Another Inspirational Video

Inspirational Video

Change in research proposal

I have decided to make a change in the topic of my proposal. I will now research and write on the long term effects of concussions and athletes who experience them. My thesis isn't fully developed with this topic yet, but i know for certain that there are an abundant amount of sources available to take from because of the very popular discussion among health professionals regarding this topic right now. This is something that hits a little more home for me because I myself have experienced two concussions in my college football career within an 8 month span. I believe my motivation to complete this study is much higher than the previous topic that I picked.

Are Grade School Cafeteria Lunches in Low Income Areas Healthy? (Research Proposal)

This is not a new issue at all in the United States. Childhood obesity has grown into an epidemic in the past couple of decades because of our country’s eating and spending habits. In America’s pursuit of time efficiency and technological advancement, the eating habits and health of many have worsened. This problem has trickled even into the school systems, the ones who are supposedly trying to fix the problem of unhealthy eating in the U.S.  I remember in my years of grade school, we ate barely appetizing condiments like fried chicken patties with poorly cooked sides like overdone cabbage, which no one ate, or square pizza and cheeseburgers with French fries, which everyone ate. This is a problem to me because obesity is most prevalent in impoverished areas with families who live from paycheck to paycheck. The food being provided in public schools is a direct reflection of the economy surrounding these poor parts of town. In low income areas you will always find cheap, unhealthy, sub-standard fast food restaurants and liquor stores on every block. This is intentional. Business owners know that McDonald’s, Burger King, and Pizza Hut will thrive in an area of poor families who can’t to buy healthy groceries. Liquor store owners know that in a low income area where stress is high, the people want an escape from reality, something to numb the harsh realities of their current circumstances. Could it be that public school systems are contracting with sub-par companies with lesser quality food for the sake of cheaper expenses? Are public schools undermining the importance of student health with unhealthy food while simultaneously preaching the importance of it?  If diminishing obesity and childhood obesity in particular is a priority in our country, are the public school systems of America really aiding in this process or making the process counter-productive? While some schools will be the exception in this area, many are simply not putting forth enough effort to decrease the rate of childhood obesity. I hope to find more information on this topic by researching various health resources on the internet and perhaps I may even be able to obtain some case studies on this topic, I don’t feel like this will be too difficult considering how much of an issue this topic is in America and how many health experts are researching and documenting statistics about obesity. I guess the biggest challenge would be to know where to start my research in all of this. I have a feeling that after a few search engine inquiries I will be on the right track. Also, with access to the school’s library I will have access to an abundance of information in the database they have provided for the college. All in all, this should be an interesting ally to travel down and it will be interesting to see what gaps can be found in the school systems of America that can improve the eating habits and health of students.

Reflection

I would say my biggest challenge in this course by far is consistency with the posting of these blog assignments. It's so easy for me to overlook and forget about these type of assignments because of the demands of my course load this semester, which is not an excuse, it just means that I can plan and organize better. I've gotten everything I needed for our first portfolio assignment, now it's just a matter of getting everything together and making it presentable. Hopefully I can do better about all of this in the remainder of this semester.

Why Place Matters

After reading " Why Place Matters: Building The Movement For Healthier Communities", I was once again very informed and enlightened of the social and economic change taking place in our country. It's a great feeling to know that there are people in our country who do legitimately care about the betterment of lower income families and communities. Probably the most inspiring part of the article to me was reading about the leadership and economic development in Fresno, California. To me, this is where we will truly see the most significant change in the health and social well-being of our country's economy. People need to be be properly educated and trained so that they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to better themselves and the people around them, it's contagious. If you travel to a urban neighborhood with section 8 housing, you'll often times see or hear of drug sales, gang violence, and unemployment. Why? Because alot of these people don't any other way to survive. Hustling is a necessity for young black males in an impoverished neighborhood. It's a good thing to see government programs taking action and training these neglected people to empower them and help them change.

Tuskeegee and Guatemala Syphylis Experiements

My blog posting hasn't been very consistent the past few weeks but I'm definitely going to change that.


I couple of weeks ago we read two articles on the two different instances of men being unethically tested for syphilis. In the year of 1932 in Macon County, Alabama, the Public Health Service alongside the Tuskegee institute conducted an experiment to test black men with syphilis, however what the men didn't know was that they in fact were being infected with the disease from the doctor. The doctors justified this practice by saying that they were looking for a cure for the disease and they offered the men free healthcare, meals, and burial insurance. This unethical study was supposed to only last 6 months but ended up lasting 40 years, from 1932 to 1972. It's incredible to me how such a demeaning, racist, and inhuman practice can go on for so long, but I guess I should take into consideration the time period this was in and the type of civil rights being granted to minorities at that time.

The other article was on case study similar to the Tuskegee experiment. In 1946 U.S. Public Health doctors conducted a study in a Guatemala prison, deliberately infecting 700 prisoners with syphilis. Because of the regulations of the prison in Guatemala, the doctors went about the experiment a different way. They had prostitutes who were infected with syphilis come and sleep with the prisoners so that they would contract the disease. If this was not successful, they would go so far as to literally pour the disease onto open scrapes on their penises, faces or arms, and would sometimes even inject it into their spine. All of this was going on for two years in Guatemala and the prisoners had no idea. This is mind boggling and really cause me to question what other unethical practices have been conducted for the benefit of our country. It's sad.

My Own Healthcare Experience

        Personally, my healthcare experience over the years has actually been pretty pleasant. Considering my involvement in outdoor activities like sports and other leisure activity, I have accumulated my fair share of injuries. At 3 years old I broke my right leg when I fell off of my bunk bed. At 13 years old (if I remember correctly), I broke my right ankle after a four wheeler accident. In college, I had 2 concussions in the span of 8 months from football practice. Basically between the years of 12 and 20 I've had every type of break, sprain, bruise, scrape, and bump you can imagine. Needless to say, I've had my share of doctor's visits and overall, my insurance (to my knowledge) has done a pretty decent job of covering my expenses.

My response to "Unnatural Causes"

        As I stated in my previous post, I am coming into a great deal of enlightenment regarding the political "ins and outs" of our country's healthcare system. The statistics given on the health status of Americans regarding their income is very drastic and mind boggling. The documentary "Unnatural Causes" gave a great amount of detail on this subject matter.

Out of the entire documentary (which was pretty extensive), there was a  phrase that registered with me heavily, "Economic policy is Health policy" ,said by a scholar who gave commentary throughout the entire viewing. What he meant by this is that our economic status in this country makes a heavy contribution to our health. The film gave scientific evidence that a lower class citizen's health is much poorer than counterparts in higher tax brackets. The reason for this is stress. Stress over extended periods of time can cause serious health problems for a person. What causes this stress? Naturally if a caretaker or guardian is not able to provide proficiently enough for their family, it can induce a great deal of stress and worsen their health. What is even more mind boggling to me is how our country's wealth is distributed.

         "Wealth = Health." is another quote that stuck out to me in this documentary. Another one of the scholars in the movie stated that "Countries where wealth is more evenly distributed are wealthier." This particular idea of healthcare reform would also be known as Universal Healthcare, a topic that has brewed a great deal of controversy in recent years. But does this man have a point? Could the reason why our country is so indebted be because of how our wealth is distributed on top of our spending habits? The film gave shocking statistics that showed that American citizens that are of a poorer economic status are actually paying MORE for healthcare that higher class citizens. To me this equation makes no logical sense. Why would our country charge someone with less money more for something that they need? 1. Statistics have shown that these people with lower incomes are more stressed out and have bad health and 2. They are not able to work their way into financial freedom because of the unfair percentages placed on their taxes and healthcare. It's a trap that many are not able to crawl out of.

Overall I think this was an excellent documentary that gave great perspective on how our country's healthcare system is being operated. I will now undoubtedly say that reform is needed.

My thoughts on "Health Status and Health Care Access of Farm and Rural Populations"

        I will first admit that my knowledge of our country's healthcare system and politics in general is limited. I think to a certain measure I purposefully ignore it because every time i do take a moment to listen in on what's going on with our country's policies it is more times than not upsetting. But anyways, after reading the article assigned I gained some insight on the contrast between healthcare coverage of rural and farming households verses urban and non-farm operated households.
     
        As the article states, "The recently identified gap between metro and nonmetro mortality rates opened in 1990 and has widened continually since then." Part of the reason for this is because of the nature of the environment these households are in. Farmers are much more prone to fatality or injury because of the harsh conditions they work in, the dangerous chemicals they are exposed to, and the dangerous equipment they use in order to carry out the duties of their job. Obviously people in more urban and suburban areas don't encounter these same kind of scenarios in their lives.
     
        The article then continues on with giving statistical information about the socioeconomic status and health risks of non-metro populations. Apparently, "The nonmetro population is older, is less likely to be from a minority group, and has lower education and income levels than the metro population.". Naturally mortality rates are higher because of this. Also, for whatever reason non-metro non-elderly households are paying more for healthcare than their metro counterparts despite their incomes being lower. Why hasn't their been an adjustment in healthcare expenses for lower income, rural populations? Non-metro households are less educated, have higher mortality rates, and earn lower wages than metro populations. Why hasn't any federal program intervened to fix this issue?
     
        While lack of healthcare is a problem across the board for the U.S., many things could be implemented to fix these issues, especially in rural, low income households.