9781422280768

and diseases that could be cured or prevented. People suffer health problems as a result of war and natural disasters. Who should be held accountable for health care concerns in poorer countries? Some of the choices we make affect Free screenings have meant fewer women get breast cancer—but many women don’t take up the offer of screening. Should such screenings be made compulsory for all women?

the well-being and health of people far away. Many in the developing world work in intolerable

conditions making goods sold in developed countries, for instance. Sweat shops in the developing world cause health problems for many people. Should we provide health care for people who suffer while making the things we buy or not buy them in the first place? As global citizens and consumers who make choices about what we buy, we can make an impact. MAKING A DIFFERENCE Many scientific developments may hold dangers of which we may never know anything about. Some types of medicine or treatment could have consequences we cannot imagine. We have seen a few medical disasters in past years—people contracting AIDS from blood transfusions or new cures with serious side effects that bring unintended consequences, for example. We cannot be sure that some of the techniques we are trying now are entirely safe. Does the possibility of danger mean that some procedures or treatments should not be tried? Who should decide? We all have a right to be involved in decisions about the world’s future. But in order to have the power to change things, we need to understand the issues that affect us all. We need to be able to separate fact from opinion in the things we read and hear, and we must disentangle reliable information from media scare stories and public relations hype. If we can do this and shape our own informed views, we will be able to play an important part in the changing world of health care.

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