System medyczny w Polsce wobec wyzwań XXI w. Perspektywa krytycznej socjologii zdrowia i choroby
Medical system in Poland in the face of XXI century challenges the perspective of the critical sociology of health and disease

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the discussion is to evaluate certain aspects of the Polish health care system – its ability to respond to contemporary dynamic social, economic and epidemiological changes (including the spread of chronic diseases, aging population or family crisis – its possibilities for providing care of the sick). The analysis of such a problem was based on a critically-oriented perspective that is developed in the field of the sociology of health and illness. The text pays particular attention to the problem of deepening social inequalities, which can be considered as one of the major factors that hinder access to health care and influence poorer health condition. In this context the mechanism of “saving health” and borrowing in order to satisfy the health needs in the face of financial difficulties was mentioned. Moreover, the text includes the attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of health promotion programs in our country as potentially the most effective way of raising the level of public health. There is also the issue of public confidence in health care institutions and the approval of attempts towards reforming the medical system in our country. A separate part of the discussion was devoted to criticism of the idea of reducing the role of the state in the health care sector.

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