Emmanuel's Gift

In the United States, we have come a long way in understanding that individuals with disabilities have not only the right to life, dignity and respect but also that they have something to give back to the world around them. While watching this video, I was struck not only by the fact that children with disabilities were killed and/or abandoned, but also by the fact that their lives had no value. Emmanuel beat the odds by putting together a grant package for something as simple as a bicyle so he could bike across a country, and in doing so he impacted an entire country by passing on the generosity. Emmanuel is truly a gift to his culture because he has shown that despite years of beliefs that disability deems an individual worthless and unworthy of life, he has not only proven that he can have a dream and make it happen but also that they can make a difference in the lives of many.

Unnatural Causes

As I watched this DVD, I was amazed at how well it connected all of the things we had been discussing in class. I noticed that those individuals with more education lived at a higher socioeconmic status than those with little or no education. Each district in the video reflected a different set of issues to go with the varying socioeconomic statuses of the individuals. Individuals with little or no education tended to have poor diet and more health concerns than those who were well educated. I also noticed that the lower the socioeconomic status of the individual, the shorter their life span and the more health concerns they had, and that those individuals who lived closer to the poverty line were more likely to suffer from abnormal amounts of stress and health ailments such as high blood pressure and diabetes. It was also clear that the socioeconomic status can have a huge impact on the amount of stress placed upon an individual and can therefore have an impact on their overall health and life expectancy. It was also interesting that in human experiments it was found that those individuals who were of higher status had lower cortisol levels than those of lower status.

E's gift.

In the move of Emanuel's gift it is really heartwarming because it describes the difficulties that 3rd world countries are facing as far as disabilities go. Sometimes due to the lack of nutrition or how the lack of pure water can effect babies while they are in the womb. This is similar to Emanuel's situation. However his disability of not having a limb is very common in his country. People just learn to live with it and adapt to the situation versus really getting improvements such as prosthetics or any doctoral consent. Emanuele just asked for a simple bike, that is what started the whole journey. What struck me in this part was the fact that all he asked for was a bike and not a massive amount of money like most people especially those in the United States would ask for. With his bike that he received, he rode all around his country to advocate for people with disabilities and creating a face for these people of hope that they can accomplish anything even without a limb or disability of any kind. Word got back to the United States and they asked Emanuele to come to the US and spread his story. Which is kind of sad that they asked him to come after the fact that he had accomplished something so great. This story reminded me a lot of Forest Gump and how he ran around the entire company even though he too had a disability. Proving that exterior is nothing compared to the heart of the interior. He became good friends with Rudy who too suffered from not having legs. Only he was born with both of his and asked his parents if he could get them amputated at the young age of five and now is in many triathlons. At the end of the movie Emanuele receives a prosthetic leg and returns back to his homeland where he re-meets his father after he had abandoned them due to the fact Emanuele was born without a leg. This whole part seemed very selfish to me because he just seemed to want interest with Emanuele because he became famous for his story and made something of himself, not because he had a desire to see his son.

Sicko

I watched this documentary once before, and even though it moved me, I had no true understanding of what it was reaching for. Watching this again, after learning more about the health care system it showed such a great representation. I became angry and would leave wanting to do something to fix the problem. It leaves me with the question of why can our country not pull it together to fix the problem before it gets worse? Or is it just too late? The parts of the documentary where Michael Moore visited other parts of the world where they have Universal Health Care, showed how it worked so well. It just makes me angry that we can not have that here. It is true that every place has problems, but lets eliminate the health care one here, so we can fix the other ones. Health care is one, if not the biggest thing that is holding our nation back. I found it to be ridiculous that the people that our government deemed, "heroes" from 9/11, are now dying and living in such bad health condition because of the price of medical care. They gave their lives, time, and hearts out for the rest of us and yet we are not giving anything back to them, it is completely ridiculous. Through the documentary it gave a feeling that some governments care more about the health of their nation than our does, and that may just be a feeling of only mine but that is what the movie brings to my mind. Everyone is entitled to being healthy and the price of health care, something that is there to save their lives, should not make them lose their job, or house, have to work into their 80's or go all the way to Cuba. This problem was thoroughly expressed in a way that hit you in the face, but this should wake people up to what needs to be fixed for the future.

health care movie

It is clear from the videos that we have previously watched in class that health care is not what it seems to be. From the Sicko movie it describes how not everyone has health care in the United States and compares it to places where everyone has health insurance like Great Britain. It is proven that college graduates live two and a half years longer than high school graduates. And average life expectancies vary to the place of living. This is because places like the US make having health care/insurance nearly impossible to have and keep and health is driven by social policies. The average life expectancy for Great Britain is about 75 years old, this is because everyone is given care and not charged for being sick. Another problem is that our budgets dictate the foods we eat and the health care we receive. Sometimes people don't buy certain medications due to the fact that they are too expensive even though they are needed. Graduate level, budget, and place of living indicates how long you live which is wrong. It should be personal choices you make that create the biggest difference. However money sometimes dictates personal choices. People who are working two jobs are not getting time with their families, a full life experience, and usually have less stable jobs to bring food to the table. Most jobs these days don't even have benefits due to the cost to the company. Cortisol is a big reason for stress. It is supposed to enhance your immune function yet in stress it reverses itself and it's enhancements. This study was shown through testing people by using cotton swabs. It is pretty sad and a harsh reality check that our nation is being dictated by prices to companies and income levels indicate how much life someone can live. Everyone is supposed to be entitled to living life to the fullest.

Sicko

This documentary addressed the numerous concerns with the American health care system. 50 million Americans have no health insurance, and many of those who do have insurance are denied basic health care for reasons that are unfair or make no sense. Insurance companies have a certain percentage of claims that are rejected as a standard practice, and will often find pre-existing conditions or mistakes on the applications and use them to drop or cancel insurance policies and avoid paying for medical costs. Unfortunately, America's health care system has become a multi-billion dollar industry and the primary focus is on the bottom line rather than on the health needs of the people. As a result, many of these companies are buying politicans and medical providers to influence outcomes of claims appeals and legislation.
Upon examining the health care systems in Canada, Britain, France and Cuba it is clear that other countries have a much better system for meeting the health needs of the people. In these other countries, health care and medications were either free or available at very low cost meaning that everyone's needs were met regardless of the cost. There are no insurance cards, co-pays or pre-approvals limiting the availability of the care that is needed.

chapter 4

Diseases can be communicable or non-communicable as well as chronic or acute. Non-communicable diseases are amongst the leading causes of death in the U.S. but they are not contagious and may be caused by things such as genetics, environmental factors or lifestyle choices rather than pathogens. Communicable diseases are caused by pathogens and can be spread from person to person through either direct or indirect transmission. An epidemiologist's goal of disease prevention and control exists on three levels. During the primary stage, the focus is on immunization, health education, and promoting good health in general. This stage can be considered the pre-disease stage. In the secondary stage, a disease has been identified and the focus has shifted from prevention to controlling the spread of that disease. Preventative measures at the secondary level may not only include public health education, but may also involve things such as isolation and quarantine. By the time the disease reaches the tertiary level of prevention, the focus has become applying both the primary and secondary measures as well as preventing a relapse of the disease. This could in a sense be the recovery phase of the disease because people are recovering and life is returning to normal.When studying the health of a population, an epidemiologist would be concerned with the various rates of natality, morbidity and mortality. While many of those rates have a margin of error, an epidemiologist can use them to follow the course of a disease through a population or to determine the impact of certain lifestyle choices such as smoking or tanning beds on the health of a population. The results of those studies can be used to make recommendations about the prevention and control of diseases, but people are still choosing to engage in behaviors that put themselves at risk.

invisible

Racism and cultural genocide have had a huge impact on the Native American culture for generations. These issues date back to 1492 when Christopher Columbus first denied the humanity of the native people as justification for the actions of the white men and continued in 1755 when Spencer Phipps delared war against all Native Americans and placed a bounty on their heads. The cultural genocide continued with the forced assimilation of Native Americans into white culture and the removal of Native American children from their parents. These children were sent to schools hundreds of miles from their families and were abused and taught the English language. Racism toward Native Americans continues today though in ways that are much more subtle. The Native American population is excluded from politics because they are considered a separate entity and therefore have no vote in the legislature even though many of the issues may have a direct impact on them. DHHS still tends to react differently to concerns in Native American families and is much more likely to terminate the rights of the parents. We now have several programs geared toward improving the quality of life for Native Americans, but they rely on a few token individuals to obtain funding and actually impact the lives of very few.

invisible

Video Reflection

After watching the movie I felt that racism is around us way more than sometimes we realize. A prime example of everyday racism can be demonstrated with major league baseball teams which have mascots such as the Cleveland Indians. Or even within our youth, they associate Indians living in wigwams on watersides due to how they are portrayed on television. Especially because when most people think of racism they think of African Americans almost automatically just because of the well known speeches (like ones by Martin Luther King Jr. is known for "I have a dream...") and struggles that they have dealt with. However there are other races and cultures around us that are also struggling with inequality such as the Indians or French. The video specialized on the Indians and their constant battle with keeping their faith and culture. Most people with Indian heritage don't like to admit their heritage and sometimes do not inform their children of their ancestry. I know personally my friend who attends UMF didn't find out she had Indian blood until her sophomore year and ended up getting a full scholarship for her remainder on campus. As wonderful as that is for my friend, it is sad that a group of people do not know their heritages due to discrimination. People took Indian's children away and sent them to reform schools in order to de-Indianize them. These children were on constant watch and was expected to be seen but not heard in many different ways and if they were to dare speak their own language they would be beaten. Which seems horrible because our country is all about freedom of speech and individuality. This was due to the fact that people believed if you took away a speech (which they did through reform schools) or group unit (by separating the families) then you took away their culture. Because Indians were lower in the economic strata these relationships meant the world to them. Discrimination towards Indians is not thought about usually when hearing the word, however this may be due to the fact that growing up we believed that the pilgrims were friendly towards the Indians when in reality they hated each other and had rewards for someone who captured an Indian. The pilgrims also tried to kill off the Indians by making trades and giving them infected blankets full of smallpox while they got vegetables or other useful materials. A stereotype for Indians has been that they are lazy, dirty, and drunks. This perception of a person could be for any individual person or race. These qualities are personal and not adequate for categorizing for a group of people.

A story that stuck out to me in the movie would be the woman who lost her daughters over the fact that she was an Indian and got a ride with a person who was not seen as socially stable to be giving her and her child a ride in the case of the emergency.

Overall racism is still an issue within the United States and in Maine itself and we as people are the only cure for this by accepting everyone regardless of their racial background or beliefs.

Reflection for Video

As I was watching the video I felt angry at the fact that this still happens today, and that people are still not admitting to the fact that it is not happening. I guess I am just as bad because I turn away from any knowledge of this because I do not want to face the facts that sit right in front of me. My family lives in Old Town, just down the street from Indian Island, home of the Penobscot Tribe. I always used to ask questions about why it was its own island, and I never was told until I looked into it myself. I loved the movie and the truth that it sent out to everyone. There was so much history that I never knew and was glad that it was displayed in such a true way. The idea of the children being separated at the schools that Indian children were sent to growing up was awful. I could not believe the abuse that children were put through, physical, emotional and sexual abuse was shocking, I had no idea that that ever happened. I think that fact has been hidden, at least to me, throughout all our history books. I could not believe the physical labor that children in schools had to endure. The government tried to destroy the native language of the people, and take all the land from others, and just overall wanted to exterminate them. It was hard to hear the truth being said, and seeing the faces of those that it happened too, and the fact that it happened so close to home took a toll on my outlook, and gave me knowledge that I am glad I know.

First Reflection

The way we viewed an epidemiologist with illnesses within communities is very similar to how a doctor is with his patent's individual illnesses. Epidemiology is traced back to 300 BC to Hippocrates who created the correlation between diseases and the environment. A great example of what Hippocrates preached would be John Snow's discovery between the disease cholera and London's town water pump. Even though we fully agreed that the environment has a lot to do with illnesses and the spreading of them, we also believed that illness is also self caused in some cases with people's individual choices which is uncontrolled by epidemiologists. For example cigarette smoking. Epidemiologists can only take the procedures to try and limit the amount of people who smoke cigarettes but sometimes it has to be an individuals choice to quit versus someone trying to force them. Some lifestyles such as heavy partying and drug inducing can lead to other illnesses such as hepatitis or liver disease. This is important to epidemiologists because they are concerned with the rates within a population and all rates are based upon the population at risk. While most people at risk are the very young and the very old, this spectrum is now branching out to people in the "in between" category. This is due to lifestyle choices that we discussed before through diet, lack of exercise, genetics, or poor choices. It used to be that mortality was the number one source of viewing illness however, causes of death is sometimes not an accurate way to provide a clear picture of health for populations. It has to do with geographic regions and then can be segmented into smaller parts within a state. Obviously places like college campuses are going to have more rough housing and deaths by different causes than Florida which has an increasing elderly population. Take for example the girl that was found deceased at Orono a couple weeks ago. It is not as likely to find an elderly person in her same situation.

What makes epidemiologists so important is that they are responsible for diseases and notifying potential outbreaks that could happen in certain areas. They notify hospitals and generate reports which are posted such as the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A great example for our time era would be the outbreaks of H1N1 that we have had in the past year. This disease even though it was viewed as being acute but deadly was known about months before the possible H1N1 outbreaks. These reports are great for places like our college campus because people are living in such close quarters and being exposed to many different people and germs all the time. The only downside to the reports issued by the epidemiologists would be that they sometimes don't have the most accurate data and this is due to the doctors being so busy and trying to fit as many patients a day as they can that they sometimes don't find time to notify the epidemiologists about all the outbreaks or diseases that they dealt with in a day. Another downside to these reports is that even though epidemiologists calculate the number of years lost with deceased people but fail to recognise if they were battling another type of disease that is not viewed as chronic such as depression. People do not live enjoyable lives with depression and sometimes can lead to death itself if the disease is serious enough.

Either way epidemiologists are important to our health as a society by trying to provide accurate information to the public about how they can improve their health and prevent disease or to doctors who can provide care for the ill.

02/03/10

Testing for Intro to Community Health :)