus of the text is to present the core concepts of the paper: basic human needs, individual well-being, family strengths, and community vitality. In order to provide theoretical context, the integrative elements that support the body of knowledge life course development and human ecosystems are

mentioned briefly. Also, to finish the presentation of the critical component, the crosscutting themes are presented at the end of the section.
I will start with the core concepts, it includes basic human needs, individual well-being, family strengths, and community vitality.

When I think of basic human needs, I automatically think of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It is a broadly used framework in the healthcare system identifying human basic needs as physiological (food and shelter), safety, love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. In similar fashion, after chapter 18 of the textbook eyewitness Alinea Noronha (2013) stated, “yet you also learn about a hierarchy that exists and is often reflected in seating arrangements when you enter a room.” Community vitality measures how good human needs are met and focuses on providing an environment conducive to individual and family well-being (Nickols, 2009). A community is a group of individuals living in a specific area. There are several types of communities and in like manner in chapter 1 author Stone (2013) stated, “different interpretations of efficiency and fairness define different kinds of community.” Also, in chapter 1 contributor Stone (2013) stated, “but the hospital is also a community institution and a major local employer”, and all the policies implemented throughout the textbook was made to improve the many community health systems so that basic human needs are being

met.
Now, I will discuss the integrative elements. It includes the life course development and human ecosystem. Humans depend on natural ecosystems to provide many ecosystem services such as pollution of crops, cleansing the water and air, and supplying us with fertile soil and mineral nutrients. According to Nickols (2009), the basic elements of the family ecosystem are family members, their external environments as they perceive and interact with them, and the web of human transactions carried out through the family organization. With similar fashion in chapter 22 of the textbook, contributors Tzoumis and Bennett (2013) stated, “on April 20, 2010, the largest marine oil spill to date occurred in the Gulf of Mexico at BP’s Macondo Prospect well at the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig.” Also, in chapter 22 contributors Tzoumis and Bennett (2013) stated, “because of the scale of this spill, which affected the ecosystem and economy of a multistate area, assessments of impacts had to include effects on human physical and mental health.” It was a disaster that affected the water in the atmosphere that humans live in. If something pollutes the atmosphere it can cause life threatening illnesses to human’s wellbeing.
Furthermore, the body of knowledge also focuses on five cross-cutting themes: capacity building, global interdependence, resource development and sustainability, appropriate use of technology, and wellness. Technology and wellness play major roles in society. For technology to be as effective in the health system individuals must know how to effectively use it. The appropriate use of technology involves understanding how advances in science and technology are shaped, manipulated, and used to affect the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities (Nickols, 2009). In chapter 15 contributor Schlesinger (2013) stated, “because the public is barraged with a constant litany of news stories about emerging threats to health and new promises from innovative medical technology, forming stable and coherent expectations for health policy can be particularly challenging.” According to Nickols (2009), wellness addresses health and well-being. The entire textbook relates to wellness of the critical component because throughout the book chapters I learned about multiple health care policies being introduced by several different presidents. I was able to learn from the textbook that President Nixon offered an expansive Comprehensive Health Insurance Program (CHIP), President Johnson introduced both Medicare and Medicaid, President Clinton introduced the Health Security Act, Congress enacted and president Clinton signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and President Obama later changed the Affordable Care Act to Obamacare with more benefits all as parts of the changes in the interest groups relevant to health care reform. With the new health policies, it made health care easier and more affordable for all citizen to have access to when ill or need a health professional assistance.
References
Morone, J. A. & Ehlke, D. C. (2013). Health Politics and Policy (5th ed.). Stamford, CT:
Cengage Learning.
Nickols, S. Y. (2009). Body of Knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences. Retrieved from The Body of Knowledge of Family and Consumer Sciences (Generic).docx
Noronha, A. (2013). Eyewitness: A Medical Student’s Perspective. In Health Politics and Policy (5th ed., pp. 288-290). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Schlesinger, M. (2013). Chapter 15 Public Opinion. In Health Politics and Policy (5th ed., pp.
214-235). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Stone, D. (2013). Chapter 1 Values in Health Policy: Understanding Fairness and Efficiency. In
Health Politics and Policy (5th ed., pp. 2-13). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Tzoumis, K. & Bennett, S. (2013). Chapter 22 Environmental Health. In Health Politics and
Policy (5th ed., pp. 348-361). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.