Blog post #4- Kameron Schreffler

 Kameron Schreffler


The article "Silenced Voices in Global Health" by Katri Bertram, Ngozi Erondu, and Madhukar Pai can be connected to the overall problems with the current public health system. There are several flaws in the Public health system, and this article highlights one of them. We need to fix these central issues if we want our public health system to be as effective as possible and have as many people live a healthy lifestyle as possible. Covid-19 has created an enormous problem in our public health system that shows the flaws in the system. Since Covid-19, the number of people with depression and anxiety has significantly increased as other social isolation problems have also been on the rise(O'Connor, 2022). According to O'Connor, "prolonged loneliness has been linked to a number of risk factors such as increased risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and a range of mental conditions." A tremendous amount of people in this world, including people in the United States, do not have proper access to healthcare. The cost of care, the need for health insurance, and other reasons cause many people not to have proper healthcare, causing several problems, specifically throughout low-income countries and communities(O'Connor, 2022). Things that may not seem like a big issue turn into more significant problems later if not addressed; this causes a financial burden on the individual as the illness continues to develop. This problem can be solved by increasing insurance, so everyone has equal access to healthcare. Mass violence is another public health problem. Violent crimes do not only affect the health of the individuals involved by weighing on the community, as this trauma can cause other health problems that can specifically impact brain development in children(O'Connor, 2022). According to O'Connor, "Potential short- and long-term effects when exposed to trauma, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), include changes to the limbic system and functions, sleep disturbances, cognitive changes, dissociation, depression, self-harm, destructive behaviors." Food insecurity is also another significant issue in public health. When people are not obtaining proper nutrition, it causes many health issues. A large number of people in the United States and the world do not have proper nutrients(O'Connor, 2022). Covid-19 increased food insecurity significantly. According to O'Connor, "Negative effects compounded by COVID-19 such as low income and high food cost, for example, is a primary concern; as USDA estimated the number of food-insecure people to increase by 291 million in 2021 across low and middle-income countries." Malnutrition is shown to have a strong negative impact of children's development. The article "Silenced Voices in Global Health" does a great job detailing one of the problems with the public health system, but there are several other issues within the public health system that need to be addressed, along with Bertram's concern. Overall, I believe that these are the biggest flaws within Public Health Care, and they should take priority in being addressed. 



Citations

O'Connor, S. W. (2022, April 12). 4 key public health issues in 2021. Northeastern University Graduate Programs. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/public-health-issues/

Bertrum, K. (n.d.). Silenced voices in global health: Think global health. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/silenced-voices-global-health

Goodwin UniversityGoodwin University is a nonprofit institution of higher education and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). (2021, February 23). Top 10 public health problems of 2021. Goodwin University. Retrieved April 21, 2022, from https://www.goodwin.edu/enews/modern-public-health-concerns/

Comments

  1. Brooke WallaceApril 25, 2022 at 11:16 AM

    Great job! I definitely agree with you that the main underlying issue is polarization and passing the buck. Your blog applies to the Buck reading because he said that we are not solving the social/political problem and focusing on the wrong things. While it is true that population control needs to be addressed, the true solution lies in governance, politics, and human interactions/the social world and not in science and economics. I don't think that this major public health issue (including food insecurity) can be solved technically akin to the COVID-19 pandemic. Your post also reminds me of our in-class discussion on dealing with the underlying issues in a timely manner and not passing the buck when it will be felt by us at some point. As you mentioned, consequences fall off into the future and there is no current technological solution so it should not be our focus.

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  2. Grant VoytovichApril 28, 2022 at 5:43 AM

    I think that you did a very good job of highlighting some of the biggest problems with public health care. Personally, I don't even realize some of the inequalities that are present in our world because I haven't been exposed to some of them. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, over 38 million people live in food insecure households. Food is obviously a necessity to live, and many people have limited access to it. What changes do you think should be made to the health care system?

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