Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues

No matter whether from the statistical data, news released by the World Health Organization or other media, or the stories told by the doctors who just finished their mission in the Aid to Africa in my hospital, images of underdeveloped countries trapped by famine, pandemics, inadequacy of basic health resources are presented to us, unsurprisingly as if we are used to it. Citizens of developed countries are not without their health issues. Quite the contrary, they suffer from certain illnesses brought about through the benefits of modernization. Chronic diseases such as obesity, heart failure, and respiratory diseases—all related to unhealthy lifestyles and unpleasant environment—have taken their toll in highly-developed regions. Mental health problems start to emerge too, as the product of a fast, competitive, and gradually individual-isolated modern society.

The United States undeniably is a superpower in which the basic health access for public is not an issue, while China, as the biggest developing country, is a great example of polarization herself, no matter on the access or the awareness of health issues between the rural and the prosperous regions. Thus, both the United States and China should be aware of their own situations, and take the responsibility as two of the most influential polities on global public health issues.

With the advent of Big Data, the global health industry inevitably will rely more on the information collected by clinical researchers and the emergence of evidence-based medicine is the proof. No matter what the future function of the data is going to be, building a more advanced health system network is a crucial step in dealing with global health for our two countries. Clinical data can be collected and shared transnationally (without offending personal privacy), then put into use by researchers in the fields of not only clinical diagnosis and treatment but also disease prevention and control, thus benefiting the underdeveloped countries in the respect of global health as well.

The aforementioned health patterns are related to a society’s development circumstance, but the dynamics of global health are more complex than that. Global health is and will never be a single issue. Every time major political and economic changes occur, the health situations swings too: Wars bring refugee influxes; changes in trade patterns lead to massive immigration; and new government policies may cause the rise of medical insurance price. Thus, establishing health surveillance agencies in both countries working on the global perspective is necessary. The consequences of sudden or long-time situation transformations can be monitored and evaluated over time; thereupon the United States, China, and the entire global society are able to take responsive countermeasures.

When a thorough and reliable system is built, a group of highly-trained workforce will be needed to implement it, which includes clinical practitioners, managers and coordinators, researchers, and other professionals. China has the reputation of being the vast labor market, but that does not mean it necessarily has labor with adequate expertise and experience. However, the knowledge transfer role the United States has been playing in multiple areas applies to the public health zone, too. A better picture can be drawn when China offers the raw materials and more workforce in global health works, while the United States can continue its knowledge transfer, providing training programs with eminent experts. Meanwhile, both countries should support and collaborate with domestic and international non-governmental organizations, respect their eagerness in participating in health issues, and work with their innovative ideas and projects.

Lastly, I need to stress a point that always tends to be easily neglected: that is the impact on health of pop culture. In the public health community, we say prevention is always better than the cure—which is the trend of the future—and the public’s diseases patterns are under direct influence of their behavioral modes. What we receive from media every day (the ideas and the cognition) reshape our behaviors. Both countries, especially the United States, should realize the power of pop culture, and ask whether the media is playing a positive role in promoting healthy lifestyles, or a destructive one, as most of the entertainment industry is sending the wrong message by encouraging or even extolling the spirit of “living fast,” picturing a life in which substance abuse and unprotected sexual behaviors are considered free of consequences.

It is easy to propose solutions, but more arduous when it comes to collaborating and implementing these solutions, especially with perseverance. The United States and China are both seeking their own way in health system reform domestically and, in the meantime, they are sophisticated enough to see the links among all nations under the globalization. Both countries should take the heavy responsibilities as paradigms under the trend of polarization in public health, with more efficiency and altruism, as health remains the fundamental part of human beings.

Hongjin Xu is a fifth-year major in psychiatry in the Xiangya School of Medicine at Central South University in Hunan Province, China.