Assignment #12

There are many different determinants that can affect an illness or public health problem. These determinants can be classified into biological, social, environmental, economic, and political. The biological determinants of anorexia are much more important than many people think. A person with a family member that has anorexia, whether a parent or sibling, are at an increased risk of 12 times to develop anorexia and these biological factors contribute to approximately 56% of the increased risk. Social determinants are arguably the largest category of determinants because the pressures to be thin come from social pressures. Often parents pressure their children to be thin and be the best they can be if they participate in activities such as ballet, gymnastics, or modeling. It can also come from parents who criticize their children or their children’s looks. Social pressures of school can also have a large impact on anorexia. A need to want to be the best and be perfect often leads teenagers down the road to anorexia. Stressful events such as a parents’ divorce, a breakup, or the onset of puberty can often trigger anorexia or push a teen over the edge into anorexia. Ethnicity also matters although it is not a large factor. Indian girls and Caucasian girl are more likely to be anorexic than African-American girls. It does affect African-American girls although it is much less common.

Environmental determinants often depend on where and how a person was raised. If a person was raised in a wealthy city environment then they are exposed to the other factors that I mentioned earlier. If they are raised in a lower class family that lives outside the city they are much less likely to be exposed to these factors and therefore at a lower risk for anorexia. Economic determinants also play a role in anorexia, but they are very closely related to the environmental determinants. The more money a person has the more likely they are to be exposed to these factors. But if a person has more money they are also much more able to pay for treatment after a person has been diagnosed and are also more likely to get a diagnosis in the first place. Treatment for anorexia is very expensive and often very difficult to pay for and if you are wealthy you are able to afford these expensive treatments. But this can also be a problem because people who are anorexic are often in denial and will deny treatment and forcing them into treatment can be to the dislike of the patient. Political determinants are very few because there are very few laws concerning anorexia and laws do not affect anorexia. Social factors are much more prevalent than political factors in this case.

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11748&cn=46

http://helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm

Assignment #11

In anorexia surveillance is extremely difficult because the people with anorexia do not believe they need help and they deny it and often fight it if it is given to them. It is an extremely psychological illness that makes surveillance very difficult. The best way this is done is through outside sources such as the parents or friends instead of the people with the illness. Also the majority of people with anorexia still have problems with their weight throughout the rest of their lives. The fact that only 10% of people with anorexia seek treatment makes it extremely dangerous as extreme malnutrition can be extremely dangerous for the body and can result in death. Because of this reason anorexia is the number one killer in psychological illnesses. Anorexia usually takes effect around 17 which is another reason it has a higher mortality rate than any other psychological illness. Teenagers do not seek help and they often only seek help if their parents force them. Up to 5% of all female teenagers are anorexic. This is approximately one in two-hundred women. This is a very rough estimate because people who are anorexic don’t seek medical help and many go untreated. But it is also true that 50% of teenage girls think they are overweight and 40-60% of teenage girls constantly diet. These are the first steps to becoming anorexic and at least 50% of teenage girls are taking them.

There are many direct indicators of anorexia, but indirect indicators are much more difficult to use when dealing with anorexia because of the fact that people deny they need help and deny they are anorexic. The average age of death for anorexic patients is 34 which means that they struggled with the illness since they were teenagers. This is often very difficult to tell because they may seem as if they have recovered but many anorexic patients often have relapses and the majority is still very cautious of what they eat. Also many of the deaths related to anorexia are suicides which is often counted as a different cause of death.

http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm

Assignment #10

I have decided to change the topic of my paper to anorexia instead of obesity because obesity was covered in class and I find anorexia to be a much more interesting topic. It might not be as pressing of an issue because it affects a much smaller number of people, but it is still large enough to be a public health issue. Obesity affects many people and causes some of the most devastating diseases that are currently a problem, but anorexia is a more devastating illness for the person and for the family.

Problem Definition: Anorexia is currently a serious problem in females between the ages 12 and 25 that has both psychosocial and physical effects on the person affected.

When a person has anorexia it is a very serious disorder and affects the family as well as the patient. But the person affected is not always a patient because they do not always seek medical attention. When a person has anorexia he or she is usually in denial and will not accept the fact which makes it hard for medical attention to become part of the process. My report is mainly going to focus on anorexia in females because about 90% of the people that have anorexia are females. My report will also focus on the ages between 12 and 15 because 95% of anorexic cases occur between those ages. It is a very important issue for teenagers because it is the third most common chronic illness among teenagers.

Anorexia is very much a psychological problem because people with anorexia often have internal problem with confidence and feeling worthless. They seem as if they have to do everything they can to be perfect and impress others while inside they feel inadequate. This inadequacy comes from the fact that they think that if they are not perfect they have failed. This has an effect on the family as well. The parents are often very controlling and want their children to be perfect and the children are obedient and strive to be everything their parents want them to be. It is not always their parents who want them to be perfect but there is usually a figure that pushes them to the limit, but it is usually the parents or sometimes an athletic coach.

The physical effects of anorexia are far more obvious because they can be seen as the illness becomes more serious. The deprivation of food leads to a severe lack of calories which leaves the body no choice but to begin consuming itself for calories. This is only the beginning of the illness and once enough weight is lost the illness begins to take severe and long lasting tolls on the body which can last a lifetime. Medical treatment of anorexia can be very difficult because many are being treated against their will because they have a fear of food and gaining weight. This makes it extremely difficult for them to gain weight and continue with a healthy lifestyle.

Assignment #9

The problem that I am going to address in my final paper is obesity because I think it is the largest health issue in America and is one of the solvable problems. Reducing obesity is so important because it is causes so many other problems such as heart disease and diabetes. Obesity may not be eradicated very easily or even ever but reducing the amount of obesity and overweight people will still have a drastic impact on the overall health of the population. People who are overweight and obese have a very increased chance of many problems, many of which are life threatening. There are many studies and many assessments that have shown how large of a problem this actually is. There are many simple solutions to this problem that could have enormous impacts on society. The problem is getting people to follow these simple plans until the results are apparent.

This topic has never been more relevant than now and is now being called one of the largest public health problems in America. This problem needs to be stopped as soon as possible because it is only getting worse. The problem has been developing for decades and is now getting out of control because of the marketing and accepted social norm in which people eat unhealthy and exercise rarely. With the average BMI above 28 which is very unhealthy. The amount of Americans that are overweight in amazing and there are also many that are obese and a much higher increase of certain illnesses. This problem is also very relevant because heart disease is the number one cause of death in America and diabetes is also high on that list. Reducing obesity rates would change these statistics and lower the rates of death due to those two illnesses and many other problems.

I think that this is a very interesting topic because it is so easy to avoid yet it is such a large problem in our country and it is becoming a larger problem around the world. This problem has been developing and now it is time that it is solved through any means necessary. In my paper I will come up with a solution that I would use in trying to solve this problem. There are currently many people who are trying to fix this problem, but they are fighting a losing battle as of today. This needs to be reversed, but many people are unsure of how to do this and there are many different ideas being proposed and tried. Some are successful but it is very hard to apply these plans on a large scale. The scale that these would need to be applied would have to be enormous because of all of the people who are having problems with their weight. Overall this problem needs to be addressed thoroughly and needs to be solved as soon as possible before it before even more serious than it is currently.

Assignment #8

Throughout the first half of class I have realized what a large issue public health is at a global level. Before taking this class I assumed that treatment was much more important and effective than prevention, but now I realize the large impact prevention can have a population and the amount of money it can save. I enjoyed the guest lecturers and the topics they brought to the class. I thought that each guest focusing on a certain area was very effective and helped specify that area and make the class realize the impact that area can have on a population.

The most interesting area that was covered in the first half of the class in my opinion was obesity because of the enormous impact it has on our society and the fact that it is still a rising problem. I realized this was a problem before this class, but now I realize all the problems that can come from it and that it is actually a larger problem than I had assumed. The fact that two thirds of Americans are overweight is a shocking fact and in my opinion one of the largest public health issues today. The fact that it is only getting worse is even more shocking.

What I found most surprising about public health is the enormous range of people that it tries to effect and the enormous effect it has on our everyday health. I did not know that public health affected my life so drastically and many of the things I take for granted are actually provided through public health innovations. The majority of the things I can do safely are provided through public health innovations. The clean water that I drink ever day multiple times is provided because of public health.

In my initial blog post I talked about my Pre-Med course that I plan on taking and how I thought that this course would help me. This course has helped me, but now that I have re read my initial blog post I realize how ignorant I was about the entire area. I thought that public health was a more medical field while I realize now that it is much more focused on prevention and that if the third step of public health, treatment, is reached it is the last resort. I have now learned that public health is a much larger area and has a much larger goal than I originally thought.

Extra Blog

I am going to discuss the flooding that is taking place in the North Eastern parts of the United States and the public health issues that are related to this event. The majority of public health efforts happen after the disaster has occurred because natural disasters are very hard to prevent, but some measures are taken to prevent them. There were sandbags that were put in place when it was apparent that there would be flooding although the massive amounts of rain that they received was not predicted so there was little preparation and the flooding caused massive amounts of damage. There are entire cars underwater and a large number of houses and businesses that are underwater. This is going to have an enormous impact on the economy of the places the flooding occurred. The majority of the flooding occurred in Rhode Island where there is already a poor economy and the flood will ruin many people’s businesses and boost an already higher-than-average unemployment rate. The amount of rain has broken records and rain in those amounts has never been seen all at one time. The rivers are overflowing and covering cities and making life unsafe for all in its path.

The results of the floods are people not having places to live, unclean water, and sewers overflowing which results in unsanitary conditions. The people who have been exposed to the water are urged to wear long sleeves and wash their hands as often as possible to avoid bacteria and illness from the water. People are also urged not to go in the water because of its contamination. Many of the wells in Rhode Island have been contaminated and drinking water in short supply. This is one of the largest issues because clean drinking water is essential for human survival. Many people have been evacuated dude to loss of living conditions and water has to be conserved because there is a very limited supply until clean water can be guaranteed.

Much of the problem with this disaster is economic, but there are also health problems related to the disaster. The health problems will most likely be minor as they are still emerging, but clean drinking water is currently the most pressing issue. In the aftermath of the floods the economic costs of the flood will be enormous for a place that is already under economic stress. The citizens have been given extra time to pay their bills and extra money is being given to the victims. In my opinion they are doing the right thing by evacuating the people who need to be evacuated because it is dangerous. The best plan is to wait for the water levels to subside and assess the damage and then take actions from that assessment.

Assignment #7

Obama’s healthcare reform is centered on the idea of government sponsored healthcare which would provide a much many more people with health insurance. There are currently around 46 million people who do not have health insurance and this is the problem Obama is trying to fix. The average amount of money spent per person is $6,714 which is much higher than other countries with global healthcare such as France ($3,449). This program would be similar to the government run Medicare which is for citizens who are 65 or older. His goal is to provide healthcare for everyone at an affordable price. Providing quality healthcare to so many people will obviously be difficult and expensive. Many people ask where he is going to get the money to provide healthcare for so many people at a lower cost. The answer he has for this is that he will find the money in eliminating waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid and he will repeal the tax reductions that are currently in place for high income citizens. Many people already have insurance that they receive from their employer and under the reform they would be able to keep this insurance, but the Republicans have a different idea of what will happen. They proposed that many employers will stop providing private health insurance and will switch to the less expensive government alternative. This type of insurance would most likely be less costly but would also be lower quality. There are also many people who have pre-existing conditions who have had trouble getting insurance in the past. Under the reform no insurer would be able to deny someone because of a pre-existing condition.

Obviously the majority of democrats are in favor of the bill because they say that there are hidden costs that come from the massive amount of uninsured people which could be fixed by spreading out the costs. This will supposedly lower costs and improve health insurance for all. The republican stance is that the bill impedes the freedoms of the citizens. People who are lower on the socioeconomic ladder are generally in favor of the bill because it provides them with an easier way to get health insurance. People who are wealthier or small business owners are generally not going to be in favor because they are the ones who are going to be paying for the people who could not previously get health insurance. One of the most important groups of people the bill will affect is doctors because it is directly affecting the way they practice medicine and their salaries. Most doctors will not be in favor of the bill because it is affecting their rights and more importantly their lifestyle.

I am not in favor of the health bill because it impedes on the freedoms that all Americans have enjoyed up until this point. The freedoms regarding healthcare are being taken away from us and being dictated by the government. Some of the freedoms that are being taken away are the freedoms to choose what you want in your healthcare plan, rewards for healthy living, high deductable coverage, and the ability to choose your doctors. These are all essential freedoms regarding healthcare and they are being taken away. I am currently pre med and this will greatly affect my medical career. There are many instances where Medicaid cannot cover the actual amount of money that the medical care costs. The doctors often end up losing money on Medicaid cases because they need more money to treat the patients than is available. There are some hospitals that refuse to take Medicaid patients but the government will most likely force everyone to take these patients which will case many problems for doctors.