Things I Carry

Below is a journal entry I wrote for my Intro to Fiction and Nonfiction Course.

Happy Writing :)

I never realized how much the things I carry define me. It's amazing how the things I carry on a regular basis have become a part of who I am. For example, we all carry identification, but that's something most people are taught to do. After sitting in class, I realized that Hopkins has turned me into a complete “germ-a-phob.” I carry hand sanitizer and bacteria hand wipes in all of my bags. After the H1N1 breakout during my freshman year, I refused to get sick and found myself continuously wiping down my desks and room doors. I also carry lotion. I hate having ashy hands and I can't function properly without moisturized hands. As crazy as it may sound, I have to have my hands moisturized before I can do anything. As a newly initiate of my sorority, I think it is an honor to carry around my membership
card, besides I'm supposed to. Gum is something I can't go a day
without, I mean technically speaking I can, but I'll have to soon
adjust this habit considering I'll have braces in three weeks.
Lastly, I always have Carmax or lip-gloss in my closest pocket. I
hate ashy lips more that ashy hands. I feel that people are always
looking at my mouth, therefore my lips should not be dry. I never
knew how much the things that I carry could tell a story, but I guess
that's why they are a part of my daily life.

Key Determinants

Today's blog focuses on the key determinants. These are the factors associated with the development of the problem. In regards to my topic, obesity in children ages 2-19 in Michigan, there are a variety of key determinants.
Biological determinants are genetics. Many researchers say that genetics involve the parental diet, their eating habits and the lifestyle they live. But on the contrary, obesity is genetically inherited. There is still growing evidence that supports this claim. Just recently, in Czechoslovakia there was a study on a set of twins. The twins were both separated at birth and were placed with different foster families. After some odd years, researchers went and located the twins. Ironically enough both twins were "equally likely to be obese and have the same resting metabolic rate."
Social and cultural determinants could be the economic status of the family, personal beliefs, the people who influence these individuals such as friends or associates, and possibly religious beliefs. When it comes to the economic status of families, if the child comes from a poor family his/her obesity could be a result of lack of money and resources. Personal beliefs are a little difficult to prove because they tend to be "opinion" based rather than actual facts, but many people believe that they can eat whatever it is they want as long as they work out and exercise. In some cases, this is true and in other cases it is completely false. Depending on the person's metabolism and bone structure says a lot about their chances of being obese. Friends can either be a negative or positive determinant. I say both pos. and neg. because most friends like to look better than there other friends so they encourage you to "eat what you like" or give the "you only live once" line. Well they are right that "you only live once", but being obese decreases your chances of living longer.
Environmental determinants could be location of residence. Where people stay has a lot to do with the availability of resources. If a child lives in a high poverty area, there are high chances that he/she are not getting the proper nutrients and physical activity children need. Living in rural or urban areas also contribute to obesity. Children who live in rural areas don't always have access to certain foods that should be consumed on a daily basis.
A political determinant for this topic could be similar to one I read about online, in which i unfortunately cant find the article at this time, talks about the FDA approving a schools lunch menu. I think it was the state government that had decided to help with improving the health of students but didn't pass the law that would create healthier school lunches.
I'm not certain if this is an determinant, but I also think the mental state of most children also contributes to their health state. Many children, unfortunately, suffer from depression and eat until their bodies expand beyond their biological means. I'm not sure If all of these determinants will make it into my final paper or I may add a few new ones, but that is all for today's blog.

Until next time, stay healthy!

Kiara

Final Paper Progression

Today's topic deals with my continuance of the final paper. Honestly, I think the paper is going to be a little more complicated from my original thoughts. As I finally decided my final topic, I realize that the requirements for this paper are a little time consuming and slightly confusing.



I decided to discuss the issue of obesity in adults 18 and over in Michigan, considering that's home and I have visual data for my paper. As far as surveillance goes on regards to obesity, I think that hospital records could be a source. If adults are going to the doctor on account of health issues and they appear overweight obesity could be present. According to an obesity report series for Michigan in 2008, obesity rates rose by 21.8% which is not good. Especially considering only 34.7% of Michigan adults were not overweight or obese. Michigan also had the 8th highest prevalence of obesity in the US with 30.1% in 2008. In addition to obesity being a huge issue in Michigan, it's more significant in the African American community; especially in African American females.

Direct indicators that deal with adult obesity in Michigan are the high rates of adults who eat fast food. As discussed in class, fast food is very unhealthy and depending on what restaurant people eat at, their calorie intake is extremely high. Also a direct indicator could be adults with an office setting job who eat "snacks" all day in substitution for lunch. I have friends and a few family members who work in these environments and they feel as though a quick bag of chips makes up for their daily lunch. Many adults feel as though they don't have to follow a healthy lifestyle and they can eat whatever they please, because they are "grown". In Detroit, fresh produce is limited and fast food restaurants are numerous. If there are a limited amount of resources for fruits and vegetables, how can people eat healthy.

Indirect indicators could be the amount of fast food restaurants that surround the homes of obese individuals. From personal experience, I can testify that these fast food places are everywhere; many in walking distance. There have been times when my family and I didn't feel like cooking and I drove about a mile or so to pick up pizza. We knew it wasn't healthy, but when you are hungry and fast food is at your finger tips, what do you do? Another indicator could be the mental health issues. Some people were not born to obtain an obese body, but some people suffer from depression and eating "helps" to temporarily satisfy their needs.

I know that these indicators are not the best especially considering many of them come from personal experiences and "he/she said". I do believe that my opinions and semi-facts matter in this paper because I am personally affected by obesity with close friends and a few family members of mine. Also, a lot of the data that I've looked up is from 2001-2009. Sure 2009 is the most recent, the further I go back into the past the numbers are normally relatively low.

Well, as I researched adult obesity, I found a lot of information on childhood obesity in Michigan. I think I may put the two together and focus on family issues too, that may result in obesity.

Until next time, stay healthy!!

Kiara

Problem Definition

Today's topic will focus on my problem definition for my final paper. I honestly still have not decided in my final topic yet, but I will make a final decision this weekend. As far as my problem definitions, I have a possible definition for the three topics I am debating on.

My problem definition for obesity would go some what as follows:

Obesity has become a huge problem in the United States and a rising epidemic in children ages 6-19 from 1999-2009. This issue has become so severe that it has been detected to decrease the life expectancy of children by 5 years.

My problem definition for injury prevention would be similar to this:

Noticing the obvious is sometimes an issue in the United States. Things that are most common, just seem normal, especially with injury prevention. A rising problem in injury prevention deals with children. We need to make the world a safer place for children without limiting their environment.

Lastly, I think if I were to write about health care, I would focus on quality health care for low income families. My problem statement would fall somewhere around:

Families that "make too much" money, or don't qualify under the federal poverty level, have a harder time receiving quality health care. In the United States, quality health care is not "equal" for everyone. Low income families whose income exceeds the federal poverty level due to more or less people who live in their homes, have more problems with health care.

Unitl next time, stay healthy!

Kiara

My Final Paper For Public Health

Today's topic focuses on my final paper topic for Intro. to Public Health. I have honestly enjoyed this course so much, that it's really hard for me to pick one topic. As of now, I am a little undecided. Since time is running out, I am going to pick between the following topics: Injury Prevention, Obesity, or the US Health Care System. I think these three topics grasped my attention the most.

The reason why I liked injury prevention so much is because it's a serious issue in public health. A lot of people believe that injuries are accidents, and that's true, but in most cases these injuries can be prevented. Unintentional injuries account for 2/3 of the injuries in the country. These injuries are almost 80% of the years of potential life loss chart. Considering the US spends so much money, $406 Billion, on injuries I though it would be a interesting topic. Also, I found the different types of injuries to be very interesting. Injury is a population level problem and this problem is not obvious.

The lecture that focused on obesity by Dr. Kahan had my undivided attention. Although I paid close attention to every lecture, obesity was the most interesting. I would like to write about obesity, because I have close friends, family as well as friends of my family that are obese. This particular topic hit close to home for me, and I felt it was necessary to find out more about why and how this epidemic is growing so rapidly in America. Obesity in the US is rising every year. Based on information provided in lecture, 1 out of every 3 Americans are clinically obese, and 68% of people are overweight. Being obese increases the chance of a shorter life span as well as the increase in risk of death and also increasing the chances of type2 diabetes. While in class I was informed that obesity rates in children has sky rocketed since the 1980s which isn't a good thing. Considering the life expectancy for the generation now and the one after will decrease significantly.

Lastly, I thought about health care in the US. I've expressed my thoughts on the US health care system in my previous blog postings. But I cant emphasize how much health care means to me. I want to make a difference in the world by becoming a cardiac surgeon, but I cant help everyone who needs it because the lack of quality health care in the US. I didn't realize how many people were uninsured in America and it really brings tears to my eyes knowing that all the sick people in the US cant be healed or treated.

I really took these three topics to heart mainly because they either hit home really hard or for the simple fact that I really care about improving these things in the population.

Until next time, stay healthy.

Kiara

My Public Health Experience

Today's topic focuses on my perspective of the first "half" of my Intro. to Public Health course. Throughout the course we discussed a variety of topics ranging from what public health is and health policy and worked our way to obesity. I honestly enjoyed each topic because there was so much information that I never knew. Each class discussion taught me something new, and although there were a few things I did know, learning the information a second was refreshing. My favorite class discussions were the ones that focused on health care and obesity. Based on the information we learned these are two of the biggest issues public health is facing. I enjoyed the health care lecture, because I have a sincere concern for the public. I love to help people and I really want to make a difference in the health field, and this cannot be done without access to quality health care. To think that there's a mother out in the world who doesn't have quality health care which means she has no access to vitamins and medicines needed during her pregnancy really gets to me. While in class, we talked about other countries having health care for their citizens yet they don't spend as much money as the US annually on health care. In the US 47 million uninsured Americans and yet we spend trillions of dollars on health care, all the while the rates continue to rise. As far as obesity being one of favorites, I really enjoyed learning about healthy eating, how pricing is associated with the government and how being overweight and/or clinically obese is harmful to our bodies.

One thing I found surprising about public health is that we spend more money than other countries combined but we have so many uninsured Americans. I could not believe it! I thought we were in better standings in terms health care. We have a numerous amount of doctors, physicians, and health care workers, there's no way our health care system is this bad. Right? No wrong. Considering these health care workers have to be paid, and since people are uninsured there is the problem. There is a big problem with health insurance and money for US citizens.

When I signed up for this public health course I wanted to learn more about the health care field and I did. Nothing has changed about my perception in regards to the public health field. If anything I am more interested into going further into the public health aspect as well as being a hearth surgeon. Taking this course has really opened my eyes to the public health field. I think that this course has made me more aware of issues the public faces and I am really interested in making a difference in the near future. I really am glad I took this course and I look forward to the other public health courses I will take while continuing my education here at Hopkins.

Until next time, stay healthy!
Kiara

Health Care Reform 2010

This week's topic focuses on the latest health reform bill that was recently passed in Congress this week. The health reform bill was announced in Iowa City by President Obama May, 2007. This health reform bill should focus mainly on reducing long-term growth in health car costs for businesses and government, guaranteeing the choice of doctors and health plans, improving patient safety and quality of care services, help maintain coverage if you change or lose your job, investing in prevention and wellness, helping to protect families from filing for bankrupcty or going into debt because of health care costs, and helping to end barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Based on all the main focal areas, this bill was created to help Americans who have issues with health care costs, but mainly to support uninsured Americans.
As far as the stakeholders who were most in favor of this health reform bill were the Democratic arty. From my personal opinion, I think the Democratic party was most in favor of the bill because they strive "to create a sustainable and independent clean energy economy, provide all American children the first rate education they deserve, and finally guarantee high-equality, affordable health care to every American man, woman, and child. " I found this statement on the Democratic party website. Although 34 Democrats voted against the bill, it was still passed. I think this minor portion of the Democratic party are considered to be conservatives and believe in limited change in the government. The stakeholders who were most opposed to the bill were the Republican party. They all voted against the bill. According to the Huffington Post, the Republican party is pretty much against "Democrats making fundamental progressive change." So the entire Republican party voted against the health care reform bill in order to stop the progression the Democrats are trying to bring in the country.
My thoughts about the health care reform are beyond ecstatic. I am excited, because I think this bill is going to provide a helpful service for uninsured Americans. As we discuss the issues with public health care issues, I felt as though America was doing a mediocre job as far as providing health care for its citizens. As rich as we are, our health care system spends so much money on health care, yet so many Americans are uninsured. The part that really upsets me is the fact that other countries actually provide health care for all of their citizens and have less money than the U.S. I think it's a good piece of legislation, because it shows that the government actually cares about the citizens and their health care. I'm not sure how much the bill will affect my family and I, but hopefully the health care system improves a great deal. By the time I enter the health care professional world, hopefully all U.S. citizens will have a definite availability of health care.
Until next time, stay healthy!

Kiara