As we discussed on the first day of class, experts predict that heart disease will become the number one cause of deaths around the world by 2050. A recent article in Medical News Today examined the financial impacts of this exploding disease for the United States. The article reports that the costs of heart disease for the United States government will triple in the next 30 years. These rising costs are sure to gain more and more headlines, due to the massive budget deficit that our country faces and the debate concerning an overhaul to our nation’s healthcare system.
The article suggests that prevention programs could be key in cutting these costs and saving many lives that could otherwise be taken by heart disease. This idea is the basic principle behind public health. However, the article fails to address this issue any further. Nothing more is offered beyond the obvious fact that prevention programs are probably a good idea. No concrete ideas are suggested.
I believe that this failure is the perfect example of the problem with heart disease in this country. Most people realize that heart disease is a problem around the world. Most people also realize that a few of the top causes- tobacco, obesity, poor diet, etc.- are completely preventable. Prevention efforts have been launched by organizations such as the American Heart Association. However, in order to begin this problem, a much larger program is needed. This program needs to gather media attention and somehow scare people into realizing the severity of this disease. This is something that affects the young, the old, the rich and the poor alike. Something drastic needs to be done soon.
Here is the link to the articles I found:
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/649165.html
If people are aware of what types of preventative measures they can take to decrease their risk factors of disease or infection, then why aren't all people following these practices?
ReplyDeleteThis is one of Public Health's most confusing questions that continues to go unanswered. Newspapers, blogs, health channels, books, magazines, speakers, etc. are constantly putting out information about healthy habits, for example the newest healthy recipes, or the effects of smoking, or factors that increase your risk of heart disease. We read about these kinds of things and hear about them on a daily basis. Nevertheless, simple preventative practices that can make a huge difference in the life-long stability of an individual's health go unconsidered. This is where we have to take into account the possible reasons behind people's conscious decisions to forgo their health with unhealthy behaviors.
Are people able to access a grocery store that supplies healthy foods at a reasonable cost? Does the cost of transportation, such as bus systems, keep some people from being able to see the doctor? Will the need for an income keep a single mother working 12 hour a day jobs, keeping her away from her children? Are gym memberships becoming too costly? These are the kinds of questions we must ask first before we can ask ourselves why people are taking better care of themselves in such simple ways.
To me, this article really summarizes the core of the challenges that public health faces. The main problem in spreading healthy practices isn't that the technology for those practices isn't there, or even that people don't know about them, but simply that they don't take the time to build better things into their lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteIn class, we talked about how sometimes there can be social stigmas associated with treating certain diseases, etc. I think it would be interesting to take the idea of a social stigma and apply it towards something good. Why shouldn't it be socially taboo to only eat fried foods or heavily frowned upon to admit to watching TV instead of going to the gym? Based on our project on changing a habit, I can already see how hard it is to alter a behavior, so I think part of public health's main job is to give people not only the information, but also the support to make that change.
This idea can be especially applied to something like heart disease, because so many of its causes are directly related to simple things in a person's lifestyle. I loved what Rebecca brought up about the cost of food. It's hard to argue for people to eat more fruits and vegetables when they are making the decision between eating healthy and only feeding part of their family, or feeding everyone on hamburgers. Once society places a higher value on simple healthy behaviors, things like food cost can be altered to favor those healthy behaviors.