Top 10 Public Health Achievements..Gotta Love It!

Hello All! I'm going to discuss the article: Ten Great Public Health Achievements --United States, 1900-1999. This article talks about how public health has significantly improved the life quality in America then goes on to list in detail ten of the greatest achievements contributing to this success. These successes are: Vaccination; Moto-Vehicle Safety; Safer workplaces; Control of infectious diseases; Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke; Safer and healthier foods; Healthier mothers and babies; Family planning; Fluoridation of drinking water; and Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard- in that order. I think it’s a good article that effectively lists out the examples of how public health has helped and encouraged improvement tremendously, as compared to medicine and such. It definitely puts into perspective this aspect of public health and illustrates how much public health actually helps, even though people may not notice too much. The two that resonate with me are 'Healthier mothers and babies' and 'Safer workplaces.' There aren't any really personal reasons as to why I like these two. I simply love children and love to see them grow healthy from birth, and I'm just glad that this improvement to help mothers and babies is effective and just the access to health care for women is great. My mother's first child died a few days after birth after being born premature, and I also being born premature, am grateful that much has been done to improve the infant mortality rate. Also, for the safer workplaces- I remember learning about the horrendous stories in my US History classes in high school, and I am so glad that they have changed, because they were just too terrible! Men, women, AND children were being affected by their work conditions and events that could have been prevented like fires, or machine deaths, and such, could have been avoided. Another public health achievement that should have been listed is the Needle Exchange programs run in a few cities. Even though they are fairly recent and are not used widespread to fight the war on drugs and reduce harm on those that use them, they are still very effective! They have significantly contributed against the spread of HIV among drug users to their partners, children, and each other. This program has prevented many diseases among drug users and its treatment requirement has also helped to get some off drugs. Side note: I don't know if the different laws and regulations that fall under health policy count as a public health achievement in general, but the health policy that has been enacted with guidance of public health is a main factor as to why many of these Top 10 achievements came to pass; and they, whoever 'they' may be, should be given their props. *CLAPS*

Until next week,

Thomasina

BLOG Assignment: Numero Dos! (#2)

This week for my BLOG, I am discussing the article: Study: 2 popular arthritis supplements don't work from the Washington Post. This article describes a study led by Peter Juni, who is the head of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The conclusion that came out of this study was that two very popular supplements to treat arthritis, which has been used widely for the past 10 years, actually are ineffective. The study consisted of 3,803 patients who took glucosamine or chondroitin (the two popular supplements that treat arthritis in the hip or knee) or a placebo. The results showed that either supplements, taken separately or together, did better than the placebo. They came to this conclusion by analyzing the results from these patients. This is a public health issue because it is affecting a large number of people, almost the population of the elderly with arthritis problems. But, this opposed to being a medical issue, is better seen as a public health issue because if two of the most popular, widely used supplements don't work, what does? This then shifts our focus to prevention. This was a statement made at the conclusion of the article:

                                

"Some people may want to consider an over-the-counter trial as part of a wider self-management plan which includes exercise and keeping to an ideal weight," [Jane Tadman, a spokeswoman for the charity Arthritis Research U.K] suggested.

This shows how the focus is being shifted to prevention or even treatment. I chose this article because out of all the articles shown in the health section for this week, this sounded interesting and I felt like this was more public health related as compared to the other, maybe more interesting, ones. I feel like this is a relevant issue because, all jokes aside, it shows how gullible or nonchalant people can be when it comes to their medical care. It surprises me that these supplements have been used for so long and is making a lot of profit (Globally, sales of glucosamine supplements hit nearly $2 billion in 2008), especially since it does not even work. This is important mostly when it comes to ethics and when you realize the function of the people making these supplements- people should be given what actually works, especially for a widespread problem such as arthritis. I think it is also important in illustrating the relevance of public health to step in and put interventions in place to determine preventions for arthritis. The type of study done here was an Intervention (Experimental) study. From what I have learned from lectures and readings, strengths of intervention studies include them being successful in showing how effective an intervention is, the outcome can be clearly seen, and illustrates a clear temporal sequence. Weaknesses include ethical constraints; they are time consuming and expensive, and they are inefficient for rare diseases. I'm not too sure of the specifics on how this study was conducted, but insuring that it was done in a randomized and double-blind manner would yield the best results. If this was not done, this would be the best way to strengthen the study.

Thanks for visiting!

Thomasina

***All references to the article taken from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/16/AR2010091606104.html***

Blog Assignment #1- First Official Blog :)

Hello! My name is Thomasina Anane and this is my blog for my Intro to Public Health class. Here I will discuss my perceptions, thoughts, opinions, and much more about topics discussed during lecture and in the readings. I am interested in Public Health because of the many opportunities it presents to change healthcare in America and around the world. As stated in my first unofficial blog, if anyone cared to read it, I am very much interested Universal Healthcare and how it could be implemented in America. I know, if you are turned off by socialist, this is a pretty extreme vision to have. Though I do not consider myself a socialist, I do hold few socialist ideals. Anyway, I am fully aware that there is much opposition against this idea, and I want to clearly understand why. I want to learn of maybe other methods of changing healthcare, and I want to learn about the different ways in approaching healthcare by the route of Public Health. I am taking this class because I believe it will provide the perfect foundation for understanding and insight into Public Health. I believe it will help a lot with my career aspirations and maybe even narrowing down what I'm looking to and also even opening doors as to where else I could help when it comes to Public Health. Also, knowing about all aspects of Public Health, such as Epidemiology, Health Policy, and such, will help a lot in getting a solid base. Public Health, as I have understood it, and the best definition I've seen so far, is Winslow's definition: Public Health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health. Public Health can be divided into six disciplines which are: Epidemiology, Statistics, Bio Medical Science, Social & Behavioral Science, Environmental, and Health Policy. These disciplines all work together is promoting and seeking to fulfill Winslow's definition of Public Health. Long-term interests include a career in Public Health, especially in Health Policy. I would love to work in changing healthcare for the better, specifically in America. But, of course, I plan on majoring in Public Health to learn about all these different disciplines and staying open to all of them. My impression of the first two classes is pretty good. I guess I didn't view it as a lecture class, but I don't mind as much. I like that we are able to ask questions and briefly discuss our thoughts in class. But, I do feel like I'm in the right place in taking this class, because I can confidently say that this is what I want to do with my life with every class I attend and page I read in the book. And I love it..!


-Thomasina Anane

First Day of Class...well, for me at least :)

Tonight, I'm going to speak on the discussion that was going on toward the end of lecture today. As I sat their listening to the question Dr. Alexander posed--[Why are there so many bad outcomes even though so much money is being put into healthcare?]--After the numerous attempts by other classmates to answer this question, I was even getting frustrated. But, then we came to a conclusion of how the disparity in healthcare in America is a significant factor pertaining to the many bad outcomes. But then we began to pull apart the roots, causes, and possible solutions to the disparity. This became even more frustrating. After the second round of attempts by my fellow classmates to attempt at answering this question, I was beginning to get a little bit discouraged. Because even after so much work being put into educating those in urban communities where most have no healthcare, even after children having access to healthcare benefits, and EVEN if we gave everyone a plastic card giving them access to healthcare, things would not change. Dr. Alexander then explained about how in those communities, coming in and changing their way of life is almost insulting, and how healthcare can be put at the bottom of lists of priorities when you are trying to figure out how you are going to feed your children. That changes things a whole lot! For so long, I've been an avid advocate for Universal Healthcare, but then again, whose to say thats really the answer or "cure all"? You see, the problem here is almost intangible. Yes, we can see these things, but what can you really do about it? And as our reading in the textbook put it best, also in the best way I remember and understand it, there is a reason why theorist hate those in Public Health- there is a difference between theory and practice, and public health is the practical approach in trying to combat some of society's ills. But, I can say at the least, even though I don't have the answer or solution to the example above, I am encouraged. I am encouraged to think outside of the box; I'm encouraged to look at all aspects of a problem, not just in one dimension; I am encouraged to keep on thinking and trying to answer these questions. Tackling these almost intangible issues looks almost impossible now, but I believe, even after this class, I will have the ability to do just so.

Until Later,
Tommy :)