US Health Care: The Good News

The U.S. Health Care system is a 2.6 trillion dollar investment. Compared to other countries, the U.S. spends the most on Health Care and has the worst results. Throughout the country, there are about 50 million Americans uninsured. Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and the government are working on a Health Care plan that will support our entire country.

           

In the documentary “US Health Care: The Good News,” discusses new and innovative ways to have an effective Health Care plan. The Dartmouth Atlas Project has documented differences in how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. The findings have helped policymakers, the media, health care analysts and others improve their understanding of the effectiveness of our Health Care system. They found that spending more and more money on this current system, doesn’t improve the overall health of the citizens.

           

I personally feel that having access to Health Care is a right and not a privilege. Our nation’s Founding Fathers once stated, “We have rights to life, liberty and property and an advocated government that protects those rights.” Our government was originally built to protect the rights we are entitled to and the right to see a doctor when needed is part of that.

One of the Health Care systems I thought was interesting and effective in the video was the one in Mason County, Colorado. The doctors there treated everyone that needs to be seen by a doctor, rich or poor. They were able to lower the cost of Health Care by 1/3, which had better effects on the outcome of health in the community. I thought this part of the video was interesting because if this county is able to have an effective, reduced cost, Health Care system, why isn’t the rest of the nation taking action in this plan? The doctors in this county were willing to sacrifice some of their salary to treat all the patients, which is a big reason why a plan like this wouldn’t be effective to the whole country because many doctors are not willing to sacrifice their money.

If a Health Care plan were to happen in other states it would be rather difficult. Like I said before, many doctors won’t be willing to sacrifice their salary to reduce the cost to see all patients. In order for a functional Health Care system to take place, doctors must recognize the fact that they are doctors because they want to improve the well being of citizens and not because they have a large paycheck. Nevertheless, a system that mimics Mason County’s system would be more cost effective for the U.S. and could very well take place in my hometown, as well as, other states throughout the nation.  

Vaccine Wars

My view on modern medicine and vaccinations is very indecisive and changes almost everyday. Some days I take an osteopathic opinion because I fee like what people put into their bodies should be holistic and natural. When I see commercials on TV about a medicine that someone should take that has a million and one side affects is frightening. It makes me question why we should be taking this medicine if “in some cases causes death.” But, on some days I take an allopathic opinion because I still get vaccinated annually for different types of diseases and I’m fine. It makes me wonder if the only reason parents are thinking vaccines are harmful to their children’s health is because the children are too young to be getting serious vaccines.

            Herd immunity is a big discussion in this video that sways my opinion. Herd immunity occurs when the vaccination of a significant portion of a population provides protection for individuals who have not developed immunity. Herd immunity is important in a Public Health standpoint because if there is a significant amount of people vaccinated from life threatening diseases, then there will technically be less outbreaks of that disease because a majority of them are vaccinated. 

            I feel like vaccinations have become a very personal decision within the last decade because of all the side affects that come with vaccinations in this day and age. I personally believe that families are the only ones who have a choice in whether or not their children will be vaccinated against a disease. But, I also feel like it’s the public health official’s job to inform the families with as much information as possible before they make their decision whether or not to vaccinate their kids. Families should not feel coerced.

            In today’s world, I think the social media has a huge affect on whether or not parents decide to vaccinate. If you search “side affects of vaccines” on YouTube, you would find a wide array of people who have claimed to have serious side affects from being vaccinated. While it can’t be proven just yet, I have to say, I have started to side with the media at some points during this video, because everybody is starting to claim they changed after receiving a shot.

If physicians would like to increase the amount of people getting vaccinations, there really needs to be more research and education from people claiming to have developed autism from vaccinations. At this rate, I wouldn’t vaccinate my child against anything if I thought he/she would develop autism afterwards. Serious research needs to be done on this issue before physicians can even think about people giving their children vaccinated against diseases without any resistance. 

Secondhand Smoke

How likely is it for a woman to develop lung cancer through secondhand smoke from her husband? The study on the results of non-smoking wives of heavy smokers sums up that wives of heavy smokers had a higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smoking husbands. The correspondence of heavy smokers and their wives depended on the age of the couple, what the husband’s occupation was, and where they lived. Lung cancer was not the only sickness to be passed on from secondhand smoking; asthma and emphysema were also developed diseases. The results of this study show the possible reasons why women in there midlife develop lung cancer without ever smoking a cigarette.

            One of the most interesting things about the dated collected is, women were more likely to develop lung cancer from secondhand smoking if they lived in a more rural area, particularly in agricultural families. The study suggests this to be true because the husband and wife have more mutual contact throughout the day because the husbands work on farms, where as husbands who work in an urban area are only home for a short amount of time throughout the day, meaning the couples that live in an urban area have less of a chance of developing lung cancer. The data is also interesting because it tests other issues like a husband’s drinking habit and whether or not that led to lung cancer. Also, it studied if secondhand smoke led to any other cancers. All results pointed fingers at secondhand smoke leading to lung cancer as the only cancer developed.

            One of the advantages of doing a cause and effect study design is that it identifies the underlying causes, such as lung cancer. Another advantage to this study is it shows a better understanding for the effects. Lastly, cause and effect cases are relatively cost effective. They focus on getting straight to the point of the underlying causes without costing too much.

            I personally believe the study shows that secondhand smoke is the cause of lung cancer. The article explains that husbands drinking habits led to no effect on their wives lung cancer. Also, the smoking habits didn’t lead to any other cancers like, stomach or cervical cancer. All of the data showed that the majority of women with lung cancer were wives of heavy smokers. With these statistics, I strongly believe that lung cancer developed in non-smokers is strictly from secondhand smoke. 

Vitals Signs of Binge Drinking

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report focuses on the dangers of binge drinking and how teens are influenced by adult woman to drink. In this article, an example of the some of the findings include: binge drinking is responsible for half of the 23,000 youth deaths in 5 year, binge drinking is a danger for social problems among women and girls, including alcohol abused pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and breast cancer. Much of the data contributing to this report comes from BRFSS surveys, The CDC and YRBS surveys.  

Binge drinking is a huge Public Health issue because it is responsible for thousands of lives and also leads to physical problems like, injuries, violence, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, breast and other cancers, reduced cognitive function, and alcohol dependence. Binge drinking is also a Public Health issue because it also affects the development of your brain. Since the brain is not fully developed until age 25, damaging it with alcohol has a major affect on its development.

 Most of the data collected in this report was shocking. I had no idea that binge drinking took so many young women’s lives, but I was not shocked with the affects of binge drinking. However, since the data was collected by survey, there are some limitations. One limitation being, you can’t always trust the integrity of people taking the survey, especially with surveys about teens and underage drinking. They might not want to admit to authorities that they take part in illegal drinking. BRFSS and YRBS data are self-reported survey, which shows that people might be biased or dishonest. Another limitation to collecting data through surveys is not having a large enough sample group to represent the entire population. Also, BRFSS can’t collect data from woman living on college campuses or military bases.

It’s already difficult to convince teens and young adults to resist binge drinking and there are already many campaigns to educate the teens on the dangers of drinking. But, one of the biggest ways to prevent binge drinking with women would be to educate them on what the alcohol does to your body, specifically, on how the dry calorie intake affects their bodies. Young women usually have to take a health class while in high school that already gives teens the dangers of binge drinking. Also, there are several advertisements and commercials being broadcasted on television on how teens and adults should never drink and drive. Technically, educating women from a nutritional standpoint might draw their attention more than sicknesses. If they can’t see that they could end up with cancer or heart disease later on in life, then to them it might not be true, but if teens and adults could physically see their body changing from excess alcohol use, they might think twice before drinking again.