A health crisis occurs when a person’s mental, physical or social well-being deteriorates significantly. It can be caused by an illness or by a social issue like lack of access to affordable healthcare, housing or education. It can also be triggered by a natural disaster or by a trauma.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many areas of the US healthcare system that need to be addressed to improve health and wellbeing. The most pressing issues include high healthcare costs, limited accessibility and a decline in life expectancy for many Americans. These problems can be addressed through targeted policy reform and lowering costs to ensure that all Americans can access affordable healthcare.
There is also a frenzied demand for mass vaccination driven by governments and most medical authorities, along with a deluge of information from international news media including social media platforms. This has led to a wavering public perception and distrust of vaccines, exacerbated by counterarguments from legitimate and conspiratorial sources.
A crisis of burnout and violence among nurses has also emerged as the US healthcare system continues to struggle financially. Profiteering has raised prices for everything from gloves and gowns to masks and respirators, with some items quintupling virtually overnight. Many hospitals are losing money and threatening their stability. These factors have heightened attention to longstanding inequities in access and outcomes for various populations, with communities of color, people with lower incomes, and individuals with disabilities bearing a disproportionate burden.