Food vs. Freedom

The American electorate loves the word "freedom"-and for good reason. No other notion has given birth to a country, successful bids for the presidency, and perhaps now, less food for the impoverished. As the author sites, many house republicans believe that the only objective they have this term is to end President Obama's expansion of "reckless government programs". Furthermore, Krugman suggests that the 2008 recession created two problems. First, with an increasing unemployment rate, far more citizens signed up and are now receiving SNAP benefits (a 22 million person increase since 2007). He views this as a good thing, especially considering that the point of the SNAP program is to temporarily aid those in need. Krugman's second point is a little less positive. He cites that some (the republican party) see that same population increase as a signal of an irresponsible expansion of a government program. Adding fuel to this fire is the increase in cost that the SNAP program carries in the midst of a growing national debit. There in essence is the issue of modern government. Some see federal activity as a prohibitor; a roadblock on the path to "freedom". Others see our known social differences (i.e., race, income, and geography) as roadblocks on the same path. This raises the question, which philosophy we choose? Some in the state of Arkansas would argue that the answer is both. Some would argue that hunger is a bipartisan issue that we should all be able to agree on. Evidently our House of Representatives didn't get that memo. Major congressional leaders such as Paul Ryan have spoken out in a borderline insensitive way and "the good guys [the democrats]" are turtling up as to win re-election. To further complicate the issue, when manifested by an action (such as the massive cuts to SNAP in the House Farm Bill), statements such as Rep. Ryan's could be counter productive to the G.O.P's efforts to bring in young voters. So here is the question we need to ask ourselves, is the expansion of freedom really the driver for cutting SNAP benefits to those in need? Are our  Representatives (in both parties) concerned with the public health, or their own political health? To answer these questions, we need a dialogue regarding the definition of freedom and how such a definition relates to the public health and the health of the nation. 

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/krugman-free-to-be-hungry.html?_r=0

Antibiotic-Resistant Infections

With the development of vaccines and antibiotics, bacteria infections are not something people worry to much about.  But growing numbers of antibiotic-resistance infections have raised concern.  The Center for Disease Control conservatively estimated that two million people contract antibiotic-resistant infections and 23,000 die from it.  It is also said that many infections that are developed in hospital settings are resistant to some antibiotics.  A major concern for these drug-resistant bacteria is the industrial-scale farming procedures.  Most of the antibiotics given to the farm animals are unnecessary and could be leading to bacteria developing defenses against it. John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at 440,000 records and found that people who lived near farms were 38% more likely to develop a drug-resistant infection.  It, however, can't be concluded that living near farms increases your chance on contracting an antibiotic-resistant infection.  Nonetheless, the government should cut down on the amount of antibiotics farmers can feed their livestock. It was also stated that antibiotics are also inappropriately prescribed to patients.  Because the excess of antibiotics being used, it increases the numbers of those who don't complete their full dosage. It is known that not completing your antibiotic prescription can cause the bacteria to become immune to it, and come back stronger.  Other interventions should be used before antibiotics are prescribed. It is surprising the amount of antibiotic-resistant infections that are picked up at hospitals.  How can hospitals and health clinics decrease the spread of infections?

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/health/cdc-report-finds-23000-deaths-a-year-from-antibiotic-resistant-infections.html?ref=health&_r=0

Telemedicine: Saving U.S. Health Care With Skype

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications to provide clinical health care and to exchange medical information from a distance, and it may be the solution to the U.S. health care access problem. The University of Virginia Health System has implemented their new Center for Telehealth program, allowing physicians from 40 specialties to partner with over 100 community hospitals, clinics, and schools to provide care for people who otherwise would not have access. However, this program is not unique to Virginia; there is a telemedicine program in every state, involving everything from psychiatric evaluations to prenatal care. Telemedicine can provide primary care and specialist referral services, remote patient monitoring, consumer health information, and medical education. With the predicted doctor shortage and the insurance coverage of the Affordable Care Act, telemedicine is believed to have a positive influence on the health care system. Its benefits include reducing hospital readmission rates, saving patients time and miles in travel for health care, improved access to both rural and urban areas, and keeping costs low, all done through simple services such as Skype or instant-messaging.
However, this also raises questions to what regulations may be necessary to fully implement telemedicine, which could transform our health care system into a virtual health care system. There are currently restrictions in place for physicians practicing outside the state they are licensed in, and telemedicine results in many issues regarding HIPAA and the protection of patients' privacy. To be sure, telemedicine introduces huge implications for the future of technology, medicine, and health care in both public- and private-sector settings.


Link:
http://swampland.time.com/2013/09/16/saving-u-s-health-care-with-skype/

Treating the 'Body and Soul' in a Russian TB Prison

As we have read, Russia suffers from a variety of issues in the public health sector. In recent years, one of these issues has been tuberculosis: in the country's population in general, but especially in jails. About 10 years ago, Medical and Penal Institution Number One was opened for inmates infected with tuberculosis. In this center, the inmates receive medical care for their illness, but also receive unique correctional activities, such as the opportunity to perform in talent shows, spend time with other inmates in the jail's cafe, and become educated on taking responsibility of personal health for the good of the community as a whole.
This approach to treating inmates with a highly communicable disease is quite original, and has been wildly effective in reducing the frequencies of TB infections among individuals in jail. Additionally, pairing cultural and educational opportunities with the medical treatment lends the inmates a feeling of community and purpose within the jail. This can help with self-confidence and happiness in general, and both of these feelings are crucial for positive behavior change. Thus, the coupling of medical treatment with cultural and educational engagement not only cures them of tuberculosis, but also encourages them to become responsible social citizens once more upon their release from the institution.

Link
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/07/09/197739736/TB-IN-RUSSIAN-PRISONS

Israel Revaccinates One Million Children Against the Polio Virus

Health workers in Israel have found the poliovirus circulating in southern Israel’s water systems, an especially problematic health issue as Israel has not had a case of polio since 1988 and was labeled “polio free” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1992. The reemergence of the poliovirus, traced by geneticists and epidemiologists to having come from Pakistan, could infect Israeli children for the first time in over twenty years. To prevent this, Israeli health workers have started a huge public health revaccination campaign in which they plan to revaccinate a million children under the age of nine to keep polio at bay. Due to increased globalization, viruses can move more freely and quickly than ever before, with the risk of infecting entire populations around the globe. This issue in particular pertains to public health because of the way polio is transmitted as well as the fact that since polio has been eradicated in many countries around the world, communities in the developed world have their guard down and are not at all worried about contracting polio. If polio were to spread from Israel into Europe or the United States, it could have severe consequences, which is why public health workers in Israel have amped up the revaccination campaign in an effort to control the further spread of polio. Also, most developing countries use an oral vaccine version of polio, which contains a weak amount of live poliovirus and spreads through the environment. This is important because the oral vaccine may increase immunity for those children who have not been vaccinated, thereby affecting the community, while the injectable virus that most children in the developed world receive simply immunizes the individual from contracting the poliovirus.

Here is a link to the article, from NPR News: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/02/217194998/to-keep-polio-at-bay-israel-revaccinates-a-million-kids?sc=17&f=1001

This blog has been created for students in the Introduction to Public Health course at Hendrix college. Students in the course will be posting items periodically to discuss the ways in which public health is happening all around us.