PH Blog #9: Reflection...

First, I would like to say I am very glad to have taken this class. It has confirmed my desire to go into Public Health as a career and learn more about it. In the first 'half' of class, I have learned a tremendous amount of information. Topics that I have found rather interesting are chronic diseases, advocacy, health care reform, and obesity. Chronic diseases basically hit home for me. It is one thing to know that some lifestyle behaviors are unhealthy, but another to be faced with the reality of the consequences. With a diabetic mother and a father with heart problems, that reality was almost amplified when I thought about my future and what it would be like if I didn't make lifestyle changes starting now. This lecture prompted me to go see a nutritionist and actually start incorporating exercise into my daily life- and it has been working pretty well for me! With limited income at home since my mother is the only one working, money has always been an issue when it comes to resources such as a nutritionist or a gym- but now that I am here, I have no excuse. So, I'm glad that the lecture basically changed my life.

Advocacy and health care reform fall hand in hand in my perspective. I pretty much loved these lectures because I'm all for healthcare reform and I love when people advocate and teach others to do so, because that's what I'm all about as well- informing people and lending a hand for them to jump on the bandwagon for health care reform!

The obesity lecture was just another one to remind me of the reality of living an unhealthy life. This lecture was almost like a booster to remind me to keep up the changes and realizing that in the end it will all be worth it- for me and my family to come. I also liked it because of the answer or aspect that was given to the answer of why obesity was becoming an epidemic. It was something I've thought about, and it was interesting to hear it thought out by someone else. I also like the way that lecture was presented- very interesting and almost entertaining! Loved it.

I really didn't find anything too surprising. But I have definitely undermined the role of epidemiology in public health, but after reading and hearing about it, I learned that it is actually very necessary and quite helpful. It acts as a support for public health and I'm glad that I see it that way now.

Nothing has really changed since that blog. Like I said earlier, if anything, it’s that this class, well the first 'half' has definitely confirmed my desire of going into public health. I loved the readings in the textbook and have made my decision to keep it- just because it’s such an easy read and presented rather well compared to some textbooks- it wasn't boring. Nevertheless, I still do plan on going into Health Policy, less of the management side. Definitely up for advocacy as well. I'm glad I took this class. I definitely do see the need for public health to continue and expand in our nation and in the world! There is a need for the emphasis on medicine to decrease and the emphasis on public health to increase- and I have seen that it is a necessary measure to be taken to even begin to combat the issues we are facing today.

Until next wwek,

Thomasina